It's what you've been waiting all year for--The 2011 HotelChatter Awards! We'll be bringing you the best and worst of the year all day today and part of tomorrow. Agree or disagree with our picks? Air your thoughts in comments below.Good things come to those who wait and the reopening...
December 30, 2011
This was meant to go yesterday for Design Thursdays but we got a little sidetracked. Maybe you can slot it in for Fun Fridays?As you probably already know, there were so many shimmery and gilded new things to lust after inside the reopened Hotel Bel-Air but we were left...
November 18, 2011
After two weeks of soft-opening exclusively for hotel guests, the Hotel Bel-Air and its super fresh Wolfgang Puck restaurant and bar is now officially open to the public. The restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner daily (at 7am and 5:30pm respectively), lunch from Monday through Saturday and brunch...
November 04, 2011
We like to keep it fun but informative here at HotelChatter so our newest series, What is This? is devoted to odd-looking items in hotel rooms that upon first glance look as if they serve only a decorative purpose. But everything happens for a reason, right? And we're here to...
November 02, 2011
Last week as we were traipsing through the newly glamorous Hotel Bel-Air, we had the chance to speak with general manager Edward Mady who is also overseeing things at the Bel-Air's sister hotel, the equally iconic Beverly Hills Hotel. And once it was confirmed by Dorchester Collection CEO Christopher...
October 25, 2011
Wolfgang Puck is either drinking a lot of red bull these days or he has clones of himself running around the world from one top luxury hotel to the next launching new hotel restaurant concepts. Fresh off the opening of his CUT Steakhouse at 45 Park Lane, Wolfgang was...
October 25, 2011
Usually we save our hotel bathroom escapades for Bathroom Tuesdays but we just had to share this loo story from the recently reopened Hotel Bel-Air.Inside of all the guestrooms, not just the fancy suites, are the finest thrones you could hope for--Neorest 500 automatic toilets, complete with remote controls....
October 20, 2011
Welcome to our newest new feature, Design Thursdays! Thursdays are now our day to focus on hotel design through photo tours, video walkthroughs and interviews with hotel designers. Got a cool hotel design story we should know about? Let us know!If you followed our live-blog of the recently reopened...
October 20, 2011
We have been waiting for over two long and torturous years to step inside the legendary Hotel Bel-Air since it closed down for renovations. But today, we don't have to fret about whether or not we will be plucked from the waitlist to experience the hotel's new glamorous look. That's...
October 19, 2011
UPDATE: The hotel is TOTALLY SOLD OUT for the first two weeks. Arrggh. There is a waitlist available and we suggest you get on it if you want to taste some Wolfgang Puck before the rest of the world. Fingers crossed someone drops out!We can't believe this day is almost...
September 29, 2011
When the Hotel Bel-Air closed for renovations back in 2009, we were actually quite relieved as the storied hotel was starting to date itself. But it's been a long two years and we've been getting ants in our pants wondering what the hotel has been so busy working on....
June 01, 2011
There seems to be a lot of hotel happenings going down in Los Angeles right now. The most important of them all is that the Mr. C Hotel will open June 1, according to a tip. That info is confirmed on the Beverly Hills hotel's website, but our tipster...
May 18, 2011
As the Hotel Bel-Air readies for its big reopening, one of the new features of the massive renovation is a restaurant from famed chef Wolfgang Puck. According to Eater, he will set up shop in the newly renovated hotel and call his restaurant the not-very-original Wolfgang Puck at Hotel...
May 04, 2011
Once again, we find ourselves confused by a World's Best list from Travel + Leisure. The magazine has just released its 2011 T+L 500 guide which always makes us giddy as we love seeing which hotels are hot and which are not. But when we noticed that the best...
December 13, 2010
While one bride may never recover from the closing of the Hotel Bel-Air for renovations last year, other brides can now get started on the Save the Dates for their Summer 2011 wedding.The luxury property, a Dorchester Collection Hotel, announced yesterday that after 222 months it would finally reopen...
October 26, 2010
We were tooling around Santa Monica yesterday making good on our New Year's Eve resolution to not wait until the last-minute to mail important tax letters back to the California State Franchise Tax Board when we walked by the abandoned Circuit City store on 4th Street. Except it wasn't...
January 05, 2010
Back on October 1, the Hotel Bel-Air closed for some much-needed renovations. While that seemed to create a lot of havoc for brides-to-be, we had no idea that the real chaos would come when the hotel decided to put all its old furnishings up for sale last weekend!On Friday, the...
December 07, 2009
Yesterday we told you about how the Hotel Bel-Air impending renovations have left brides-to-be scrambling for a new place to get married until the renovations are completed, sometime in 2011. Brides who already signed contracts at the Hotel Bel-Air for their wedding days are now being moved to The...
August 25, 2009
The Save the Dates and the wedding invitations were mailed out. The flights for family members from out of state and out of country were booked. The deposits for the florists and the band were paid. The Vera Wang wedding dress was altered and waiting patiently in the closet....
August 24, 2009
We've always been a little perplexed as to how the Hotel Bel-Air was consistently ranked amongst the best hotels in Los Angeles, winning Best Decor from the Zagat Guide and the #1 Reader's Choice from Travel + Leisure. There's no question that the grounds are beautiful and the service...
August 03, 2009
Hotel Bel-Air is introducing the Precious Paws Program, a five-star amenity program designed to cater to man's best friend. The Dorchester Collection hotel gives pups the royal treatment the moment a pet steps it's paw on-property. Pet perks include: a "chic neckerchief" given upon arrival to fancy up the...
June 09, 2009
We've given the Hotel Bel-Air a hard time in the past. Travel + Leisure named it the number one hotel in L.A. this summer, and we spent a little bit of time wondering if the property was worthy of such a title. But nevermind what kind of recognition we...
November 03, 2008
If you're craving French food and France is just a little too far right now, hop over to the Hotel Bel-Air on November 10, 11, or 12. Chef Yannick Alleno from Le Meurice in Paris will be serving up truly unique and unforgettable dinners. This chef exchange is courtesy of...
October 24, 2008
So, listen, Travel + Leisure readers: we have a bone to pick with you. You seem to think quite highly of the Hotel Bel-Air, and frankly, we're not quite getting it. See, not only did you rank the hotel #1 in Los Angeles in the World's Best Awards, but...
July 10, 2008
The other weekend we popped into the Hotel Bel-Air, a legendary hotel not only known for hosting celebrity clients (cough, Britney Spears, cough) but for having exquisite grounds only accessible to hotel guests, making a stay here one of utmost privacy.The overall feel of the hotel reminds us of The...
April 11, 2008
It's that time of the year again when Conde Nast Traveler unveils its Readers Choice awards.Topping the list for the best U.S. city was San Francisco who has won this distinction for 17 of the past 18 years. Whoa. Good thing San Francisco has a ton of hotels for all...
October 23, 2007
Last year at this time, Angelina Jolie was our favorite inspiration for traveling the globe and hopping into different hotel beds for kinky sex.What a difference a year makes. Star Magazine (Oh, please. You know you read it too when no one's looking) reports that the mother-to-be of Brad Pitt's...
January 26, 2006
We've heard lots of talk about the latest in smart hotel room technology this week, but the Hotel Bel-Air is putting a different spin on smart hotels in the form of smart hotel employee offspring. As tuitions continue to climb, it is increasingly difficult for many Hotel Bel-Air employees'...
November 18, 2005
Ahhh, that's what I think of when I think of this hotel. Ahhhh. Everything at the Bel Air hotel is just so pretty and yes, pricey. Pretty and pricey - a common pairing but this time it's infectious! It magically makes the guest feel pretty too and we all...
January 04, 2005
Who is the bellhop with the most chops? Tony Marquez of Hotel Bel-Air, according to the Mobile Travel Guide, which gave Tony its only individual five star rating. This makes Tony the most decorated hotel worker in the nation. Congrats to him, and to his employer, Hotel Bel-Air, which...
August 20, 2004
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