There’s very little aesthetically that seems to connect The Line in Los Angeles with The Line in DC. (Dad joke: It’s difficult to draw A LINE between the two.) The Line in Los Angeles - in the city’s Koreatown neighborhood - is a former Hyatt, built in the 1960s, while its DC sibling makes its home in a former church in Adams Morgan.

The guests in LA range from lower rent hipsters to Asian tourists while those in DC range from higher rent hipsters to very confused men in khakis who couldn’t get a room at the Marriott over in Woodley Park. Both seem to attract local residents to their bars and brunches, although it’s clear that the DC location has made a bigger impression on the city’s dwellers and has become a destination for those seeking breakfast, a cocktail, wi-fi, or an Instagram selfie.

(Both DC and LA are cities of incredibly stark economic contrasts; DC’s relatively small size make spots that cater to those on the wealthier end of the spectrum more glaring. A friend and DC native says The Line DC makes him sad. My first arrival at the hotel involved pulling up in front in a cab, the grand entrance stairs strewn with the young and beautiful as if they had been waiting all their lives for this pedestal to appear.)

The decor in LA — big windows, exposed concrete, mid-century sculptures, pop art, and Mexican serape fabric — looks nothing like DC, which is more estate sale chic. (The hallways in DC pay homage to the building’s previous life with pews and hymnal boards by the elevators.) In LA — for both of my stays — I have requested an Observatory Hollywood Hills View King, which offer a spectacular panorama of the cityscape and mountains. (Seriously, it’s impressive.) In DC, I have stayed in the Landmark King, where the view is less grand, but the bed is notably cozy.

The “guest experience” team in LA (Ariel, Alexa, Roxanne, Nick) is excellent. I’ve become one of those people who responds to the auto-generated emails from hotels confirming my stay with special requests (usually something along the lines of “I really want a quiet room”) and these folks are unfailing in their acknowledgement and charm. In addition to being on top of their inbox, they’ve left notes (and chocolate and wine) in my rooms and went well beyond the call of duty in helping to get me a good rate when I told them I would be booking a stay in DC, where Imani from that hotel’s guest experience team took over.

Things were a little less buttoned up with The Line LA’s dining and drink options when I was there, which seems to be due to the fact that celebrity chef Roy Choi was ending his relationship with the Sydell Group (which owns The Line as well as the NoMad and the Freehand — both of which I have booked in multiple cities — among other properties). It wasn’t just that it was unclear when or if the coffee shop or bar in the lobby were open; the team at the poolside restaurant upstairs were painfully off their game in regard to service. Lots of people standing behind the bar not providing service and seeming, literally, unclear about what to do with themselves. DC — which had also only recently opened when I stayed there — had some issues with its service in the lobby restaurants and bars, but it felt like the awkwardness of still being in the stage of figuring out the details. I presume they’ve ironed out some of those wrinkles by now.

If you stay at The Line in LA, check out DGM (10 minute walk), where you will ideally have someone who knows more about Korean food and can do a better job of ordering than we did, and HMS Bounty (5 minute walk), one of those old school bars that make you feel like you’ve discovered a secret even though you’re the zillionth person to feel this way. Before leaving the District, I lived close to The Line in DC and so I could list 100 places to check out, but what’s notable about the hotel is that you don’t need to leave if you don’t feel like it which, on a hot sweaty night in July is a good thing.

There is a third Line hotel, this one in Austin. I expect it will be nothing like either LA or DC — and I looking forward to discovering why.

Update: There is a Line hotel in San Francisco now as well. The rooms feel pretty basic, like a gussied up Marriott. I was underwhelmed by the hotel and the service.

My stays: June 6-8, 2018 (LA); June 23-26, 2018 (DC); June 27-July 1, 2018 (DC); July 27-August 2, 2018 (LA); March 6-7, 2019 (LA); July 11-17, 2019 (LA); October 3-5, 2019 (DC); July 28-August 6, 2022 (LA); November 4-7, 2022 (LA); December 8-10, 2022 (SF)