90048 Travel Guide
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / SLS Hotels / Khloe Kardashian / The Kardashians / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
Superficial Love Sells (Magazines): Khloe and Lamar Outside the SLS Hotel
We believe in love at first sight. We also believe in when you know, you know. But do we believe in happily ever after? Well, not necessarily. And our doubts about fairy tale endings plummet when we hear of couples tying the knot after a month of dating.
To be fair, we have a very dear friend who married her husband after just two weeks of dating and a year and a half later, they are still together. But they didn't get a $300,000 advance for photos of their wedding (taken at a Las Vegas wedding chapel) and they didn't film the entire extravaganza for a reality show.
No, that's all Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom, the reality show sister and the Laker player who got married yesterday after just four short weeks of courtship.
Tags: TV Set Hotels / Sofitel Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / Shaquillle O'Neal / → All Tags
Fresh Off Two HBO Guest Spots, The Sofitel Los Angeles Now Hosting 'Shaq Vs.'
If you visit Los Angeles with the hopes of spotting a celeb or watching a location shoot (and c'mon, who doesn't visit LA with those hopes?) then the Sofitel Los Angeles might be the best place for you to stay.
This summer we've seen the hotel show up in an episode of True Blood and Entourage, both Made-For-HBO hit television shows.
Next up for the hotel? Possibly at stint on the new Shaq Vs. reality show where baller Shaquille O'Neal goes up against other superstar athletes from different fields (and courts and pools) of sports. The NY Post reports that Shaq and boxer Oscar De La Hoya were seen touring the kitchen of Simon LA, helmed by Chef Kerry Simon at the Sofitel.
Rates at The Sofitel tend to be pricey, starting at $335 a night on their website. However, this hotel can be booked on Hotwire.com for a lot less but remember it's Hotwire and you do take your chances. The hotel is listed as a 4.5 star hotel in the Beverly Hills-West Hollywood region. Booking through Hotwire could also land you at the London West Hollywood right below the Sunset Strip which is also a pretty good place to be for celeb-spotting. We've spied Kevin Spacey there once. Just sayin'.
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Concerts / SLS Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
SLS Kicks Off Their Summer Listening Series
Pardon the grainy camera phone photo but we can assure that is up and coming musician Ryan Star performing at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles as the first artist in their new Summer Listening Series. Ah see that there? Summer Listening Series. S-L-S. Clever, no?
The outdoor event, held on the hotel's Garden Terrace, featured an intimate acoustic set from Starr--literally it was just him, an amp, a mike and his guitar. Guests watched the set from the pew-like seating in the center and from cocktail tables scattered on the sides and at the back of the terrace. Drinks and complimentary treats from Jose Andres' Bazaar restaurant were served and goodies like peanut butter pretzels, fluffy cotton candy, gourmet potato chips were for also for sale. (SLS baseball hat, anyone?)
Tags: NYT Reviews / SLS Hotels / → All Tags
NYT Deems the SLS at Beverly Hills a 'Wonderful Throwback'
Our 2008 Hotel Opening of the Year — the SLS at Beverly Hills — recently got paid a visit by the New York Times, so we had to compare notes. The Gray Lady’s verdict? All that SLS decadence seems to have been a comforting throwback to the beleaguered NYT, who describes the place as a welcome reminder of a “gilded age when hotel minibars swelled with Champagne and hotel bathrooms featured $85 bottles of lotion.”
Writer Fred Bernstein awards due props to designer Philippe Starck, saying the hotel is “beautiful and innovative,” adding “it’s amazing that Mr. Starck has so many ideas left in him.”
Tags: Entourage Hotels / TV Set Hotels / Sofitel Hotels / → All Tags
All's Well That Ends Well Again For 'Entourage' Boys at The Sofitel LA
The Sofitel LA has been a very busy hotel these days. Recently, the hotel was used as the setting for vampire hotel, Hotel Carmilla, in True Blood. Then last night, the boys of Entourage ended the episode in a typical Entourage fashion--toasting their success over dinner--at Simon inside the hotel.
So it might be hard not to hit up Simon (helmed by Chef Kerry Simon) for its legendary giant cotton candy and junk food platter, or the ever present eye candy that is almost consistently wearing tight Bebe dresses and hair extensions but the restaurant does have a pretty extensive menu ranging from wood-oven pizzas to sushi and steak. Plus Simon uses organic ingredients and most of the meat is is "farmed and harvested in a sustainable manner", as per the restaurant's website..
And let's not forget about the wine. Go ahead and order two bottles. Remember, E's paying.
Room rates start at around $335 a night on the hotel's website.
Tags: Hotel Deals / Starwood Luxury Collection / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
The SLS Beverly Hills: Now 50% Closer to Affordable
Hooray. The SLS at Beverly Hills is now 50% off. But, much like the crappy boyfriend who starts being less crappy in teeny increments but still has a long way to go before he is totally non-crappy, this kickback still doesn't put the hotel into the realm of "affordable."
The Summer Looks Suite package boasts rates half-off, and the NYT's In Transit blog has the scoop on it:
· The Studio Suite, regularly $670 a night, is $335
· The Signature Suite, regularly $750 a night, is $375
· The Lifestyle and Balcony Suite (which includes gym equipment), regularly $770 a night, is $385
· The 1,150-square-foot SLS Suite: regularly $2,500 a night, is $1,250
Booking code SUITE will get you the deal; you can make rezzies here.
Beware, though: when we were there, we noticed the ceilings were super low. Not cool. Other than that, though, the unpredictable Starck designs and the stunning room decor are worth seeing at least once.
Tags: Hotel Pools / SLS Hotel / Beverly Hills Hotels / → All Tags
Sun and Spa at SLS's Altitude Pool
A rooftop pool at a hotel isn’t exactly unusual in sunny Los Angeles, so it takes more than your average cement pond with a view of the shimmering downtown skyline to get us excited. With a nightclub name like Altitude, though, the amenities at the SLS Beverly Hills’ pool did have us reaching for the sunscreen (non-pore-clogging, of course) and rummaging through our closet for that cute bathing suit we bought to show off our summer gym bod.
Unlike most other hotel pools we’ve patronized over the years — where you have to strain your neck to avoid seeing guys in fedoras and speedos (at the same time!), plug your ears to drown out the bad techno music, and resist ordering those neon cocktails getting everyone into the “party mood” — the sixth-floor Altitude seems to be a tranquil oasis on one of L.A.’s busiest streets, La Cienega.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Beverly Hills Hotels / Hotel Pools / → All Tags
Vanessa Minnillo Claims First Celeb Incident at SLS Beverly Hills
Alright, the newly-opened SLS Beverly Hills has been christened and de-virginized. Well, it's lost its New York Post, made-it-to-the-east-coast, somewhat juicy celeb gossip virginity at least: a celeb has landed the hotel's name on Page Six. Incidentally, it was a famous person who Page Six referred to as "celebutrash" — but it was a famous person nonetheless! Unfortch, it was former MTV veejay Vanessa Minnillo, about whom not many people care.
Per the New York Post:
Tongues were wagging over Vanessa Minnillo's recent display of affection with a guy who was not longtime beau Nick Lachey. The celebutrash was spotted at the SLS hotel in LA, "hanging out in a private cabana all night" with "90210" actor Matt Lanter.
This breaks the heart of the 98 Degrees fan inside of us; who ditches Nick Lachey? Who do you think you are, lady? Unless he ditched her first, of course.
Ironically, Vanessa and this SLS mystery dude know each other from working on a film called Disaster Movie (heh). Hopefully this is as far as they will go and they won't end up getting caught by paps having sexytime in the SLS hot tub.
Tags: Hotel Breakfasts / Hotel Restaurants / SLS Hotels / → All Tags
SLS Hotel's Superstar Bazaar Restaurant Now Serving Brunch
Despite whatever we may have thought about the recent gushing review of the SLS Hotel restaurant, Bazaar, from LA Times food critic S. Irene Verbilia, we are extremely happy to hear that the restaurant is serving the meal most important to Angelenos, after the Hollywood power lunch--brunch.
Tasting Table, a new foodie e-newsletter, lets us know that starting this Saturday, chef Jose Andres will unveil his brunch menu from 11am to 3pm.
On the menu are your favorite brunchy cocktails along with sangria and Irish coffee, eggs benedict with Iberico ham, 12 quail eggs sunny-side up, and bagel and lox. There's a tasting menu for $40 that's available but sorry, no french toast or waffles.
[Photo: Eater LA]
Tags: Snapshot / Los Angeles Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
The Four Seasons LA Probably Did Not Agree to This
A tipster sent us this snapshot because it's just kinda...funny. This is a snap taken right outside the Four Seasons Los Angeles; a lovely little photo of some Movie Star Maps being sold right there on the sidewalk.
Why is this funny to us, you ask? Well, this particular hotel is where a lot — and we do mean a lot — of celebs call home when they hit up the City of Angels. Posh Spice stayed there. Britney hid from Child Protective Services there. Jamie Foxx pulled some diva antics there.
Do we think the Four Seasons is, like, on the Star Map? Surely the hotel isn't really down with the unfortunate location of this map-selling location, as it probably doesn't want to attract celeb-gawkers to the premises.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Chris Brown / SLS Hotels / Hotel News / Rihanna / → All Tags
Chris Brown Is Not The SLS Hotel's Ideal Celebrity Guest
When we toured the SLS Hotel a few months ago, we thought that hands-down this would become the hotel for celebrities to be seen and in fact, much of the hotel's suites and conference rooms were created with press junkets and celebrity events in mind. Yet having Chris Brown dine there last night probably wasn't in the hotel's celebrity outreach program.
Rihanna's boyfriend and abuser regrouped from his day in court (where he was charged with two felonies) by having dinner at the SLS Hotel on La Cienega.
TMZ, ever alert for celebrity abusive boyfriends, caught Brown leaving the hotel at 3:45am. Brown reportedly spent most of the evening at the hotel bar with bodyguards. Despite the hour, sources said Brown was not boozing it up.
Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Chris was strictly there for a dinner business meeting with a man who works in the music industry.
We've also learned from multiple sources that Chris was neither served nor seen consuming an alcoholic beverage at any point in the evening.
Actually, we could care less if Brown was boozing. His career is over no matter what. No amount of alcohol abstinence can take back what he did to his girlfriend. And speaking of Rihanna, her relationship with Brown is sadly not over. The two were also reported to be hanging out at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire. Sigh.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / SLS Hotels / Jose Andres / → All Tags
The Bazaar at SLS Gets Bizarre Four-Star Review
The L.A. Times' recent review of José Andrés’s Bazaar at the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills gave it a rare four-star rating which has had the LA foodie community buzzing since last week.
The Times’s chief restaurant critic, S. Irene Virbila, is known to be hard to please, and she subjects each restaurant she reviews to a thorough vetting process--at Bazaar alone she clocked up four dinners! But it looks like she might have a little food crush on Andrés, who trained with the famous Ferran Adrià of El Bulli, exulting in his ability to transform “small plates into delicious theater.”
She goes on to gush that dining at the Bazaar is “Fellini-esque, a gastronomical circus, a flirtation with the flavors and soul of Spain.”
Hotels In: Africa | Asia | Australia | Caribbean | Europe | North America | South America
Our Publications:
Jaunted | HotelChatter | VegasChatter
