HotelChatter

Celebrity guests included California politicos like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, both of whom gave short speeches, as well as straight-up old-school stars like Magic Johnson and Gene Simmons of KISS (one taller than expected in real life, and one shorter).

Hotel industry dorks like us were all atwitter about Marriott’s CEO, Arne Sorenson, who took the podium toward the end of the evening. The whole event was MC-ed by jaunty Los Angeles historian Huell Howser, who noted that the iconic City Hall was inaugurated pretty much exactly the same way back in 1928.

When it was time for the tower to be lit up, there was (no joke!) a trumpet fanfare followed by a few seconds of silence and…nothing. Guests shuffled anxiously, eyes fixed on the hulking tower, waiting for something to happen. A second fanfare sounded, then the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” sounded, and the hotel’s lights came up floor by floor. Then came the moving light show, which produced some scattered oohs and aahs (and, we’ll admit it, some celebratory bootie-shaking) before guests started filing toward the elevator banks for the second part of the evening.

After the rooftop reception, there was a black-tie gala dinner down in the hotel complex’s “Gallery Collection” Diamond Ballroom. City of Hope, an organization that researches and treats chronic life-threatening diseases, bestowed its Spirit of Life award upon Tim Leiweke, the President and CEO of AEG, the company behind the $2.5 billion L.A. Live. We did not have access to the dinner (we knew we should have had our tux dry-cleaned just in case!), but the only thing that left a taste in our mouth like “Bad Medicine” was missing out on Jon Bon Jovi’s headline performance.

Now, just because the hotel is officially lit-up doesn’t mean you can stay there. The 878-room J.W. Marriott (with an entrance right on Olympic) will open on February 15, but the Ritz-Carlton’s 123 rooms and suites won’t be online until March 15. No word yet on the celebrity chefs behind the restaurants at either property, but we expect an announcement next week, and we’ll keep you posted.