Palomar polishing.

The Westwood Doubletree Hotel's days are numbered.

It is scheduled to close as early as this summer and undergo massive remodeling. When it opens a year later, it will have lost the Doubletree flag and been transformed into a sophisticated Hotel Palomar.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Group Inc., a San Francisco-based boutique operator that has assumed management of the hotel, is spearheading the remodel along with Addison, Tex.-based Behringer Harvard and Dallas-based Realty America Group. Behringer and Realty America recently acquired the property from Lawrence, Kan.-based Linquist & Craig Hotels & Resorts Inc., with the former investment firm holding a majority stake.

In addition to L.A., there is a Hotel Palomar in San Francisco and locations planned in Washington, D.C., Arlington, Va., and Dallas. Kimpton, Behringer and Realty America have teamed up on the Dallas project.

Afzal Hemani, Kimpton's vice president of acquisitions and development, said the 18story L.A. hotel would be going down to 260 rooms from 297 rooms. The rooms will be enlarged--from just under 300 square feet to almost 400 square feet--and more suites will be constructed.

"We are going to do a total gut job," said Hemani.

Kimpton has signed on Cheryl Rowley, a Beverly Hills-based designer, to redo the hotel's interior. She has worked on other Kimpton hotels, including the Hotel Palomar in San Francisco and several Hotel Monaco properties.

Hemani, who wouldn't discuss the cost of the remodeling project, said the L.A. hotel would be styled in dark woods, with splashes of color to add vibrancy. "It is contemporary, but it is not edgy. It is something that is very inclusive," he said.

As with its other properties, the refurbished hotel will include a restaurant intended to attract locals as well as hotel guests. Kimpton is currently searching for a chef, and Hemani emphasized the company is looking for rising stars.

Staff reporter Rachel Brown can be reached at [phone], ext. 224, or at [e-mail].