"We're not going to be open excessively late, we close at a responsible hour." Hotel Lucile's general manager, Anthony Gutierrez, said this to Time Out about a rooftop that most of Silver Lake can't visit yet. The hotel in the former Bethany Presbyterian Church, at Lucile Avenue and Griffith Park Boulevard, took its first overnight guests on September 14, 2026. Three weeks later, a neighbor who isn't checking in can use one part of the building.
That limit is deliberate. Casetta Hotels has set up neighbor access in stages, and a dinner reservation is the first way in. A second, membership-based way in is expected later this year. Once you know the order, the building makes more sense.
The chapel is open first
Sous Sous opened the same Monday as the hotel. It sits in the refurbished church chapel, and its bar is built to look like an organ. Casetta brought in the De La Nonna team to run it. Chef Patrick Costa runs the kitchen and Lee Zaremba directs operations and the bar. Eater describes the food as French cooking with Southern hospitality, made with California produce.
The menu points both ways. Oysters come with an Espelette-seasoned rim and a seasonal mignonette, a nod to the French Basque country. Hush puppies come with honey butter and serrano chile. There is a bouillabaisse for two, and an eight-ounce burger called Le Burg with caramelized onions, cheddar and Dijonnaise. The cocktail Eater singled out is a Sazerac made with coconut. Some herbs come from the hotel's rooftop garden. Costa told Eater the menu will mostly stay the same through the year, with small seasonal changes.
Eater lists dinner hours as 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. You book on Resy, which says a few seats are kept for walk-ins. For anyone who lives within walking distance of Sunset Junction, a walk-in seat is the simplest way into the building today.
What is open, and to whom
The rest of the building is mostly closed to non-guests for now. Time Out reported in mid-September that the area around the dining room is for hotel guests. During the day, the front of Sous Sous is curtained off as a coffee and grab-and-go counter for guests only. The choir loft above it serves as the hotel's lobby. Eater also describes the rooftop as guest-only.
| Space | Who can use it as of early October | What is expected |
|---|---|---|
| Sous Sous dining room and bar | Anyone, through Resy or a walk-in seat | Same dinner menu, with small seasonal changes |
| Daytime coffee and grab-and-go counter | Hotel guests | Full public lunch service in the second phase |
| Choir loft lounge | Hotel guests | A coworking-style membership for neighbors |
| Rooftop | Hotel guests | Open to Sous Sous diners with a reservation |
| Pool | Hotel guests | Stays guest-only, with a mobile bar added |
| Wellness building south of the pool | Not yet built | Sauna, cold plunge and spa services, "much farther down the line" |
Time Out reports that Armbruster, speaking for the hotel, expects the second phase around November or December. That is a forecast, and this project's dates have moved before.
The rooftop opens through the restaurant
The hotel's plan makes a Sous Sous reservation the way onto the rooftop, though Time Out gives no date for it. Time Out describes the roof as ringed by an herb garden and native plants, close to the church's bell tower, with partial views of the downtown skyline. The hotel plans to open it to diners with a reservation and hopes to host small DJ sets, wine tastings and events with local partners. Time Out says it could become Silver Lake's first proper rooftop bar, though not a full-blown scene.
Tying the roof to a dinner booking limits how many people are up there. Anyone on the roof has a booking, and the restaurant's hours set a natural limit on the evening. Gutierrez's "responsible hour" fits that setup.
The choir loft becomes a membership
The second way in suits daytime use. Time Out reports that the café will move to full lunch service. The choir loft will take neighbors through a coworking-style membership that includes access to some of the hotel's other amenities. The loft looks straight down into the old church auditorium. Guests use it now as a lounge, with couches around café tables and drinks ordered from the bar below.
No pricing or terms for the membership have been published. When the hotel announces them, they will show how much of Hotel Lucile neighbors can use day to day.
Why access comes in this order
The phasing matches the arguments that shaped the project. Plans to turn the church into a hotel drew neighborhood debate over alcohol, noise, crowds and parking. In 2014, Eater reported that the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council was reviewing the project and had scheduled a public hearing. The city's zoning administrator first rejected alcohol and dancing on the site. The Planning Commission overturned that on appeal, and the conversion was approved in 2014.
Here is how the building got from approval to opening:
- 1931. Bethany Presbyterian Church is built on the corner, designed by architect Scott Quintin.
- Mid-1960s. East West Players uses the church as its headquarters and performance space. A 1980 merger later forms Bethany United Presbyterian Church, and Pilgrim Church is the last congregation there.
- 2014. The hotel conversion is approved after the appeal.
- 2018 to 2020. Dana Hollister's bankruptcy stops her version of the project, and Casetta takes over her long-term lease in 2020.
- 2025 to 2026. Target openings slip from April 2025 to the third quarter of 2025, then to April 2026, then to August 2026.
- September 14, 2026. The hotel and Sous Sous open.
Twelve years after approval, the hotel is starting with dinner seatings and a rooftop that needs a booking. The issues from 2014 were alcohol, noise, crowds and parking, and each part of the rollout keeps those in check. At the opening party, Courtney Wittich, writing for the Eastside Rag, noted that the full lack of parking across Silver Lake that night was a sign the party had arrived. Opening night drew a crowd, and the regular schedule spreads people out.
What to look at once you're inside
Much of what neighbors remember survived the renovation. The stained glass, arches and other original details were kept or restored. Wittich wrote that the bones from the building's odds-and-ends yard-sale years are still there, now with a tall bar, tucked-away booths, private patios and courtyards. The old organ loft is now a meeting space that overlooks the dining room. Electric Bowery, led by Lucia Bartholomew and Cayley Lambur, designed the architecture and interiors.
From a dinner seat in the chapel, look at the walls. Artist Erin Lynn Welsh painted two murals for the dining room, commissioned through Uprise Art. One is a red-hued landscape of Eaton Canyon, begun well before the Eaton Fire. The other is a blue-green view of Elysian Park. The local Rhett Baruch Gallery curated rotating artwork, all for sale, in the rooms, restaurant and common areas. Heather Tierney of the Butcher's Daughter sourced decor and vinyl from France. The pew-style seating can be cleared out for events.
There is a local connection beyond the walls too. The hotel has a library partnership with Skylight Books in Los Feliz. A 2025 preview described plans for a book club with readings and author events, but no dates or public access rules have been confirmed. The hotel's website lists a Sunday Service Brunch, artist residencies and a Landmark Run Club, with no published schedule yet. You can also rent the building privately. The sanctuary, choir loft, Chapter Room, courtyard, pool deck and roof deck are all offered for events.
For now, the practical plan is a weeknight table at Sous Sous, booked on Resy or taken as a walk-in seat. Then watch for the café lunch and choir loft membership announcements expected around the end of the year, and for word on when the rooftop opens to diners.
Turning a 1931 church into a working hotel shows how much an older building can still be worth with the right plan. If you own a home with similar history near Sunset Junction and want to know how its architecture reads in today's market, Sandler + Hirsch Group can prepare a private home valuation.
