90028 Travel Guide
Spa Hotels / Loews Hotels / Hollywood Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / California Hotels / → All Tags
Exhale Spa Now Open at Loews Hollywood
Attention "Mind Body Spa" junkies! Exhale Spa is now officially open at Loews Hollywood (formerly the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel), so Core Fusion fans no longer have to trek to Santa Monica for barre squats. We do love the beach but you can bet we're signing up in Hollywood STAT.
Exhale had a grand opening party on February 13 and we are officially regular customers. The 7,000-square-foot spa has men and women's changing rooms equipped with glass-wall steam rooms, a relaxation lounge with clove-spiced, hot-neck pillows and another lounge with all sorts of munchies and beverages. There are seven therapy rooms (two that have showers), including a couple's room with jacuzzi tub. Clean up them nails in the mani/pedi station and, should you need to cool off, the outdoor swimming pool with cabanas is plunge-worthy.
Exhale means serious business here. As in, they knocked down three hotel rooms to accommodate for their cultish classes (ahem, Core Fusion), so expect that to roll out this summer. In the meantime, get a massage, facial, acupuncture, whatever you need to restore Zen. If you require some inspiration, there's a Buddha statue in the hallway. Namaste!
Rates from $249 a night.
[Photo: Exhale Spa]
The Smooth Operator / W Hotels / Hollywood Hotels / Hotel Pools / Party Hotels / → All Tags
The Party Scene at The W Hollywood Wrinkles The Smooth Operator's Stay
Welcome to another hotel dispatch from our newest special contributor, The Smooth Operator. We can't divulge his identity but we can tell you he's spends about 70 percent of his time on the road, staying in all the hot hotels and checking out their restaurants and bars to see if the social scene is up to snuff. If you're deciding whether or not to take a chance on that hip boutique hotel in the city, read The Smooth Operator for his opinion first. (Or send us an email and we'll have him answer it for you!)
The W Hollywood Hotel and Residences is the one Starwood Hotel that came with a "warning" three days prior to my visit. If you’re looking for "adult entertainment" and want to "live large, you’ve come to the right place." (see the notice I received before my stay in the gallery of photos below.)
At check-in, I was upgraded to a premium Spectacular room with a city view – which was exactly the same room I had last time and upon entering the room it was pretty obvious there was no city view – just a view of the fair going on in the parking lot across the street.
Hotel Rebrandings / Loews Hotels / Renaissance Hotels / Hollywood Hotels / Hotel News / YouFirst / → All Tags
The Renaissance Hollywood Will Turn into a Loews Hotel on June 16
Well, this was unexpected. The Renaissance Hollywood at the Hollywood & Highland Center, will turn into a Loews Hotels & Resorts come June 16.
Loews snapped up the property as one of its first steps in expanding the brand. There is already a Loews in Los Angeles on the beach in Santa Monica but the property at Hollywood and Highland is not only larger (632 rooms), it will get far more exposure and traffic as over 80 shops, 26 restaurants, two nightclubs, seven movie screens, eight bars, 12 bowling lanes and the Dolby Theatre (previously the Kodak) are all right there next to the hotel.
For now the rooms and public spaces at the Loews Hollywood will remain the same but Loews will begin a $26 million renovation later this year. The good news is, the hotel will stay open during the work.
Bummer for those guests who liked to use their Marriott Rewards points to stay at the Renaissance but with Loews' YouFirst loyalty program, after two stays you can get free WiFi.
Rates for the hotel in June start around $299 a night.
[Photo: Kalboz/HotelChatter Flickr Pool]
Celebrity Scoop / Angelina Jolie / Thompson Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / Hollywood Hotels / Wedding Hotels / Engagement Hotels / Celebrity Hotels / → All Tags
5 Likely Reasons Why Angelina Jolie Stopped In At The Hollywood Roosevelt Yesterday
Professional lip pouter Angelina Jolie has officially announced her engagement to Brad Pitt. And whether the two of them will live happily ever after trotting the globe with their ever-expanding caravan of kiddies remains to be seen. However, all she's really concerned with now is showing off that 16-carat diamond ring on her finger.
Photographers caught a glimpse of the ring yesterday when the actress made her way into the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. But what was she actually doing there? We know you're all dying to know. So here, as we see it, are the most likely scenarios:
She Scored a Deal On Hotwire
Everyone loves a bargain, and whether you're making minimum wage or you're the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, nabbing a room at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt for $122 a night is no small feat. Yep, that's the rate we scored a while ago during one of our routine Adventures in Blind Booking, and as we recall, it was a pretty awesome stay.
Entourage Hotels / Hollywood Hotels / TV Set Hotels / → All Tags
For 'Entourage's' Final Season, The Boys are Living Large at the Hollywood Roosevelt
Nary an episode of Entourage airs without at least one scene taking place in a hot Hollywood hotel so it's no surprise that the final season of the bro show is starting off with Vince, Turtle, E and Johnny Drama living it up at the Hollywood Roosevelt in a penthouse suite.
Granted, they are only there because Turtle accidentally burned down their house but still, the guys have had a long love affair with the Roosevelt. (See here and here.) This time around they are presumably shacked up in the Gable Lombard Penthouse Suite at the hotel which has three full-size bedrooms (we're guessing Turtle and Johnny Drama are sharing) as well as a full-sized kitchen, vaulted ceilings, 1,500sq.ft. of roof deck space underneath the Hollywood Roosevelt sign, and a built-in surround system, among many other amenities.
Celebrity Scoop / Kelly Osbourne / Beacher's Madhouse / Hollywood Hotels / Hotel Shows / Thompson Hotels / → All Tags
Kelly Osbourne Joins the Madhouse at the Hollywood Roosevelt
Beacher's Madhouse at the Hollywood Roosevelt has seen its share of stop and starts. First David Arquette is signed on, then he isn't, then he is. The opening date was pushed back several times. The latest news is that Kelly Osbourne will be joining the oompa loompa circus as creative director.
She'll somehow fit the new gig into her schedule as a fashion correspondent for E! and contributor to Joan Rivers' Fashion Police. She'll work with just-outta-rehab Arquette, who's back as a co-host with creator Jeff Beacher.
Hotel Fun / Hotel Games / Hotel Bars / Hollywood Hotels / Thompson Hotels / → All Tags
Come Out and Play at the Hollywood Roosevelt's The Spare Room
If you long for the days of your youth, when you could spend the day playing in the arcade, the Hollywood Roosevelt offers an entertainment option so that won't have to fight with 11-year-olds to get some game action.
Opened by nightlife visionaries Med Abrous and Marc Rose, The Spare Room, a dark, cozy, upscale gaming parlour and cocktail lounge, where you can play without mom telling you it's time to go home. The Spare Room, which sits in the mezzanine level of the hotel, has an old rec room vibe with two vintage bowling lanes, games galore and an old-school photo booth.
Hotel Shows / Beacher's Madhouse / Hotel News / Hollywood Hotels / → All Tags
Beacher's Madhouse at the Hollywood Roosevelt to Be a Members-Only Club
David Arquette may have dropped out but Beacher's Madhouse at the Hollywood Roosevelt is still opening, although with some caveats.
While we last heard the show would premiere March 16, private previews are starting tomorrow and only VIPs are allowed. How do you know if you are a VIP? If you got this invite. Page Six reports:
[Jeff Beacher] sent antique-looking, oversize books containing mini-bar bottles of Red Bull and vodka, and an invite to the venue which starts previews Wednesday. Some VIPs got them personally hand-delivered by an Oompa Loompa. "Privileges will be withdrawn from any individual who removes one or more midgets from the library," warns the invite.
Restaurant Openings / Hotel Restaurants / Hollywood Hotels / Thompson Hotels / → All Tags
The Hollywood Roosevelt Goes Public with Its New Public Kitchen and Bar
Right in time for the Oscars, Hollywood Roosevelt just opened its newest restaurant, Public Kitchen and Bar. The lobby restaurant, which replaces Dakota, will be the perfect setting for an Oscars dinner, since the hotel hosted the first awards ceremony.
Then there's the contemporary American fare from Executive Chef Tim Goodell, the man behind the hotel's upscale burger joint 25 Degrees. The under-$30-a-dish menu includes chicken liver terrine with kumquat marmalade and grilled rustic bread; chicharrones with chilis and lime; gnudi with brown butter, chanterelles and bacon; and crispy oxtail galette.
Hotel Salons / W Hotels / Hollywood Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
Get a Blo Job at the W Hollywood's New Blowout Bar
Traditional hotel salons might be as last season as the pixie cut. Following in the steps of The SLS, the W Hollywood just opened its own blowout salon, Blo Blow Dry Bar.
You won't see a single pair of scissors at Blo; the salon only does blowouts. The typical service includes a wash and blowout in about 30 minutes for $33. At that price, we'd be tempted to lazily have someone else do our hair each day we stay at the hotel.
Beacher's Madhouse / Hollywood Hotels / Hotel Shows / David Arquette / Thompson Hotels / → All Tags
Beacher's Madhouse Postpones Its Opening To March 16
It’s not just hotels suffering from opening jitters at the moment; hotel shows are getting performance anxiety, too.
We were uber-excited for the Valentine’s Day opening of Beacher's Madhouse - basically a modern day circus, minus the animals and with extra comedy and vaudeville - at the Hollywood Roosevelt on Monday, but now we’re told that the opening has been postponed to March 16.
Celebrity Scoop / Ted Williams / Hollywood Hotels / Renaissance Hotels / Charlie Sheen / Justin Bieber / Bad Celebrity Behavior / Hotel News / → All Tags
What Do Charlie Sheen, Justin Bieber and 'Golden Voice' Ted Williams Have in Common?
They are all up to no good at hotels!
Let's start with The Man with the Golden Voice first. After a life-changing week last week that started with him homeless on the streets of Cleveland and ended with several job offers and a luxury room at the Jumeirah Essex House, Ted Williams was detained by police at the Renaissance Hollywood last night.
The LA Times reports that police were called to the hotel for a disturbance. When they arrived, they found Ted and an "unidentified family member" who had been in a heated argument. (The Gossip Cop says it was one of Ted's daughters.) Maybe they were arguing over who would pay for valet at the hotel which runs up to $29 a night.
