The Eden, known for many years as the Hotel Shangri-La, is a historic

boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small-capacity Hotel, hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban ar ...

located at 1301 Ocean Avenue in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. It is an example of

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

architecture and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

design.

History

The Shangri-La Apartment Hotel opened on May 1, 1940. Designed by William E. Foster, it was constructed by Tulsa-Santa Monica Corporation/F.A. Gillespie & Sons at a cost of $400,000. The building originally had nine double apartments and two bachelor apartments on each of the first five floors, five luxury apartments on the sixth floor, and two penthouses on the seventh floor. It was named for Shangri-La, the setting of the popular 1933 novel ''

Lost Horizon ''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by the English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by the director Frank Capra and a musical remake in 1973 by the producer Ross Hunter with music by Bu ...

'' and the 1937 film of the same name. During World War II, it was used by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a rehabilitation center. Business and real estate tycoon Ahmad Adaya purchased the hotel in 1983. His daughter, Pakistani-American businesswoman Tehmina Adaya, took over operation of the property in 2004. The hotel was renovated in 2008, at a cost of $30 million. It was ranked as having one of the top five rooftop bars in Los Angeles in 2013 by ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

''. The hotel was renamed The Beacon in February 2023, when Sonder Hospitality Group assumed management. The hotel closed in May 2025, and will reopen in June 2025 as The Eden.

Design

The hotel is an example of Streamline Moderne architecture. Despite its extensive renovation, the hotel’s interior design maintains the original design of the Art Deco time period. The hotel has 70 rooms and 30 suites with views of either downtown or the Pacific Ocean. In May 2009, the Shangri-La was listed by ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' along with five other hotels in their

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

Design 100. The hotel utilises many energy saving features, such as a solar powered pool, Natura Green toiletries, low-flow dual flush toilets and an on-site water filtration system.

Notable guests and events

The hotel has hosted many celebrities, including

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

and

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

. It has been a backdrop for the filming of many TV shows, music videos, movies, and other film productions, including: *

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

's ''

I Love LA "I Love L.A." is a song by the American singer Randy Newman. It was originally released on his 1983 album '' Trouble in Paradise''. The song is about Los Angeles, California, and its hook is its title, repeated, each time followed by an enthusia ...

'' music video (1984) * 90210 Episode with Tiffani Thiessen and Jason Priestley (1998) * ''

White Men Can't Jump ''White Men Can't Jump'' is a 1992 American Sports film, sports comedy film written and directed by Ron Shelton. It stars Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as streetball Hustling, hustlers. The film was released in the United States on March 27 ...

'' with

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. In a film career spanning more than thirty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, th ...

and

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...

(1992) * '' The Net'' with

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...

(1995) * The

rockumentary A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history One ...

DiG! ''Dig!'' is a 2004 American documentary film by Ondi Timoner. Summary The film explores the collision of art and commerce through the eyes of psychedelic rock groups The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, focusing on the developin ...

'' (2004) * One Girl's Confession (1953) Most recently, ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime-time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex in West Hollywood, ...

'' and reality TV show '' The Bachelor'' have featured Hotel Shangri-La.

References

External links

The Eden official website
{{Santa Monica, California Buildings and structures in Santa Monica, California Streamline Moderne architecture in California Art Deco hotels Hotels in Los Angeles County, California Companies based in Santa Monica, California Hotel buildings completed in 1940 Hotels established in 1940