If there are lifetime achievement awards for great hotels, this Tinseltown icon would be walking the red carpet. Except that she's currently taking a 22-month career-break for the kind of cosmetic surgery that would make Joan Rivers look like a newcomer to the surgeon's table.
The Hotel Bel-Air has a revered history as a much-loved retreat for Hollywood's privacy-seeking A-listers. Throughout the 30s, 40s and 50s Grace Kelly, Jackie Gleason, Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe all walked the footbridge over Swan Lake to relax around the famous oval pool. And the discreet cabanas and 12 acres of lush gardens in the canyon hideaway offered plenty of opportunity for high-class shenanigans (Lauren Bacall allegedly flooded the hotel during an Academy Awards stayover).
But every Oscar statuette needs a buff-up, and even the most dearly-loved Mission architecture can look dated rather than historic. So the Bel-Air is getting a re-vamp on a Hollywood scale.
Spanish Colonial meets classic contemporary, with a swanky new reception and lobby lounge, a whole new spa building with three guest lofts, complete restyling of all the guest suites, and all the high-tech eco-cleverness we've come to expect from our best hotels. (The famous pool gets underwater acoustics; the swans get a recycling and filtering system in their pond.)
Other hotels turn somersaults to try to keep the door open while undergoing a re-fit. The Bel-Air's Dorchester management decided to shut up shop and do the job on a grand scale. The swans remain the only residents until the re-opening slated for next summer. JS
Luxury link: http://www.hotelbelair.com/
1 comment:
Excellent post. I really like your luxury travel blog! You should get more visits because your articles are really nice. You are providing exactly the kind of content I need for my metablog. Indeed, your posts can be interesting for my luxury travel users. I would like them to have access to your content.
Actually, I'm managing a meta-blog about Luxury Travel around the world : http://www.oneluxurytravel.com/
I read some of your articles carefully and your content can be really useful for my readers looking for luxury travel news, tips and activities around the world!
In consequence, I decided to select your blog!
I would like to know if you would be interested to appear on my web portal? It will increase your visibility on internet, increase your visits, and provide good information for my users.
Send me an email at greenty.com@gmail.com and I will try to answer within 24h.
Good job again !
Alexandra
Post a Comment