Martyn Lawrence Bullard’s Newest Hotel in L.A. Revisits Old Hollywood Glamour
Once upon a time in old Hollywood, the famed Hollywood Boulevard went by the name of Prospect Boulevard. Who knew? Now guests at The Prospect Hollywood hotel, which opened recently, will be among the cognoscenti—after all, that’s where the Martyn Lawrence Bullard-designed property derives its name. This third and latest collaboration between the designer and PRG Hospitality Group entails the transformation of a 1939 Hollywood Regency-style building into 24 guest rooms and a lobby lounge, all infused with glamour—a sentiment that Bullard, given his high-profile clientele and own TV presence, knows all about.
“I pulled on my knowledge of the great decorators of the era,” Bullard tells Interior Design. “William ‘Billy’ Haines who was originally a silent movie actor and merged into a designer to the stars; Tony Duquette who took his knowledge from set decorating and infused it into the homes of Hollywood’s elite in the most theatrical manner; Dorothy Draper whose interiors sparkled with great theatrical flourishes.” These icons helped inform The Prospect Hollywood’s interiors, creating a “homage to the golden era and Hollywood history.”
Imparting a quasi-residential face to the street, The Prospect Hollywood has a classic black and white façade punctuated with a lipstick red door. Inside, though, comes the real explosion of color. An emerald green enclosure greets guests at the lobby-lounge, set with fuchsia velvet banquettes, gilt armchairs, and café tables upon a black and white marble floor. A perfect mise-en-scène for the hotel’s breakfast offerings, including beloved Tartine pastries. But the gilded palm trees that stretch toward the ceiling alongside the millwork’s arched niches create the real ‘wow factor’—a touch truly emblematic of old-school Hollywood.
The rooms, meanwhile, are designed around four schemes and are plenty layered themselves. Bullard created wall covering patterns of vibrant Chinoisserie, golden sepia-toned palms, a Venetian-like marble, and a chiaroscuro of floral. “My favorite design elements are the maximal use of wallpapers, which give an amazing overall vibe,” he notes. Leopard-print carpets, gold-leaf ceilings, vintage accessories, and custom furniture, including built-in cocktail bars—another favorite—are not only classic Bullard, but classic Hollywood Regency.
Of course, there’s a courtyard and garden. Credit goes to Terremoto Landscape for the tiered enclave’s fire pits, fountain, and clay tile seating. Inside and out, the hotel is picture perfect. Bullard’s collaboration with the Hollywood Heritage Historical Society helped to make it so.
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