Precious few lodgings outside LA’s mainstream centers garner much notice – especially if they are brand new with no big corporate name – but this 38-room boutique accommodation in LA has basked in the limelight since day one, earning raves for bringing a perfect blend of sand-n-surf sensibility, maritime chic, and all-around cool to the coastal community’s increasingly hip center. The Zinc lounge is such a local hotspot the hotel often opens the rooftop Skydeck with its views of Catalina to handle the overflow. The body-contouring Tempur-Pedic beds and pillows thrill some and throw some, but other abundant pleasures of the Shade hotel include Cyclone fireplaces, Sanijet spa tubs for two, and guests are aglow over the modifiable multicolored mood lighting that could only be called ‘chromatherapy.’