The Los Angeles Athletic Club was founded in 1880. It was the city’s first private club and joined a downtown core of businesses that included saloons and shooting galleries.

In 1912, the club moved into a 12-story building built specifically for it at 7th and Olive streets. Membership grew to include names like Lankershim, Chandler, Dockweiler, Doheny and O’Melveny, and movie stars like Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino and Johnny Weissmuller.

Hotel

Long before members-only clubs like Soho House spawned off hotels that also hosted them, there was the Athletic Club Los Angeles Hotel. It is a luxury hotel-fitness center-private social club hybrid nestled in a 12-story building Downtown. In addition to state-of-the-art fitness facilities and a spa, this property boasts first-rate restaurants (like Famous Players) and bars (like the newly renovated Invention), as well as conference spaces and 72 snug guest rooms and suites.

Guests get a taste of the luxe life by enjoying limited membership privileges during their stay, including access to some of the club's eateries and bars, as well as its 80,000-square-foot gym. Aside from the standard amenities like free WiFi and 36-inch flat-screen TVs, rooms feature pillowtop beds with Frette Italian sheets and down comforters, as well as hair dryers. Complimentary parking is available, and the staff at the front desk is always on hand to assist with securing valuables and luggage storage.

This hotel is a short walk from LA Live Entertainment Complex and Staples Center, as well as within walking distance of the Grammy Museum. The area surrounding this property is typical of gritty urban Los Angeles, with a mix of business people, homeless people, and local residents. There are plenty of restaurants, bars, and jewelry stores nearby, as well as a few theaters and museums.

Restaurants

Located inside the Los Angeles Athletic Club is Famous Players, an upscale bistro serving breakfast and lunch. This DTLA staple is also known for its pre-Prohibition cocktails crafted with premium spirits. You can sip these signature drinks while soaking up the ambiance of this historic speakeasy.

The club was founded in 1880 by visionary minds who sought to foster physical culture. Over the years, it has evolved to include a hotel and event spaces, but its core purpose remains the same. Today, it’s a hub for wellness, social connection and innovation that embraces the dynamic vibe of DTLA.

Staying at the hotel gives guests limited membership privileges, including access to a range of restaurants and bars. You can also enjoy access to the club’s world-class fitness facilities, and take part in group exercise classes and other activities.

The hotel also has 72 luxury guestrooms and suites. Featuring flat-screen TVs, these rooms come with pillowtop beds and Frette Italian sheets. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and satellite programming provides entertainment. Private bathrooms have shower/tub combinations and hair dryers. There’s also a coffee/tea maker and refrigerator in each room. Some offer a balcony. You can dine at the Trophy Room, or you can head to Invention Bar, a pre-Prohibition inspired space that was once one of the city’s most exclusive speakeasy bars.

Bars

The Los Angeles Athletic Club has been dedicated to the body, mind and spirit of its members for over 125 years. Located in Downtown LA, the historic club features a variety of restaurants and bars, luxury meeting and hotel rooms, state-of-the-art workout facilities and much more.

Known as a prestigious private club for the Hollywood elite, the LAAC is a hub of fitness and social connection. Its history includes movie stars and behind the scenes power players like Charlie Chaplin, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Busby Berkeley, Duke Kahanamoku, and founder of Paramount Pictures Frank A. Garbutt amongst others.

While the LAAC has a long list of renowned members, it also boasts an equally impressive roster of restaurants and bars. The redesigned third floor bar, Invention, was designed by Tracy Beckmann who mixed mahogany and marble to create a swanky space for members and guests to relax and unwind.

From the cozy, tufted couches and asymmetrical layout of the room to the large windows overlooking DTLA, Invention is a stylish space for drinking, eating, working, and relaxing. The drink program is curated by Aidan Demarest and Marcos Tello who pulled inspiration from the archival scribblings of one of the clubs founding members and the cocktails offered at other private club’s around the country to create the menu. The result is a refined and sophisticated collection of cocktails.

Fitness Center

Located inside the LAAC, this deluxe hotel-fitness center-social club hybrid offers state-of-the-art gym and spa facilities, awe-inspiring restaurants and bars (like Invention), luxury meeting and conference rooms, and more. Founded in 1880, the LAAC was one of Los Angeles’ first private clubs and remains a hub for wellness, creativity, and social connection.

This historic club has been a place for fitness, family gatherings, and celebrity sightings since the days when Charlie Chaplin was a member and Los Angeles only had 11,000 residents. Its founding members were ferocious about dispelling stereotypes of “lazy Californians.”

Today, the LAAC remains true to its original mission of promoting physical culture and providing its members with health-giving amusements. It’s also a place where new ideas are born and the past is honored.

The LAAC’s 88,000 square feet of facilities include dedicated yoga and pilates studios, a spacious indoor lap pool, a children’s pool, and a racquetball court. Guests can also enjoy full use of the club’s sports facilities, including a pristine basketball court and a tennis court.

The club also offers personal training and group fitness classes, as well as the use of a sauna, steam room, and jacuzzi. The LAAC is a short walk from popular natural and cultural sights, including Pershing Square and Grand Park. Staples Center is a 5-minute car ride away.