LA’s Glitziest Stay: The Beverly Hills Hotel Review

1 month ago

Inside the hotel that Elizabeth Taylor spent six of her eight honeymoons.

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Within five minutes of arriving in Tinseltown you quickly realise that celebrity is not a preoccupation here: it is an obsession. If you’re not somebody, you’re nobody, and every VIP area you may finally find your way into has a V-VIP area where the real action is happening. There’s almost no way to gain access to these Hollywood hotspots, but you can guarantee a piece of the action by staying at Beverly Hills’ most iconic hotel. But does this icon of Hollywood’s golden age live up to the hype?

STAY

Situated in a prime spot on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of LA’s 90210, The Beverly Hills Hotel’s facade is so iconic that tourists will pay the Lyft fare across town to pose in front of the sign, glimpse its iconic green and pink facade and then ride right back to the more affordable neighbourhoods LA has to offer. The cars that make it up onto the red carpeted entrance-way, however, are generally slick SUVs or high-spec sports cars, rather than the battered silver Nissan Uber we roll up in. No matter, the welcome we receive from the uniformed bell boys is as warm as everyone else stepping out onto the bustling red carpet receives. Beyond its iconic striped entryway, and pink and green walls, the hotel is surrounded by towering palms and lush gardens alive with wildlife (we spot a hummingbird on our morning wander behind the Polo Lounge), and there are secluded spots away from the glitz and glamour of the hotel’s shared areas.

There are 208 guest rooms, including the 23 famous bungalows. Marilyn Monroe frequently stayed in Bungalow 1, while Bunglow 11 is where John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their 1972 ‘Bed-In for Peace’ campaign where they spent a week in bed as a protest to promote world peace.

While a week in bed at The Beverly Hills Hotel has its appeal, to stay in your room would be to miss out on all that this Hollywood address has to offer, not least its interiors (and exteriors). Known as the ‘pink palace’, the signature pink and green colour palette was the stuff of social media dreams long before the internet was even conceived of. You’ll be familiar with classic features like the Martinique banana leaf wallpaper and the striped canopy of the Polo Lounge terrace, and the hotel leans in to its snappable aesthetic in outside spaces, with must-pose spots including a neon hotel sign and (currently Dior branded) deck-chairs on the way to the pool for the ultimate wish-you-were-here selfies.

Dior takeover at the Beverly Hills Hotel

Beverly Hills Hotel Pool

No selfies at the pool itself, though, where the hotel’s starry guests must be allowed to bathe in private. A shame, since this must be the single most photogenic pool on the planet. The pool is currently home to the Dioriviera pop-up with loungers, umbrellas and cabanas decked out in Dior’s iconic pink toile de Jouy Soleil print, plus life-size animal sculptures and a pop-up boutique. Keep your sunglasses on and take leisurely laps of the pool, as the silver screen’s finest have done before you, beneath shadows of slender palms and under the watchful eye of a lifeguard who looks like in lieu of an interview may be there as a result of a successful casting for the role of ‘hip Hollywood lifeguard’.

EAT

You can grab a bite at the Cabana Café if you need sustenance during your day of lounging, but dinner at The Polo Lounge is a must during your stay. Always one of the buzziest dinner spots in the city, it’s another if-these-walls-could-talk spot in the Pink Palace, where countless romantic rendezvous have taken place, and many-a Hollywood deal has been closed. The food is expensive but excellent, think elevated Californian comfort food, with favourites including the McCarthy Salad and the lobster risotto. The daily special during our visit is southern fried chicken with biscuits and mashed potato, (how could we refuse?) as satisfying as the people-watching, on par with the outstanding service. To drink, El Jardin Gimlet is a memorable cocktail, a vodka, lime, cucumber mix with a cilantro and jalapeno twist. Breakfast here is just as appealing, with truffle eggs a house favourite.

THE FINAL WORD

A place to see and be seen, The Beverly Hills Hotel is like a living museum, with photos of iconic moments adorning the walls and a potted history of the century-old property depicted along its basement halls. Well worth breaking the bank to complete your stay in Lalaland and secure your place in its illustrious history.