Lightstone continues to lead with F&B – now in LA

LOS ANGELES -- New York City-based developer Lightstone certainly believes in the power of F&B. It couldn’t be more in evidence than at the727-bedroom Moxy Downtown Los Angeles & AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles. Opening on April 12, the co-branded, 37-story property has 12 dining and entertainment venues, as well as 13,000 square feet of meeting and events space.

Lightstone, developer of six Moxy hotels in New York City and South Miami Beach, brings its 380-room Moxy Hotel/347-room AC Hotel to Los Angeles at a lower price point but with the experiential pieces, including the centerpiece Level 8, Houston Hospitality’s 30,000-square-foot, multi-dimensional dining, drinking, and entertainment concept opening later this spring.

The two hotels will share Level 8, the brainchild of hospitality veterans Mark and Jonnie Houston, known for their immersive restaurants and bars across Los Angeles. It will comprise eight distinct dining, drinking and entertainment venues filling the property’s eighth floor and with its own dedicated entrance.

Anticipation is a very powerful emotion: People are passionate about encountering something they’ve never seen, tasted, or experienced before. It’s the same urge that sent Alice down the rabbit hole.

Mitchell Hochberg

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“What we’ve learned in our 20-plus years of opening restaurants and bars around LA is that people want more than just dinner or drinks out. They want to discover something new and come away with a sense that they’ve done something memorable, something different,” said Mark and Jonnie Houston. “Our trademark is a trifecta of a unique concept, a great cocktail program, and terrific entertainment, and Level 8 is all about creating opportunities for that kind of immersive discovery. The experience of each space is multifaceted and has a performative quality to it.”

To round out the F&B offerings, at the Moxy, Bar Moxy, the lobby bar and all-day café, guests can grab a coffee and snacks by day and hand-crafted cocktails by night. Just off the lobby bar, and with its own entrance, Bluestone Lane Coffee Shop is designed to fuel co-working sessions with all-day Aussie-inspired coffee, brekkie sandwiches, and more.

On AC Hotel’s 34th-floor, the AC Bar & Lounge serves breakfast, dinner, or drinks with a view. The menu offers Mediterranean small plates alongside artisanal cocktails, including signature gin and tonics. Banquettes and a fireside library provide a space to grab a drink. The space is also home to AC Hotels’ signature European-inspired buffet breakfast as well as a bright red Berker slicer for jamón ibérico, a nod to the brand’s Spanish heritage.

AC Hotel’s outdoor La Lo La Rooftop on the 34th floor offers Spanish-style tapas with contemporary and a selection of specialty cocktails, all complemented by lush plantings and views that stretch to the Hollywood Hills.

“For today’s traveler, memorable hospitality means great design combined with the ability to choose from an abundance of experiences,” said Lightstone President Mitchell Hochberg. “By integrating the two hotels, plus Level 8, into a single building, we’re creating a myriad of experiences never before offered in Los Angeles — and keeping it all affordable. It’s a multilayered, endlessly fascinating destination for both locals and visitors.”

Hochberg concluded, “Anticipation is a very powerful emotion: People are passionate about encountering something they’ve never seen, tasted, or experienced before. It’s the same urge that sent Alice down the rabbit hole. Together, Moxy and AC Hotels Downtown LA and Level 8 promise a multitude of new discoveries.”

Lightstone, founded by David Lichtenstein, is one of the most diversified privately held real estate companies in the United States, active in 26 states across the country, developing, managing, and investing in all sectors of the real estate market, including residential, hospitality, commercial, and retail. With 182 existing properties, Lightstone’s over $7.5 billion portfolio currently includes more than 25,000 residential units and 4,400 hotel keys. Lightstone’s development portfolio includes over $3.5 billion currently under development in the residential and hospitality sectors spread across New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami.