Los Angeles Revs Up For Oscar Week

LOS ANGELES (TheStreet) -- The entertainment community will soon descend on Los Angeles for a weekend of star-studded parties that culminate with the 82nd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday.

During one of the most profitable weeks for local hotels, the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles will show off the results of a $33-million renovation. The hotel, a common choice for nominees, improved its 285 guest rooms, updated its cabanas and added a new infinity pool deck with a garden restaurant. The Four Seasons is also introducing Culina, a new Italian restaurant that will serve pizzas and slow-cooked meats from a wood-fire oven.

Hollywood prepares for 2010 Academy Awards.

Aside from the Four Seasons, look for the Sunset Tower Hotel to maintain its dominance in the Hollywood scene with its various CAA and Vanity Fair-hosted parties at the Tower Bar restaurant and outdoor pool deck. Nearby, Chateau Marmont maintains its allure with the under-40 set, who vie for the penthouse and bungalows behind a tough door policy that limits the restaurant to approved guests.

To shop like a statuette winner, hit Maxfield in West Hollywood, where clothes by high-end designers like Alexander McQueen and Dior await those who still have American Express(AXP) "black cards." Opening Ceremony offers a newly expanded space that's popular with under-30 fashionistas who sport asymmetrical skirts and $500 high-top sneakers.

While you're speeding around town, take in the collection of local artists showcasing their art on normally blank billboards. The effort is part of How Many Billboards, a project sponsored by the MAK Center, an organization that "encourages exploration of practical or theoretical aspects in art and architecture."

The nights leading up to the Academy Awards are a time for local restaurants to show off their popularity with celebrities and nominees. Last year, Il Sole managed to be the best seat in town for a pre-Oscar dinner, with an interior dining room that touts more box office clout than some small studios. If you go, sit inside and don't forget to thank the restaurant for lowering its prices to accommodate the brave new economy.

Look for Bouchon to shine with a dining room that attracts the likes of Jane Fonda, Victoria Beckham and Frank Gehry even when it's not Oscar week. The food is what you've come to expect from Thomas Keller. The menu includes terrine of foie gras and is served in a voluminous French brasserie setting above a tranquil courtyard in Beverly Hills.