The Valorian Los Angeles

Editorial score of 8.5 of 10, the composite average of the three factors above (Rooms, Service, Location). Method at our methodology page. Affiliate disclosure: booking links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you, and never change our verdict.

Is The Valorian the same hotel as the Mondrian?

Yes, it is the same building under a new name. The hotel at 8440 Sunset Boulevard opened in 1996 as the Mondrian, Philippe Starck's totemic Sunset Strip design statement, and for a decade its rooftop SkyBar was the defining outdoor social venue in West Hollywood. On April 1, 2026 the property reopened as The Valorian Los Angeles, Curio Collection by Hilton, operated by Pivot, the lifestyle arm of Davidson Hospitality Group. The white exterior, the theatrical lobby gestures and the pool deck overlooking the Los Angeles basin remain the bones of the place; the Mondrian name, and the strict door-policy culture that came with it, have left the building. For anyone who knew the old hotel, this is a reintroduction rather than a demolition, and the address it established still carries more cultural weight than most new construction on the Strip can buy.

The honest read on the rebrand is that a Curio Collection flag brings Hilton Honors points and Hilton's distribution to an address that traded for decades on exclusivity, which is a genuine trade. What the relaunch has to prove is consistency, because opening seasons under a new operator are uneven by nature, and early guests should book with that expectation rather than the assumption that everything runs like a mature five-star. What no relaunch can erase is the view and the position, and those are the reasons the room rate makes sense. Set expectations for a reborn design hotel finding its feet, prioritise the rooftop and a Strip-facing room, and it delivers the thing this corner of Sunset has always sold.

What are the best rooms to request?

Request a high-floor room or suite on the south-facing side and prioritise the view, because the outlook over the city is what this address is built to sell. The 236 rooms and suites carry sweeping views of the Strip, the Hollywood Hills and the downtown skyline, and the higher you go the more the basin reads as a single lit plan at night. The design lineage runs deep here: the 1996 Starck vocabulary was already reworked in a major 2018 redesign, and the Valorian relaunch layers a fresh identity onto that base, so the interiors read as current rather than dated. At the top of the range, specialty spaces such as the Penthouse and the Skyview Loft open the outlook fully and are the categories worth the step up for a special stay.

One honest caveat: this is a relaunch, and room categories, finishes and inventory under the new flag are still settling into their final form. That means the product will keep evolving through the first seasons, and the room you book should be confirmed by category rather than by an old Mondrian floor plan. Rooms on the lower floors and the north side trade the postcard skyline for a quieter, more enclosed feel, which suits light sleepers but gives up the reason most guests choose this hotel. Treat the room as a frame for the view, book the highest Strip-facing category your budget allows, and confirm the specifics directly when you reserve.

What is the dining and the bar scene like?

Dining centres on Casa Madera, the signature ground-level restaurant, which continued through the rebrand without interruption and remains an essential part of the property's identity. It is a modern Mexican room that draws a scene of its own rather than functioning only as a house restaurant, which is exactly what a Strip hotel needs to feel alive. Above it, the rooftop is the hotel's primary argument, now reintroduced as the White Rabbit Sky Lounge in place of the old SkyBar, with day-to-night programming and panoramic views across the Hollywood Hills and the downtown skyline. The pool deck at sunset, the city basin below and the Strip's lights beginning to define the dark is the view this address turned into a West Hollywood standard, and every newer rooftop on Sunset still competes against it. In-room dining rounds out the offer for guests who would rather keep the view to themselves.

What about the pool and the rooftop?

The rooftop pool deck is the daytime heart of the hotel and the reason to book a warm-weather stay. The same terrace that carries the White Rabbit Sky Lounge at night runs as a pool and sun deck by day, with the city falling away below and the Hills rising behind, an elevated vantage that the low-rise Strip around it cannot match. This is a social rooftop rather than a quiet resort pool, so expect programming, music and a crowd on weekends rather than a silent lap pool. For a solo traveller the calmer play is the deck in the morning, at ten, with the city below and the Strip empty of its evening traffic, which is a view worth the room rate on its own before the day fills up.

Signature amenities

On the Sunset Strip

The rooftop, the rooms, the Strip

Exterior

Strip-view room

Rooftop pool

Sky Lounge

How does The Valorian compare with the other Sunset Strip hotels?

Against the Strip field, The Valorian is the reborn design landmark with the rooftop that defined the category, and the choice comes down to what you want the stay to feel like. The West Hollywood EDITION is the polished Ian Schrager alternative a little way east, with a rooftop pool and a stronger service floor at a higher rate. Sunset Tower Hotel trades the rooftop scene for 1929 Art Deco calm and the Tower Bar, the quietest glamour on Sunset. Chateau Marmont, up the hill, offers bohemian privacy and culture rather than a pool deck. The Valorian's own trade-off is the relaunch itself: the address and the view are unmatched, but the new operation still has to prove night-to-night consistency.

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