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L.A. Night

 The

ShiftNighttime in L.A. comes as a welcome respite. The relentless sunshine yields to moody chiaroscuro. Traffic on the I-405 accelerates from tortoise’s pace to hare’s. The little black dress comes out of the closet, refuting California’s insistence on color. The spurious custom of double-cheek air kissing gives way to actual flirtation over one last nightcap in the hotel lobby. And the hotel takes on a night life of its own. These are hours of invisible and unacknowledged activities, hours of transition to business as usual. The hotel’s public face may be highly polished, but much of that polishing happens after midnight. A housekeeper lowers the chandeliers for dusting, like the staff of Gosford Park. A porter’s brass trolley delivering newspapers to sleeping guests fills in for the traditional kid on a bike back home. And the guests who aren’t asleep play out their own noirish roles. A VIP checks in, underground and unobserved except for security cameras. The poolside chaises are swaddled in their evening attire, but a frisky couple turns the moonlit water into a private oasis. And why weren’t we all invited to the party in Room 312? Here, photographer Robert Whitman’s portfolio shot over the course of a week in glorious non-Technicolor reveals the night shift in six of the city’s most splendid hotels. —aimee lee ball

 phoTographed by  robert whitmAN 

2:45 a.m.Andaz west hollywoodAn employee awaits guests at a check-in station in the Janson goldstein–designed lobby.

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1:30 a.m.beverly hilton Beverly Hills An after-hours swim in the hotel’s olympic-size pool.

As we turned Around the first peAk, we cAme upon golden, long-mAned horses on one side

of the pAth And chewing cows on the other. the two cliques didn’t mix And pAid us no Attention.

12:30 a.m. redbury hotel Hollywood A housekeeper undertakes the nightly dusting of the lobby stairway chandeliers.

4:00 a.m. Peninsula beverly hills Security cameras record the discreet arrival of a ViP guest.

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2:30 a.m.Chateau marmont West HollywoodAn employee mans the valet desk during the quiet hours.

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3:15 a.m. Peninsula beverly hills the weekend papers arrive.

4:00 a.m. Andaz west hollywoodroom service delivers a late-night bottle of wine to No. 312.

1:00 a.m. Viceroy Santa monicaCocktail hour stretches out in the lobby lounge.

Andaz West hollywood 8401 W. Sunset Blvd.; 800/233-1234 or 323/656-1234; andaz.com; doubles from $295. Beverly hilton 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; 800/445-8667 or 310/274-7777; beverlyhilton.com; doubles from $235. Chateau Marmont 8221 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; 323/656-1010; chateaumarmont.com; doubles from $415. Peninsula Beverly hills 9882 S. Santa Monica Blvd.; 866/382-8388; peninsula.com; doubles from $525. Redbury hotel 1717 Vine St., Hollywood; 877/962-1717 or 323/962-1717; theredbury.com; doubles from $259. Viceroy Santa Monica 1819 Ocean Ave.; 800/670-6185 or 310/260-7500; viceroysantamonica.com; doubles from $296.