Hilton Checkers Hotel from “The West Wing”

One of the best parts about finally watching The West Wing for the first time is all of the L.A. locales I’ve been able to identify and stalk (you can read about a few of them here, here, and here).  One spot that I recognized on sight was Hilton Checkers Los Angeles, which masked as a supposed Washington D.C.-area hotel in the Season 1 episode titled “Take This Sabbath Day.”  I’ve had the pleasure of staying at Checkers several times over the years (even once in the penthouse!), so it was not hard to ID it when it appeared onscreen.  Though I blogged about the lodging back in 2009, I figured it was worthy of a redo, so while staying at the Millennium Biltmore, which is across the street, back in December of last year, my mom and I headed over to Checkers for a cocktail and to do some stalking!  I was shocked when I walked in to discover that the place had been completely revamped and looked quite a bit different than it did during my last visit in late 2017.

Initially opened as the Mayflower Hotel in 1927, the property was designed by architect Charles Whittlesey.

Built on a lot measuring a scant 60 by 160 feet, the skinny lodging towers over the street below at 12 stories, which was the city’s height limit at the time.

The Mission Revival-style façade boasts amazingly intricate Spanish Moorish ornamentation with a nautical theme.  Sadly, the bas-relief sculptures of the Mayflower and the Santa Maria that once flanked the hotel’s front doors have since been removed.

The Los Angeles Conservancy describes the building’s original interior as “Pilgrim Revival.”  With restaurants named Mayflower Tavern and Ye Bull Pen Inn (you can check out what the latter looked like here), The Mayflower certainly had a different aesthetic than it does now.  At some point, Chart Room, another bar with a maritime slant, opened on the premises.  You can see the exterior of it here.  It’s quite a leap from the hotel’s current state!

The Mayflower shut its doors in 1985 at which point it was purchased by a group of developers who began a massive $49-million, 4-year renovation.  Two floors were added to the top of the structure to house the property’s mechanical appliances as well as a new gym and spa.  (You can see those two rather boxy floor additions in this side image of the hotel.)  The lobby area was also revamped to include a new bar, a new restaurant and a library lounge.  Rooms and suites were expanded considerably, bringing down the total units from 348 to 188.  The site re-opened as Checkers in December 1989.  The Hilton eventually took over the property in 2002 and it became known as Hilton Checkers.  The AAA Four Diamond lodging boasted a very upscale European interior, with ornate mirrors, plush seating and dark wood tables scattered throughout, as you can see in the pictures below, which were taken during a 2009 stay.

I loved the look of the place, but in 2019 management embarked upon yet another massive renovation.

Several lobby walls were removed in order to open up the bar (now named 1927 Bar+Kitchen) and library.  The bar circa 2009 is pictured below.

And there it is today.

Yes, the interior is sleeker, brighter and airier, but I think it has lost quite a bit of its charm.

Per aerial views and this image, the rooftop pool, one of my favorite aspects of the hotel, also appears to have been filled in (the photo below is from 2009).

Though the hot tub remains.

I still consider the place one of downtown L.A.’s top lodgings, despite the changes.  As my mom and I discovered, 1927 Bar+Kitchen serves up some fabulous fare and libations, the onsite Zagat-rated restaurant, Checkers Downtown, remains one of the area’s top eateries, and the hotel is within walking distance to pretty much every local attraction.

In the “Take this Sabbath Day” episode of The West Wing, which aired in 2000, Checkers masks as the D.C. hotel where Joey Lucas (Marlee Matlin) stays while in town.  It is in the lobby bar that Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) apologizes to Joey on behalf of the president.

The West Wing was not Checkers’ first rodeo.

The hotel served as the outside of San Francisco’s Bix restaurant in the 1992 thriller Final Analysis.

In the Season 1 episode of Shark titled “Fashion Police,” which aired in 2006, Sebastian Stark (James Woods) dines with the mayor in Checkers Downtown . . .

. . . and later crashes a party on the rooftop deck.

Checkers appears as the exterior of The Algonquin Hotel in the Season 7 episode of Mad Men titled “Field Trip,” which aired in 2014.

It pops up as the New Amsterdam Hotel, where Vikram Singh (Sunkrish Bala) hacks into the mainframe of the attorney general’s office, in the Season 8 episode of Castle titled “XX,” which aired in 2015.

Irvin Irving (Lance Reddick) and Jun Park (Linda Park) also dine on Checkers’ rooftop patio in the Season 3 episode of Bosch titled “Right Play,” which aired in 2017.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Hilton Checkers Los Angeles, from the “Take This Sabbath Day” episode of The West Wing, is located at 535 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles.  You can visit the hotel’s official website here.  Please be advised that the hotel is temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Check the website for any updates.

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