Hotel Erwin, groomed in private

Steps from the Venice Boardwalk, Hotel Erwin celebrated 50 years with a recent refresh of its rooms and public spaces. Its rooftop lounge has views of the beach and the city. The surrounding streets are full of murals, shops and street performers.

Creatives and musicians visiting Venice often stay here and like a cut without leaving the beach scene. The visit is quiet and contained: a cape, a clean station by the window, and a finished cut in well under the time it takes to go down to the lobby and back.

The barber comes to you, at any hour.

Ben holds licenses in barbering and cosmetology in multiple states. Before Los Angeles he built and ran four barbershops, and his chair has since followed entertainers on tour and onto television and music video sets. Rod Wave, Polo G and Lamar Odom are among the names who have sat with him. Expect fades blended without a visible line, tapers that grow out cleanly, line-ups drawn with a steady hand and beards shaped to the jaw. Straight hair, waves, curls and locs all get the same attention.

The address, 1697 Pacific Ave, puts Hotel Erwin near Venice Beach Boardwalk, Muscle Beach and Venice Skate Park. Whether the plan is dinner, a premiere or an early flight, Ben can time the appointment around it, here or anywhere in Venice, Santa Monica, Marina del Rey and Playa Vista.

To book, call or text 608-201-7717 with the address and the time you have in mind. Pricing starts at $150, with $300 standard during regular hours (11am to 7pm); late nights and longer drives are quoted when you reach out. He answers around the clock, holidays included.