This beachfront property stands out for an eight-story atrium that contains two rows of 45-foot palm trees, and an expansive pool and deck with a grand ocean view. More than 25 cardio and a dozen weight machines are housed in the fitness center, which is one of the best in Santa Monica’s hotels.
The rooms have fetching beach-cabana chic, with touches of Southern California color, from the mother-of-pearl soap dishes to books such as Remembering Muscle Beach.
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Disbelief is a reasonable first response. How can the Bel-Air, just 10 minutes’ drive from bustling Beverly Hills, feel as isolated as Shangri-la? Consider it Shangri-L.A. In operation since 1946, this estate, hidden in a wooded canyon, has long been one of California’s most exclusive retreats.
The serene grounds include a placid lake patrolled by four swans, as well as 12 acres of gardens with enough plant species (200) to entertain a botanist. Relaxation is easy, with gurgling fountains dotting the property, and teak lounge chairs surrounding a 40-foot-long oval pool.
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Situated on a palm-lined residential street, this hotel offers the same standards of service and sophistication customary at other Four Seasons properties. An added enticement is its central location, just outside Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.
Business travelers make up the majority of the clientele, and high-speed Internet access (through the phone line or the television) are standard in all of the understated, elegant rooms. Bulgari products stock the bathrooms.
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Oh, if these walls could talk. Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart and James Dean are among the luminaries to have stayed here. John Belushi checked out from a drug overdose in Bungalow 3. Built in 1927 as an apartment complex on a hill overlooking Sunset Boulevard, the hotel opened during the Depression and has been a Hollywood favorite for seven decades.
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One of the largest hotels in Los Angeles, this crescent-shaped property saw the completion of $70 million worth of renovations in 2000. The results are impressive, beginning in a spacious two-story lounge area dominated by rows of white columns and cream-colored marble. The rooms are soothing and elegant, with stylish bathrooms sporting glass counters with inset porcelain sinks.
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After $50 million of renovations, Casa del Mar reopened in 1999. The hotel, which was the happening Santa Monica club in the late 1920s, recalls that era with a jazzy flair that evokes the French Riviera and the South Pacific.
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Understated it is not, but this 1912 Mission Revival hotel, known as the “pink palace,” probably captures many peoples’ idea of Beverly Hills. From the moment guests traverse the porte cochere up a red carpet wide as a tarmac, over-the-top opulence is the rule, with scalloped draperies, palm frond to motif crystal chandeliers and plush rooms dominated by salmon hues.
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From Golden Age to cutting edge, L.A. hotels accommodate all tastes
In Los Angeles, a hotel needs screen presence to join the A-list. It must have the right look, set the right tone, create a distinctive appeal that’s somehow unforgettable. In the city that defined the blockbuster, this allure usually entails a generous helping of luxury, an opulence worthy of royalty and heads of state.
But entertainment is the business in Los Angeles, so the kings and queens of Hollywood are the royalty that matters most. Celebrity patronage is the authentication that launches new properties and validates the bona fides of the classics. In Los Angeles, even the grandes dames can’t resist a little name-dropping: “Of course Gable, Chaplin and Marilyn stayed here. Need you even ask?”
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Passage yesterday unexpectedly at Jean-Daniel Giauque, the field of Signolet, The Neuveville. Traditionally, local wineries are open two or three hours on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. I did not risk disturbing. The man is there, the phone in front of his cellar. This seems a good start.
He prepares his cellar open operation (which starts in less than an hour), responds to telephone calls, bottled a wine with his staff. I leave the office and told him that I’m going to take some photos in the town and pass again later.
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Region: Tuscany
Province: Florence
Zip: 50022
Mileage: 25 from Florence, 35 of Siena
Area Code: 055
Elevation: 236 meters above sea level
Population: about 12,180
Accommodations: Four hotels ***, ** at a hotel and some restaurants
Hectares of vines: 2,150
Total acres: 5,933 (more…)