Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Proper Hotels
Proper Hotels hotels
Kelly Wearstler's layered interiors give local chefs a richly textured setting for their tables.
Proper makes intimate American hotels around Kelly Wearstler’s richly detailed interiors and close partnerships with local chefs. Based in Santa Monica, the collection often finds its character in historic buildings, with wellness and Ayurvedic influences adding another layer to the stay.
5 Proper Hotels hotels in 1 country on the Luxury Hotels Atlas, each placed on the six LHA Tiers.
- Part of The Kor Group
- On the atlas: 5 Core Luxury
History
Brad Korzen’s earlier boutique-hotel work led to Proper and a continuing creative partnership with Kelly Wearstler. Their hotels bring historical buildings into conversation with bold textiles, color, and local art. The collection gives that approach different architectural settings, from older Los Angeles landmarks to a contemporary Austin tower.
Timeline
- 1996 — Brad Korzen hires a then-unknown Kelly Wearstler to design the Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills, marking the beginning of their creative and later personal partnership.
- 1999 — Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills reopens after a Wearstler-led redesign; the property's playful mid-century modernism draws national attention and launches Wearstler's career in hospitality design.
- 2001 — Korzen and Wearstler collaborate on the Viceroy Palm Springs, widely regarded as one of Wearstler's early defining projects.
- 2002 — Viceroy Hotel Group, founded by Korzen, opens Viceroy Santa Monica, cementing the pair's reputation for boutique lifestyle-luxury.
- 2012 — Korzen departs Viceroy Hotel Group.
- 2014 — Proper Hospitality is co-founded by Brad Korzen, Brian De Lowe, and Alex Samek, headquartered in Santa Monica; the firm retakes control of the two Avalon Hotels (Beverly Hills and Palm Springs) from Viceroy.
- 2015 — Proper Hospitality publicly launches the Avalon Hotels brand as a distinct sub-brand within the portfolio; Wearstler is announced as creative lead for the upcoming Proper Hotels brand.
- 2017 — San Francisco Proper Hotel opens in August, the brand's debut, set in a historic flatiron building at 7th and Market (architect: Hornberger + Worstell); the hotel joins Design Hotels™ as SF's sole member and is featured on the Condé Nast Traveler Hot List.
- 2019 — Santa Monica Proper Hotel opens in July, fusing a circa-1928 Arthur E. Harvey–designed Spanish Colonial Revival landmark with a new tower on Wilshire Boulevard; first luxury lifestyle hotel in Santa Monica in nearly 20 years.
- 2019–2020 — Austin Proper Hotel & Residences opens, a 32-story new-build at 600 W 2nd Street in downtown Austin, the brand's first Texas property and first location outside California; F&B by McGuire Moorman Lambert Hospitality.
- 2021 — Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel opens in July, completing a meticulous restoration of the 1926 Curlett & Beelman–designed Commercial Club of Southern California building at 1100 S. Broadway, a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.
- 2022 — Downtown L.A. Proper wins Condé Nast Traveler Hot List, Travel + Leisure It List, and Architectural Digest Great Design Awards; Austin Proper earns the Travel + Leisure World's Best #1 Hotel in Austin title.
- 2023 — Every Proper Hotel, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Downtown L.A., Austin, simultaneously named in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards; San Francisco Proper takes the #1 Hotel in San Francisco ranking.
- 2024 — Proper Hotels earn inaugural MICHELIN Keys: Santa Monica Proper and Downtown L.A. Proper receive One Key; Austin Proper receives One Key in the Texas inaugural selection; Downtown L.A. Proper named in Travel + Leisure Top 500 Hotels in the World.
- 2023 — Proper Hospitality acquires The Shelborne in Miami Beach and commissions a $100 million transformation; ADC & Tuneu (Barcelona) brought in as designers, introducing the "By Proper" sub-brand.
- 2025 — The Shelborne by Proper opens in May 2025, Proper's first Florida property and the debut of the "By Proper" brand extension; Austin Proper named #2 Hotel in Austin in T+L's 2025 World's Best Awards.
- 2025 — Dallas Proper Hotel & Residences announced in October, a 34-story tower in Uptown Dallas, developed with Lincoln Property Company, with architecture by SOM and interiors by Kelly Wearstler.
- 2026 — Realberry and Proper Hospitality close $298 million financing for Lake Tahoe Proper Resort & Casino (former Cal Neva), slated to open 2027.
The houses to know
- Austin Proper Hotel, Austin, United States — Kelly Wearstler’s interiors bring Proper’s personal design language to Austin’s Second Street district.
- Santa Monica Proper Hotel, Santa Monica, United States — The brand's visual and commercial centrepiece, the first luxury lifestyle hotel in Santa Monica in two decades, and the property that introduced Proper to the world.
- Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel, Los Angeles, United States — The restored hotel occupies a 1926 Renaissance Revival landmark in Los Angeles.
- The Shelborne by Proper, Miami Beach, United States — Proper's boldest move yet, a $100 million reinvention of one of Miami Beach's oldest oceanfront hotels, and the debut of the "By Proper" sub-brand.
- San Francisco Proper Hotel, San Francisco, United States — The brand’s debut occupies a Flatiron building in San Francisco’s Mid-Market district.
Newest openings
- The Shelborne by Proper — Miami Beach, United States — opened May 2025 — Proper's first Florida property and the debut of the "By Proper" sub-brand; a $100 million gut renovation of the 1941 Igor Polevitzky–designed Art Deco/Miami Modern landmark at 1801 Collins Avenue, 251 rooms, redesigned by Barcelona-based studio ADC & Tuneu; partnered with Michelin-starred chef Abram Bissell for F&B; features a restored 1950s diving-board pool deck, a 4,000-sq-ft lobby bar, and 30,000 sq ft of indoor-outdoor event space.
Opening next
- Lake Tahoe Proper Resort & Casino — Crystal Bay, Nevada (North Lake Tahoe) — expected 2027 — financing confirmed April 2026; $298 million redevelopment of the historic Cal Neva Hotel (built 1926; a famed haunt of Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and JFK, straddling the California–Nevada state line); 198 rooms, suites, and private villas; 50,000 sq ft wellness center; casino with the restored Frank Sinatra Theater; two lakefront pools; members-only Proper Club; developed in partnership with Realberry; under active construction.
- Dallas Proper Hotel & Residences — Uptown Dallas, Texas — expected 2029 — announced October 2025; developed with Lincoln Property Company; a 34-story tower on a four-acre site at 2500 Cedar Springs Road near Klyde Warren Park; architecture by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); interiors by Kelly Wearstler; approximately 200 hotel guestrooms and suites plus approximately 80 branded residences; three restaurants, five bar and lounge concepts, rooftop pool deck, 22,000 sq ft event space, 15,000 sq ft wellness center, 6,000 sq ft Proper Club; priority residences interest list opening early 2026, confirmed/pre-development.
Every Proper Hotels hotel on the atlas
United States
- Austin Proper Hotel — Austin · Core Luxury
- Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel — Los Angeles · Core Luxury
- San Francisco Proper Hotel — San Francisco · Core Luxury
- Santa Monica Proper Hotel — Santa Monica · Core Luxury
- The Shelborne by Proper — Miami Beach · Core Luxury
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