InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown — Spire 73, the Highest Open-Air Bar in the Western Hemisphere

There are plenty of tall hotels in American cities that promise a view and deliver a window overlooking a parking structure. The InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is not that. The building — Wilshire Grand Tower at 335 metres — is the tallest in the city, and the hotel occupies the upper floors. Spire 73 on the 73rd floor is genuinely exposed to open air on all sides, not a glassed-in lounge with a sky view. The result is a wind, a sense of space, and a panorama that guests across 1,200 Booking.com reviews single out as the defining reason they stayed here rather than anywhere else. That review count is the largest in the article — a meaningful signal about real guest volume.

Room choices here are tiered clearly by altitude and view. A Classic Room runs $300–500 per night — honest value for a five-star DTLA address, but on lower floors the views are limited. The step worth taking is a City View Room at $400–650, on high floors facing west and north, where you get Pacific Ocean and Hollywood Hills simultaneously. Wilshire Suites start at $1,200 and go to $3,000 and above. The room interiors follow a modern palette — dark metals, marble-effect surfaces, wide beds, and strong air-conditioning that matters when DTLA temperatures climb in summer. No report of significant maintenance issues appears in the recent review pool.

The building's signature is Spire 73. An open-air bar at 73 floors, with 360-degree views: Pacific Ocean to the west, Hollywood Hills and the Sign to the north, Catalina Island on clear days, city light from every direction after dark. The bar serves cocktails and food. If you are staying in the hotel, access is included — no $20–30 cover charge that applies to outside visitors. The busiest time is the sunset window around 6–8pm; arriving a little earlier secures the best position at the railing. Below that, the hotel has a pool, fitness centre, and several dining options across the building's lower levels — the scale of the property (889 rooms) means the amenity offer is comprehensive.

On location, the address is 900 Wilshire Blvd, Downtown Los Angeles. Crypto.com Arena (home of the Lakers and Kings) is about a 10-12 minute walk. LA Live and the Grammy Museum are 10 minutes on foot. The LA Convention Center is 5-8 minutes away. Metro Blue/A Line has a station at Pico within walking distance, which is useful on match days when Uber pricing surges. For World Cup 2026, SoFi Stadium is in Inglewood — roughly 30 minutes by Uber on a normal day. On match days, allow at least 90 minutes; the whole city moves. Beverly Hills and the Westside beaches (Santa Monica, Venice) are 30-45 minutes by car — this is not a walkable zone for those destinations.

Worth saying directly: the Classic Room on a lower floor is underwhelming relative to what the hotel promises. Guests who booked the entry-level rate and landed on floor 20 noted the view does not match the Spire 73 narrative. The upgrade to a high-floor City View Room is the hotel working as intended. The DTLA neighbourhood itself has limitations — it borders Skid Row, and several guests note they would not walk alone in certain directions after dark; the hotel block is itself fine, but situational awareness is needed. Neither issue is unique to this property — it applies across DTLA — but it is worth knowing before you arrive.

The clear case for staying here: InterContinental DTLA is the most accessible entry point into five-star Los Angeles, and Spire 73 is a genuine experience that no other hotel in the city can match. Guests spending a night in LA who want one extraordinary moment to anchor the trip — whether for the World Cup, a celebration, or simply the city itself — will find it on that 73rd-floor terrace. The review count of 1,200 is the highest in this article and gives the score of 8.2 meaningful weight. For guests who need to be close to Beverly Hills or the beach without a car, or who want to avoid a long Uber to SoFi Stadium, other hotels in our Los Angeles list will serve better.