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The Beverly Hills Hotel To Get Newer, Posher Bungalows

Where: 9641 Sunset Boulevard [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

We are suckers for old luxury hotels and the Beverly Hills Hotel is one of our favorites, not just because of its long history with silver screen stars or the guaranteed celeb sightings in the hotel's coffee shop but also because of the luxe bungalows that have been frequented by icons such as Marilyn Monroe (Bungalow #1), John Lennon and Yoko Ono (#9) and our personal fave, Phyllis Nefler.

The Pink Palace has 21 Bungalows in total (in addition to 200 rooms in the main building) and once you've stayed in one, you'll find it really hard to want to stay in the main building again. The bungalows feel like your own little apartment in the impressive 90210-zipcode rather than a standard hotel room. Yes, the furnishings might be a little too grand or fancy for your tastes but hello, this is Beverly Hills. And PS, the bathrooms are enormous.

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Tags: What's On The Block / Whats-on-the-Block-Map / Beverly Hills Hotels / Dorchester Collection Hotels / → All Tags

What’s On The Block at the Beverly Hills Hotel?

Where: 9641 W. Sunset Blvd. [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

We continue our What's On The Block: Los Angeles Edition with The Beverly Hills Hotel.

All this week, we’ve been telling you What’s On The Block at some famous hotels around Los Angeles, and today we’re going to continue our tour with the city’s great pink dowager empress, the Beverly Hills Hotel.

First the bad news: there’s nothing on the block here. That’s right, the Beverly Hills Hotel perfectly typifies Los Angeles in that you have to drive to get anywhere. Perhaps that is why it is favored by Hollywood royalty and captains of industry. Its secluded location affords unparalleled privacy from prying eyes and paparazzi alike, yet starlets can still dream of being discovered by the pool…and admit it, you’ve always wanted to reenact the sleepover scene from Troop Beverly Hills.

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Tags: What's On The Block / Whats-on-the-Block-Map / Beverly Hills Hotels / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags

What’s On The Block at The Beverly Hilton?

Where: 9876 Wilshire Blvd. [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

We continue our What's On The Block: Los Angeles Edition with The Beverly Hilton. This is a view from the hotel looking out on Century City.

Thanks to its prominence as the premier Hollywood awards show venue, not to mention its central location and luxury service, the Beverly Hilton sees its fair share of celebrity guests, but today, we thought we’d take you normal people on a little tour of What’s On The Block to let you see what all us plebes have to enjoy during a stay here.

First, let’s start with the iconic bar, Trader Vic’s, the tiki lounge that has specialized in mai tais and broken dreams for decades, and which has been experiencing a recent renaissance thanks to a revival of South Seas-chic (see Luau below) that has been taking Los Angeles by storm. Wander in for a rum cocktail then…well, let’s be honest, that will probably be the end of you.

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Tags: Project Runway Hotels / Beverly Hills Hotels / Fashion Hotels / → All Tags

Beverly Hills' Luxe Hotel Gets "Fierce" With Project Runway

Where: 360 N Rodeo Dr [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

Following HotelChatter's recent sighting of Project Runway alum Christian Siriano at New York's Cooper Square Hotel comes the show's Season Premiere tonight on Lifetime. With a new cast of Prêt-à-Porter hopefuls, a litany of "auf Wiedersehen"s in store, and the promise of Michael Kors griping about being "underwhelmed," one LA-area hotel is marking the occasion by holding weekly viewing parties.

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Tags: Summer Cocktails / Hotel Cocktails / Raffles Hotels / Beverly Hills Hotels / → All Tags

The Moonlight Martini at Raffles L'Ermitage

Where: 9291 Burton Way [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

We've kicked off our Summer Cocktails series where we profile fun new summer drinks that hotels are making. Got one we should know about? Send us the recipe with a photo of the drink. Otherwise, enjoy and @reply us when you're wasted!

Had a hard day with paparazzi following your every mundane activity? From lunching at The Ivy to shopping at Barney's to picking up some Pinkberry, every where you went today it seemed those men and their cameras were on you. Well, that's why you need to escape to the Raffles L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills and step into their exclusive Writers Bar for a Moonlight Martini.

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Even The Beverly Hills Hotel is Bringing in The DJs

Where: 9641 W. Sunset Blvd. [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

These are good times for DJs. Previously, the disc jockeys were only called in for the weekends and special events (hello, middle school dances!) but now they seem to have regular spinning gigs every night. And it's not just limited to bars and clubs. Even hotels are getting in on the DJ action--hotels like The Beverly Hills Hotel and its Bar Nineteen 12.

In an attempt to shed her fusty old image (room rates do start at around $500, after all!), Beverly Hills’ Pink Lady is launching a new summer DJ series at Bar Nineteen 12 in the lobby in honor of the bar’s two-year anniversary. Guess they don’t want the riff-raff roaming all the way into the hotel, but at least you still get a view of the gardens and pool.

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Save Your Money For Rodeo Drive When You Stay At The Crescent

Where: 403 N. Crescent Dr. [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

Beverly Hills isn’t exactly known for being one of L.A.’s bargain neighborhoods, but at least one hotel in the capital of conspicuous consumption is cutting prices this summer.

The Crescent Hotel, that watering hole of aspiring agent trainees, is offering room specials for $129 now through September 15…including weekends. Just book your room by June 5.

The discount rate is for their Single rooms, which look a little cramped to us, and only have single beds in them, but which usually go for a rate starting at $150. For an extra $10, you can upgrade to a more spacious Queen Superior Room, which we found for 157.50 on the hotel’s site. It might not be a huge price slash, but every little bit counts these days.

Guest rooms come with free WiFi, pre-programmed iPods with speakers, flatscreen TV’s with DVD players, and Italian linens.

To book the special, call the hotel at (310) 247-0505 and mention the code TZ09.

Tags: Hotel Services / Pools / Beverly Hills Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags

The Montage Beverly Hills Has Pucci Sunglasses On Loan at the Pool

Where: 225 North Canon Drive [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

While the WSJ's Finicky Traveler had a so-so time during her stay at The Montage Beverly Hills, perhaps she would have been uplifted by the hotel's posh pool scene.

Laurie Pike over at LA Magazine happened upon a totally "Only in Beverly Hills" moment when visiting the hotel last week. She writes:

I was eating a salmon salad lunch at the Conservatory Grill on the roof of the Montage in Beverly Hills last week when I saw a woman passing out white bags marked PUCCI to the staff. What I thought was a fancy addition to server uniforms turned out to be something even better: a shades-loan service for guests of the hotel.

Anyone swimming or sunning around the pool, which is opposite the restaurant, can borrow a pair of men’s or women’s Pucci shades while under the rays.

The clever idea is just one of many poolside amenities the hotel has cooked up. Others: free sunglass cleaning service, free foot massages, and free smoothies, doled out on the hour. Do guests ever find time to swim?

It's true, guests probably lounge poolside for the services rather than for a refreshing dip. However, should they decide to dive in, they will be serenaded by the classical music playing underwater. Now, let's just hope the hotel is using SPF lotion for those free massages.

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WSJ Finds Montage Beverly Hills to Be a Little Shaky

Where: 225 North Canon Drive [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

The Wall Street Journal's "Finicky Traveler" spent the night at the Montage Beverly Hills, the urban sibling to the Montage Laguna Beach that was just (finally) completed in Beverly Hills — and she found things to be a little bit, er, up and down, if not kinda shaky for the super-steep price (which, cause o' the economy, had been reduced to $395 nightly from the originally-planned $480 - $595).

Though she was impressed with the sheer size and design of the place — 201 rooms done up in a building that has a Spanish Colonial revival design, with its 20,000-square-foot spa with 17 treatment rooms, salon, fitness center, and yoga and Pilates studio — there was some, uh, room for improvement during her experience.

A few highlights (or lowlights): she mentioned the dining room "could lighten up a little" (the word "pretentious" was thrown around in there too), poopy views (and an unimpressive courtyard her Garden Suite looked out onto), and a comfortable but a bit too high-tech room (she had to call on staffers to help her figure out how the lights, drapes and sheers operated).

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Tyra Banks, Clay Aiken and the Claby Spotted at Beverly Hilton

Where: 9876 Wilshire Blvd [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

Lots happened over the weekend. Spencer and Heidi got married again, this time legally. The swine flu panic spread all around the world. And then there was this: a lucky few in Beverly Hills were dining at Circa 55 in the Beverly Hilton and had the exquisite privilege of glimpsing one of the more unusual and wonderfully campy trios in the current popular culture world. Tyra Banks, Clay Aiken and Clay Aiken's child, which TMZ dubbed "The Claby," were grabbing lunch together. Huh.

The threesome was spotted out yesterday, and it was one of the first in-the-wild sightings of Aiken's son. Glancing at the menu, we're not so sure this place is kid-friendly — but, uh, we're not so sure swinging by McD's for a Happy Meal would have been Tyra-friendly.

The most important part of this story, we think, is TMZ's ultra-classy caption for the photo set, which refers, of course, to the fact that Aiken's son comes from a surrogate mother in vitro fertilization: "Still no word if Clay's trying to rent a womb at the Tyra hotel." Ah, TMZ.

[Photo: TMZ]

Tags: Mother's Day Hotels / Beverly Hills Hotels / Hotel Packages / → All Tags

Indulge With Mom at the Crescent Without Missing Pilates Class

Where: 403 North Crescent Dr. [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

Some mothers are all about indulgence. Some mothers are all about discipline. Whether your mother is one or the other shouldn't matter on Mothers Day — though for the latter, more disciplined group, sprinkling a bit of exercise into an ultra-indulgent Mom's Day weekend may help the lady who birthed you to stay happy.

The chic and charming Crescent Beverly Hills' "Mother’s Day Work-Out, Chill-Out" offer keeps you and yo' momma pampered — and neither one of you have to give up your pilates for the weekend, so your mother can't blame you for getting her bloated via cocktails or a too-big breakfast. The one-night package includes a room for two, afternoon cocktails, breakfast in your room or on the hotel's patio, a private Pilates Reformer Bed class for two and one massage or facial for each of you. The last two goodies are offered at nearby Allure Pilates Spa, where facials run $105 and semi-private pilates lessons run $86 for two people without the package.

The package can be yours (for you and mom, obvs) for $425 for the single night, and additional room nights can be added on without all the goodies for $175.

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Montage Beverly Hills Scores the LEED Gold

Where: 190 N Canon D [map], Beverly Hills, CA, United States, 90210

The ulta-posh Montage Beverly Hills, which opened its doors in '08, has managed to score itself another distinction (you know, besides being on Brit-Brit's radar and having seriously high opening rates): the hotel has achieved LEED Gold status, and is now the "first certified ultra-luxury hotel in Southern California for LEED for New Construction" — and is one of only four Gold certified hotels on the planet.

Though there's a whole lot of LEED chatter here and there, a surprisingly low number of hotels are actually LEED certified at any level:

A total of 18 hotels worldwide have to date achieved LEED certification at Certified Silver, Gold or Platinum levels. The specific LEED for New Construction V2.2 rating system designations reflect assessments of factors such as site selection, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. LEED, begun in 2000, now encompasses more than 22,000 registered and certified projects in the U.S. and 91 countries and is administered by the USGBC, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders.

Is it worth the $395-and-up room rate to you? Your choice — but lets hope LEED Gold status doesn't mean rates will get jacked up so high that you've gotta be impossible-baller status to afford 'em.