The Standard hotel on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood is scheduled to close Friday, 22 years after opening with financial support from stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Benicio del Toro.
The location was the first that the hotelier André Balazs opened in the chain of boutique hotels Standard. The brand, with its irreverent upside-down logo, cultivated a casual, cool and celebrity-filled atmosphere. The network has grown to six locations in the Los Angeles, New York, Miami and London area, and operates under the parent company Standard International. Balazs stepped down as president of the company in 2017.
A Standard International representative said on Thursday that the building’s lease holder exercised its option to raise the rental price in 2019 and that the increase “made the hotel’s operation unsustainable”. She said the hotel tried to renegotiate.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused restrictions on travel and face-to-face events, the country’s hotel industry is experiencing the worst crisis in decades.
Standard’s lease is owned by Grupo Ferrado, a Spanish-based real estate investment company based in Newport Beach. Company representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Standard interiors were originally created by the set designer Shawn Hausman. The place had been a meeting place for celebrities like Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Jennifer Lopez, Rose McGowan and Gloria Estefan.