As an aviation geek, I’m delighted when I hear of new airline themed hotels opening. Here’s a cool new one, though the exact details make this a little less appealing than I was hoping.
Continue reading: Pan Am Hotel By Hilton Opening In Los Angeles: Cool, But At An Outlet Mall?!
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Sounds like a neat hotel, but who exactly is staying here? This is not a nice or desirable part of Los Angeles, and you're loco if you think it's 25 minutes from the Westside.
There's actually an existing Doubletree adjacent to the mall as well. I believe there are also some office buildings that are part of the complex, which may be where most of the clientele for the hotels come from. The development is basically a big outlet mall and office park adjacent to the highway. And while it's in LA County, it's not in LA proper and the traffic on the 5 where it is located can be horrendous, so not really a place to stay if someone wants to visit LA proper.
They have been trying to make "the Citadel" a destination since the 1990s. But, it's in a traffic choked area (right on the 5 freeway) that is surrounded by industrial buildings and not much to offer a tourist staying there. City of Commerce is not exactly convenient unless you live in communities nearby. Admittedly, I haven't been to the area in years, but it's about 25 minutes east of Downtown LA (which is limited in its offerings) and more like 45+ minutes from the Westside during normal traffic.
Outlet malls aren't necessarily trashy. You might be surprised at the income and net worth of people shopping at for example the Livermore outlets in the SF Bay Area. Sometimes they put my $6MM/year equity partner income to shame.
Okay but whyyy here? It’s 25 miles away from LAX (so could easily be over 1hr away with bad traffic) TWA kinda makes sense since it’s nearby an actual airport but this just seems totally random.
It's a wonderful idea, but physically misplaced. Who would stay in such a hotel? Mostly travel and/or avgeeks - preferably with an above average income. Is an outlet mall where you'll attract these customers? No, such customers can be found in the bigger tourist areas around maybe Burbank/Glendale (not Hollywood, which is a dump), in the westside or near the airport where aviation buffs ofen drop by.
In this regard, the TWA hotel had the right idea, though executed horribly.
I can understand the strategy. Shop till you drop and literally drop on your bed - right next door...
It’s a bit of an odd location for this type of themed hotel, but I don’t think the location is *quite* as terrible for non-tourists as some others. It is easily accessible from downtown via city streets, if you want to avoid I-5. With downtown LA still not exactly being the most desirable place to stay, I could see some appeal if you needed to attend meetings there or something. Then again, most people attending meetings aren’t hunting for a themed experience. The Citadel Outlets are nice as far as outlets go, at least, but there must be dozens of hotels around LAX or even in the Anaheim area that could be converted to this and serve the purpose better.
People that are puzzled by this location really don't understand that specific part of LA. A. It's off the 5 in the center of the metro area so gets a ton of car traffic and...B. That outlet is by the San Gabriel Valley it gets a *ton* of Chinese tourists. Would it be perhaps better by LAX? Sure. But there is a market there, with money, esp given the Chinese tourists
The renderings look like they just slapped the “Pan Am” logo all over the place, on an otherwise trendy-but-nonspecific generic hotel design concept. What exactly is supposed to be “aviation themed” or relate to Pan Am beyond the logo? The brown and orange colors?
Am I the only one who thinks this hotel doesn't belong to Hilton.
It's would be a disgrace if the hotel isn't part of IHG.
Before it was Citadel outlets, it was a tire factory with nice perimeter walls. It would have been a shame to raze it so the citadel was a good idea. The original walls still exist and stores are within the original walls.
But a hilton as a destination to go shopping from Beverly hills when Rodeo drive is in the neighborhood and other shopping malls in west LA as well?
The vision is clouded.
Innovators innovate. Good luck to this business keeping some of the greatness of what was Pan Am alive. After all its not as if the hotel is shacking up guests in Pan Am branded boxcars in Northeast going head to head with TWA or anything.
Anyone know what’s going on with the real Pan Am building in MIA and the new PS lounge there?
Old Navy, Gap, Guess... I looked at the directory and well, other than a Tumi store, not much pairs well with an aviation themed hotel. Odd choice.
Very familiar with The Citadel. It is a spot where you are guaranteed to be in a traffic jam while passing between LA and destinations south. So I've stared at the looming towers of the outlet malls many, many times while passing by at 1-5 mph. Aside from the walled in outlet malls and generic dining establishments, there is literally nothing outside of those walls you would want to see for miles... and it's sure to take you hours to cover those miles. So bizarre.
They really should do PanAm-themed Intercontinental/IHG hotels rather than this random Hilton Tapestry Collection property, since after all, Intercontinental was founded by PanAm "to export 1960s American glamour to the world" and to house Americans flying on PanAm's then-exotic routes around the world.
Apparently the Citadel gets a chunk of international shoppers who come in via LAX (Asian tourists?). it's the only outlet center within an hour or more of LAX.
They're mentioning amenities that make traveling with oversized luggage more appealing, which would be people hoarding purchases to bring back abroad.
So maybe the PanAm theme fits that bill but wouldn't think they get *that* much overnight stay traffic with that profile.
Was hoping there would be some version of the Pan Am Experience for dining, even if it' sonly for monthly or weekly special events.
LA already had that, although they’re in the process of moving to a new location:
Airline hotels….yet another gimmick. Why would anyone want to stay there…..just kitsch decor for fantasy “aviation enthusiasts”. Why eat at the TWA hotel? Might as well eat a bad overpriced meal at any airport.
PanAm looks like only branding. While the service and the hotel experience at TWA is less than desired the fact that it is in the old terminal with a bar in the old plane parked outside is cool and they have a lot of things from that era.
"25 minutes from Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Orange County"
My hoof. Maybe during COVID when we had zero traffic. Otherwise budget an hour, at least.
Already a "Double Tree" on site ... there is a former IHG .5 miles away a former Crown Plaza now Commerce Casino Hotel
The mall was an attemp to redevelope a former tire factory facade whose assyrian theme rivaled Hollywood's great theaters so honoring the greatest name in ancient aviation makes a tiny bit of sense
Notorious traffic however makes one hope the rumored metro stop by end of decade happens
Excellent point, especially since Hilton back then paired up with twa's Ambassador Club, I seem to recall
Should have been done at LAX. No aviation connection with an outlet mall. Its a big fail before it opens.