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The Jury's Still Out on Thompson Beverly Hills

Where: 9360 Wilshire Blvd [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90212

The New York Times' recent review of Thompson Beverly Hills seems a bit pre-emptive. Reporter Fred A. Bernstein's "bottom line" is that the hotel isn't cheap, but that the rooftop swimming pool, fitness center and bar may justify the price once those amenities open in April. Does that mean until then you'll just have to chance it and hope the hotel is as highly regarded as its New York counterpart?

That could be a big gamble, given how temperate Bernstein seems about the rest of the property. In short, the place is designed well and the staff is friendly, but the bathrooms are small and anything other than sushi at the hotel's Bond Street restaurant fails to impress.

Bernstein says rooms in the front of the building must contend with traffic noise from Wilshire Boulevard, but his room, No. 822, located in the back of the property, had a "spectacular" view of the Hollywood sign, downtown L.A. and the San Gabriel Mountains, which certainly sounds like a Killer View contender to us. Now, we're just waiting on that exclusive rootop.

[Photo: NYT]