Important: Read past first graph.
I’m struggling with my review of C’s 1920s sprawling estate, hidden at the top of Los Feliz switchbacks. Part of me wants to tell you it’s terrible; filled with dust, bugs, wild coyotes and no hot water to boot. Plus, you’re sharing the room with up to five poltergeists, depending on seasonal availability.
I want to leave that review, because then maybe you would read it and decide to go somewhere else. And selfishly, I would like that very, very much. Because staying at C’s —castle? Palace? Mansion? Estate?— is like walking through a movie screen and coming out the opposite side. The rooms I stayed in had its original molding and retained what may have been an actual alfresco painted onto the wall. (Possibly two!)
Hey guys, how many mattresses do you think it would take for you to feel like you’re literally living like royals? I had never thought about that question before, but now I know: 3. It takes three mattresses.
The bathroom was out of this world. Have you ever, as an adult, found a bathtub so big that you could lie down in it and not have to bend or bump into anything? Not to mention the giant oval port window that allows the owls nearby to provide the score for your 5 hour soak.
You hear me. FIVE HOURS. In that bathtub. Every night. To date, its the only effective treatment I’ve had with a host of back and muscle issues after a car crash earlier this year. I would live in that bathtub, but let’s move on. We’ve barely scratched the surface.
... My friends, there is a g*d*mn BIDET in that bathroom, which, considering the house was built in the 1920, would have plumbing and hot water issues. But it doesn’t, because this place got some magic energy.
When you first walk up to C’s place, PLEASE try to make it in time for sunset. Standing at the top of Hollywood, you can sweep your eyes across the city until you hit the titular city sign itself. now: turn around and look at the place you’ll be staying. Notice how it’s actually impossible to view the entire house, no matter how far back you stand? That’s because this is some straight up Maya Deren sorcery at work here.
(Also, if you’re coming at night, bust out that flashlight function on your phone, because there are stairs embedded into the worn pathway, and you’ll stumble if you’re not paying attention.)
There is an outdoor patio canopied by a nearby tree’s gnarled, arching branches. Depending on the hospitality of your neighbors, you’d be well to check out the room next door to your master suite, because that’s definitely where Zelda and F. Scott used to drink themselves into legends.
I will definitely be returning, as I have still so many questions about this home. Whose personal Xanadu did this originally belong to? Is it maybe (probably) haunted? How did someone manage to incorporate David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick into an aesthetic version of my personal heaven? Am I the ghost haunting thi bohemian paradise, hidden in the hills yet somehow in walking distance of Intelligentsia cafe?
I kept waiting for the "catch" at staying somewhere so baroque for less money than it would cost to do anything other than spend the night in a hostel.
Whatever trip c.'s on, it's clear they enjoy spreading the love in exploring such a unique gem. Take a look at their other listings...theyre next on my bucket list.