The Beverly Hilton was once THE Place to stay in Beverly Hills, and was the realisation of Conrad Hilton's dream to create the utmost luxury hotel in Beverly Hills. Some time ago there were talks of teraing it down, but instead the Hotel was renovated from top to bottom, decorating the interior in an up-to-the-minute style, while retaining the historical 50's exterior.
My overall opinion is - it doesn't really work. Our room was nicely and comfortably furnished, but though the bathroom was remodelled in modern style, it was very cramped and lacked expected essentials, like a shaving mirror. The air conditioning was ancient and noisy - it also seemed to work in reverse (i.e. heated the room instead of cooling it) - so we switched it off and opened the windows. The old retainer staff are wonderful and provide the best of service in the hotel - but some of the younger staff are downright rude. I'll be dropping a line to the Hotel about Christian the pool boy, who took an unmerited dislike to Mum and I and never brought our food or drink orders over a three day period.
On the other hand, the concierge was incredible, securing five out of five reservations in signature restaurants. The public areas were wonderful - especially the Lobby Bar where a pianist performed from time to time.
The restaurants are Trader Vics and the Stardust penthouse restaurant - I'll deal with them in my restaurant reviews. I adored the walk through the hotel to Traders - the walls are lined with huge black and white pictures of the golden era movie stars.
One other negative was the total lack of availability of the hotel courtesy car - we asked for it four times and were told on three occasions that it was unavailable. On the fourth, it hadn't appeared after 30 mins. We had reservations at The Ivy and ended up calling a taxi. Not good enough Hilton! My impression was that at night The Hilton are more interested in their arriving party glitterati - there was a reception of some sort every night. At those times they forget their guests.
Unique Qualities: The concierge is beyond reproach - actually is one of the best I have ever seen.
The pool is wonderful, too - almost olympic size. pity the sun beds are not cleared when guests leave them - it's impossible to figure out which is free and which is not.
It's also one of the best spots for star spotting and lots of stars still stay there.
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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$120-180
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Address: Beverly Hills 90210.
Directions: Wilshire Boulevard, beverly Hills.
Website: www.beverlyhilton.com
Los Angeles
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on Jun 12, 2006
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