Los Angeles is packed with places to be seen but when celebrities want to unwind, they head to the Hotel Bel-Air.
Visit yourself and you’ll soon see why. Tucked within 12 acres of tropical gardens, this Dorchester Collection hotel is a haven of luxury with a welcoming atmosphere and “anything goes” vibe.
Former guest Prince Charles summed it up when he said: “It’s like staying at a rich friend’s home.” No wonder, then, that the Hotel Bel-Air has boasted so many famous residents, including Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, John Wayne and Robin Williams.
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The Hotel Bel-Air sits in the heart of LA’s most exclusive neighbourhood, in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Just a mile to the east is Beverly Hills, and Sunset Boulevard, where the Dorchester Collection’s The Beverly Hills Hotel is located.
The hotel
First opened in 1946, the Hotel Bel-Air is known for its pink-painted Spanish Colonial architecture and its rainbow-hued gardens, where redwood groves and more than 200 species of exotic plants and flowers twist along winding paths. But the sight that really wowed me when I arrived for a regrettably short visit was the centrepiece Swan Lake, which inspired the hotel’s swan motif and where said birds, Chloe, Athena and Hercules, live in uneasy harmony (love triangle, apparently).
The hotel interiors are equally elegant, following a total revamp a few years ago under the direction of Alexandra Champalimaud and the Rockwell Group. Featuring seamless indoor-outdoor spaces, the aesthetic is contemporary, fresh and extremely comfortable, with open fires burning eucalyptus wood for air so fragrant, you’ll wish you could bottle it.
Lobby
Guests can take their pick from 103 guest rooms and suites dotted along the hillside and around the gardens. All feature retro-style furnishings, limestone floors and massive walk-in wardrobes - Monroe reportedly packed more than 550 pairs of shoes into hers - along with iPads and integrated media hubs.
Most celebs stay in one of the hotel’s seven individually designed speciality suites; the Chalon, for instance, was made over to Oprah Winfrey’s specifications. With the focus on privacy, these suites have a separate entrance from the main hotel, and some have their own pools. Legend has it that the three then-surviving members of The Beatles, Paul, George and Ringo, once stayed at the Hotel Bel-Air without any of them knowing the others were there. Once you too have been a guest, that’s easy to believe.
Fine dining
Internationally celebrated Austrian-born chef Wolfgang Puck is in charge of all food and drink at the Hotel Bel-Air, including the cocktail and room service menus. That makes for what may be the best in-room dining you’ll ever taste, but don’t just stay in your room: everyone should experience the hotel’s restaurant, named after the chef himself.
A partially covered patio with five private alcoves, it’s where Hollywood’s biggest names meet to wine and dine: Bradley Cooper and Clint Eastwood were in residence on our first night there. Not even that famous duo could distract us from the beautifully presented contents of our plates, however, including a mezze platter and veal wiener schnitzel.
Alcove table at Wolfgang Puck restaurant
Be sure to leave space for a cocktail at the hotel’s bar and lounge, a wood-panelled retreat with an old-style club feel, live piano entertainment, and towering black and white photos of showbiz icons, from Tina Turner to John Belushi, by Norman Seeff. This photographic display was arranged by a local resident and regular who, in another moment of inspiration, also built their own private staircase from their neighbouring mansion to the bar. Every home should have one.
The bar and lounge
What to do
The wonderful bar aside, the Hotel Bel-Air is a great place for nights in. The Experience More menu - introduced last year - offers in-room entertainment including family movie night packages, cookie decorating for kids, and cocktail making for grown-ups. There’s also plenty of pampering to be had, with treatments using Swiss skincare brand Valmont available from therapists who come to you, or at the hotel spa.
When you are ready to venture past your front door, the recently built spa has a range of facilities including steam rooms and a gym. Just down the path sits the hotel’s 80ft-long pool, where complimentary snacks such as chocolate-dipped banana coins are served hourly.
If all those treats leave you in need of more exercise, the local area is packed with tennis courts and golf courses. There are also plenty of opportunities to flex your cultural muscles in LA, which has more museums and major art institutions than any other US city. The nearby Getty Center is a particular highlight, and is within the three-mile radius covered by the hotel’s free car service.
Price and booking
Guestrooms cost from $565 (£416) in low season, and $945 (£696) in high season.
Air New Zealand operates a daily service between Heathrow and LA’s LAX airport, from £430 return. The airline - which flies to 31 international destinations in 19 countries worldwide - has just completely refurbished its fleet of Boeing 777-300s, installing new ergonomically designed seats with in-built touchscreen TVs where you can stretch out and knock back some fine wine and even finer Kiwi-inspired cuisine.
For the ultimate luxury experience, including a free pass into Air New Zealand’s swanky LAX lounge, upgrade to Business Premium. Installed in your own little pod on soft leather seats that fold out into beds, you can enjoy privacy and comfort worthy of even the Hotel Bel-Air.
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Kari Wilkin is The Week Digital’s global managing editor. She joined the UK site as production editor in 2017, after moving across from The Week magazine. Her career as a journalist began as a sub-editor at newspapers including The Sun, Metro, the Daily Star and News of the World, followed by stints at Elle and Asda Magazine. She also helped to launch the UK edition of Women’s Health magazine, as chief sub-editor with a sideline in writing; has penned travel and lifestyle articles for titles including The Telegraph and The Sun; and is a contributor on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast.
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