LOS ANGELES — Hotels with indoor pools have been around for decades. But at the plush new Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel, there's a 2,777-square-foot suite with its own indoor swimming pool, and it's much bigger than the one on the roof shared by all guests.
Another suite has a enough room and height to play basketball — because it used to be a basketball court, back when the Renaissance Revival-style tower on Broadway was a private club for the city's business elite that included athletic facilities, fine dining and rooms for overnight stays.
The building, completed in 1926 as the Commercial Club, has regained those elements after changing a lot over the years, usually not for the better. Now it's owned by a Santa Monica company that specializes in large-scale makeovers of historic properties to create uncommon inns for travelers weary or wary of upmarket chain hotels.
