Coral Sands Motel

[Milo Farnsworth]

Is the Coral Sands Motel on Western in Hollywood still a gay venue? I haven't been in years and was curious. Might be a fun place to stay in L.A. when on a $hopping $pree.

[coriolis888]

 

Is the Coral Sands Motel on Western in Hollywood still a gay venue? I haven't been in years and was curious. Might be a fun place to stay in L.A. when on a $hopping $pree.

 

 

 

Megamansion developer overhauling Hollywood hotel

 

The Coral Sands Motel used to be a gay cruising spot

 

By Bianca Barragan May 14, 2019, 3:46pm PDT

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The Coral Sands Motel. Jenna Chandler

A motel on Western Avenue that was once a popular gay cruising spot is now slated for what could be a very high-end renovation.

City records show that the Coral Sands Motel just north of Hollywood Boulevard on Western Avenue sold in December for $16.5 million. The buyer is an LLC connected to Dean McKillen, the Irish real estate investor who developed the Bel Air spec mansion that Beyonce and Jay-Z paid $88 million for in 2017.

McKillen, the son of billionaire real estate mogul Paddy McKille, also built a home in the Bird Streets that Calvin Klein purchased in 2015 for $25 million.

Rooms at the Coral Sands Motel start at about $100 a night, but the hotel’s booking website shows no availability after today.

In March, permits were filed with the city to renovate the two-story, 60-room hotel. (The permits are pending.) Changes detailed in the permit application seem standard—new electrical, new fixtures and furniture, and adding a deck to the building’s Western Avenue-facing facade, which sits just north of Ralph's shopping center. But considering McKillen’s high-end past projects this makeover could prove to be quite lavish.

GayPages.com describes the Coral Sands as a “gay-friendly spot [that] prides itself on privacy.” The motel’s status as a pickup spot appears to have faded, with at least one review on TripAdvisor lamenting that the location is “no longer suitable for cruising,” citing the presence of families and kids at the hotel and in its whirlpool, as well as the disappearance of porn from the TV lineup.

Edited September 11, 2020 by coriolis888

[jeezifonly]

Hollywood as a neighborhood has changed indeed. It was always meant to tease your appetites for the inappropriate in order to separate you from your money. It’s just that now, it does it in broad daylight and with Apple Pay.

[rvwnsd]

Hollywood as a neighborhood has changed indeed. It was always meant to tease your appetites for the inappropriate in order to separate you from your money. It’s just that now, it does it in broad daylight and with Apple Pay.

One of the funniest and most clever things I've heard in a decade.

[rvwnsd]

Apparently, the renovation is near completion and it will open soon as "Cara." According to the description on Trip Advisor:

 

Opening September 16, 2020. Resting below the foothills of Griffith Park, Cara is a hidden oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Cara not only surrounds you in luxury and style, it centrally places you to enjoy all that Los Angeles has to offer. Cara’s stucco exterior belies the beautiful serene experience awaiting you on the inside. Step through our doors, and a tranquil sense of texture awakens the imagination. The courtyard and patios invite you to linger, creating the perfect environment for your days adventure. The Cara rooms, elegant and discreet, evoke the spirit of Southern California where the days are warm, sunny and breezy. Restful areas, private balconies, textured furnishings thoughtfully designed to offer all the comforts one needs. Relax and let your stay take you to a place beyond the ordinary.

 

All that for a mere $309/night.

[Milo Farnsworth]

Thanks for the update

[Luv2play]

Thanks for the update

I responded to your other post in the Deli section. Fond memories when the motel as sleezy as get out in 1980 when I stayed there for a week. As a Canadian I remember a British Columbia woman, who was a beautiful girl, was murdered in LA about the time I was there. Real Hollywood “noir”. I seem to remember her name was Dorothy Chandler but may be mistaken.

[Luv2play]

Just checked. Her name was Dorothy Stratten, and she had been a Playboy Playmate. She was murdered in August 1980, The week I was there. I had a good alibi btw. Dorothy Chandler, I see, was quite at the opposite end of the Hollywood social scene.

[+ db66]

Just checked. Her name was Dorothy Stratten, and she had been a Playboy Playmate. She was murdered in August 1980, The week I was there. I had a good alibi btw. Dorothy Chandler, I see, was quite at the opposite end of the Hollywood social scene.

 

There was a movie that chronicled Dorothy Stratten’s story - called Star 80. That was her personalized license plate. Her ex killed her. I think Mariel Hemingway played the role of DS.

[+ azdr0710]

Apparently, the renovation is near completion and it will open soon as "Cara." According to the description on Trip Advisor:

 

Opening September 16, 2020. Resting below the foothills of Griffith Park, Cara is a hidden oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Cara not only surrounds you in luxury and style, it centrally places you to enjoy all that Los Angeles has to offer. Cara’s stucco exterior belies the beautiful serene experience awaiting you on the inside. Step through our doors, and a tranquil sense of texture awakens the imagination. The courtyard and patios invite you to linger, creating the perfect environment for your days adventure. The Cara rooms, elegant and discreet, evoke the spirit of Southern California where the days are warm, sunny and breezy. Restful areas, private balconies, textured furnishings thoughtfully designed to offer all the comforts one needs. Relax and let your stay take you to a place beyond the ordinary.

 

All that for a mere $309/night.

 

yay!....they spelled 'discreet' correctly!.......

 

their website: https://www.carahotel.com/

[Luv2play]

I wouldn’t recognize the place except for the address. Have they upgraded the neighbours as well. The place looked like skid row in. 1980.

[+ Yellowrod]

A friend lived in an apartment right around the corner from this place about 5 years ago, and there were still addicts shooting up on the corner of Russell and Western. Car windows were often smashed on the street. Definitely wasn't the neighborhood you would want to stay at a boutique hotel in -- hopefully that has changed recently.

[Guest]

If you'd like a hotel in western Hollywood, I can recommend the hotels which are just north of Hollywood Blvd. on Highland Avenue (at Franklin Ave). I've stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and Hilton Garden Inn, which are next door to each other, and I think there's also a Best Western Plus. The parking situation is a bit easier in the HGI. I used them during my house-hunting. I just made an offer on a house today!

[Luv2play]

When you fly into LAX at night you realize just how vast Los Angeles is by the carpet of lights that seems to stretch endlessly. Once on the ground and in a car (rented) a tourist quickly realizes that LA is made up of many diverse neighbourhoods. To many foreigners, Hollywood is synonymous with Los Angeles. But of course, it is only one neighbourhood amongst many. I haven’t been back to LA for too long but when I used to visit years ago, Hollywood was largely tacky, at least towards the east. West Hollywood (Weho) was more middle class, with lots of small scale apartments. It’s where Marilyn Monroe lived before she bought her house on Helena Dr, in Brentwood, where she died. Weho is the gay village of LA. Of course gays live everywhere in the greater area of LA. But the concentration seems most evident in Weho. How is the market for real estate in LA these days (Unicorn).

[jeezifonly]

LA real estate is spendy.

Not everywhere -

Just in the neighborhoods that have paved roads, sewers, water and power.

[Guest]

... How is the market for real estate in LA these days (Unicorn).

 

I just put an offer for a nice house in the Hollywood Hills with a pool and canyon views...

[Luv2play]

... How is the market for real estate in LA these days (Unicorn).

 

I just put an offer for a nice house in the Hollywood Hills with a pool and canyon views...

Lovely. Years ago a friend of mine had a house in Laurel Canyon. About half way up or so. Like being in the country almost.

[+ Pensant]

If you'd like a hotel in western Hollywood, I can recommend the hotels which are just north of Hollywood Blvd. on Highland Avenue (at Franklin Ave). I've stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and Hilton Garden Inn, which are next door to each other, and I think there's also a Best Western Plus. The parking situation is a bit easier in the HGI. I used them during my house-hunting. I just made an offer on a house today!

I used to meet providers for overnights at the Best Western when I lived in OC. Great access to the 101, polite staff and spotless rooms.

[TwoBridges]

The Coral Sands was a cruisy motel where at one time men in their rooms would wait with the door open out onto the walkway, hoping for action. Unfortunately this degree of bathhouse titillation was essentially over by the time I first visited, which was probably early 1990s. By that time the neighboring properties had been built up into highrise apartment buildings that towered over the two-story motel, so there were repeated warnings not to do anything outdoors, apparently because it would annoy the neighbors. It still attracted gay men, but it was essentially no fun at all.

[Luv2play]

The Coral Sands was a cruisy motel where at one time men in their rooms would wait with the door open out onto the walkway, hoping for action. Unfortunately this degree of bathhouse titillation was essentially over by the time I first visited, which was probably early 1990s. By that time the neighboring properties had been built up into highrise apartment buildings that towered over the two-story motel, so there were repeated warnings not to do anything outdoors, apparently because it would annoy the neighbors. It still attracted gay men, but it was essentially no fun at all.

Thanks for your story and perspective. I was a guest in 1980 so during the halcyon days so to speak of the Coral Sands experience, which was as you described it at that earlier period. It was a similar experience later at Parliament House in Orlando, into the 2000’s. Don.t know how things have fared there in the last 15 or so years since I was there.

[+ PapaTony]

A friend lived in an apartment right around the corner from this place about 5 years ago, and there were still addicts shooting up on the corner of Russell and Western. Car windows were often smashed on the street. Definitely wasn't the neighborhood you would want to stay at a boutique hotel in -- hopefully that has changed recently.

It hasn’t.