Discover the star-studded history of The Biltmore Los Angeles, which witnessed the founding of the Oscars during a meeting of the minds attended by some of the who’s-who of Hollywood. The hotel went on to host eight Academy Awards ceremonies throughout the Golden Age of Tinseltown, where icons like Bette Davis, Clarke Gable, Ginger Rogers, Jimmy Stewart, and Shirley Temple received their career-defining Oscar statues. However, The Biltmore Los Angeles not only helped shine a spotlight on film’s brightest stars. Since then, its gilded halls have even played a starring role in movies, television shows, and music videos, including Splash, Ghostbusters, The Bodyguard, Independence Day, Ocean’s Eleven, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, This Is Us, Taylor Swift’s “Delicate,” Britney Spears’ “Overprotected,” and many more.

Admire the resplendent design of The Biltmore Los Angeles. Towering over Pershing Square from its perch on Grand Avenue, the distinguished hotel glitters with opulent details, befitting its grand debut during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Ornate chandeliers glisten off brilliant bronze reliefs and elegant accents crafted out of 24-carat gold, while floral friezes evocative of those that graced the halls of ancient Pompeii bedeck the Galleria. Even more breathtaking are the Greco-Roman-like frescoes that soar over guests in several rooms of the hotel, each painted by Italian-born muralist John B. Smeraldi. Architecture enthusiasts will also note The Biltmore’s eye-catching fusion of Mediterranean Revival and Beaux-Arts styles, which nod to Los Angeles’s Hispanic roots and effortless sophistication.

Follow in the footsteps of nine former U.S. presidents. For a hotel known as the grand dame of downtown Los Angeles, it is no wonder that The Biltmore has welcomed its fair share of foreign dignitaries and political movers and shakers. In fact, along with Nelson Mandela, United States senators and secretaries, and one vice president, the hotel has opened its doors to U.S. commanders-in-chief ranging from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. In 1960, The Biltmore Los Angeles even hosted that year’s Democratic National Convention, which saw Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson face off over the coveted nomination from their respective campaign headquarters in the Music Room and Renaissance Room (now the Emerald Room). They eventually joined forces under a unity ticket, ultimately defeating the incumbent Republican Vice President Richard Nixon with only 0.2% of the popular vote. Following their election, the Kennedy Administration would become one of the most consequential in American history through the expansion of federal programs aimed at dismantling poverty.

Take a dip in the hotel’s star-dusted indoor pool, which made a splash when it debuted in 1926, just three years after the opening of The Biltmore Los Angeles. Still boasting its original blue-and-cream, hand-laid Italian tilework, statuesque columns, and distinctive brass railings, this stunner of a swimming pool is meant to evoke an elegant Turkish hammam or the storied city of Pompeii. The Roman-style saltwater pool is so atmospheric that it even took to the silver screen in films like Bugsy, Alias, The Fan, and Cruel Intentions. Soak up the scene and the pool’s glitzy Hollywood history from one of the handsome teakwood deck chairs, or sweat it out for a while in the wet steam room, hot tub, or dry sauna.