Words by Ellie Seymour
A visit to Beverly Hills is a Los Angeles side-trip must-do, not least to discover screen-recognisable backdrops hidden around every corner, like the famous Electric Fountain featured in the 1995 film Clueless and the Beverly Wilshire hotel in 1990 film Pretty Woman, but to browse a clutch of cool art galleries, rows of gleaming high-end shops, Michelin-starred restaurants and the odd hilltop historic mansion.
Where to stay
L’Ermitage Beverly Hills
The elegant five-star L’Ermitage Beverly Hills is a favourite with attention-shy celebrities. It’s discreetly located on a tree-lined street five minutes from the city centre and resembles an ordinary apartment block. Friendly doormen greet you and grab your bags. Inside, the desk is manned by calm and unflappable staff who make checking in an easy and efficient dream.
Each of the 116 spacious suites is designed to feel like home with big corner sofas, comfy king beds, deep soaking tubs, and double sinks. You get a monogrammed pillowcase, silk eye mask (yours to keep) and chocolates at turndown. Save time in your schedule to languish on a lounger at the rooftop pool.
The Maybourne Beverly Hills
Sister hotel to London’s The Connaught, Claridge’s and The Berkeley, the opulent Maybourne Beverly Hills feels both nostalgic and young. Golden-Age glamour is reflected in its Spanish heritage building moments from Rodeo Drive. Mid-century modern-style furniture and colourful local art fill contemporary-style rooms and suites. The views from the rooftop pool are out of this world. As is the size of the spa – the biggest in the city at 20,000 square feet – with 17 treatment rooms and its beautiful lobby with a showstopping, changing, fresh-flower display.
The Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel
Set in the Beverly Hills triangle where Rodeo Drive meets Wilshire Boulevard, this luxurious 1928 landmark hotel was made famous by actors Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in the 1990s movie Pretty Woman. It mixes quality, luxury, and old Hollywood glamour, the latter meticulously preserved down to the last original room doorbell during its recent mega refurbishment.
The entry double rooms are spacious, but the 12 imaginably large suites will blow your mind, some featuring multiple bedrooms, entertaining and movie rooms, not to mention gigantic wrap-around balconies with Hollywood views.
fourseasons.com/beverlywilshire/
Things to do
First stop: Rodeo Drive, obviously
A wander along the world’s most famous shopping street lined with high-end fashion houses and boutiques is the ultimate LA must-do. It’s a cliché yes, but going to Beverly Hills without going to Rodeo Drive would be like going to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. With its gleaming shops, roaring supercars, and screen-famous settings, it feels like you’re on a Hollywood film set, eyes peeled for a potential celebrity sighting.
Greystone Mansion and Park
A short drive from the centre of Beverly Hills up into the Hollywood hills takes you to this huge 55-room Tudor-style home Greystone Mansion. Although the house isn’t open to the public, its surrounding 18 acres of lush parkland are free for visitors to explore, for great views across to the city centre.
The house was built in 1928 by an oil tycoon called Edward L Doheny Jr, for $4 million – the equivalent of around $63 million in 2021 – and was the most expensive home in California at the time. Today, it belongs to the city of Beverly Hills and is a registered historical landmark.
Gallery hop
Beverly Hills isn’t a place you associate with art, but the city centre is home to a substantial helping of galleries and public art works. Find cool contemporary photography celebrating Hollywood legends like Jack Nicholson and Angelica Houston at the sleek, all-glass-fronted Mouche Gallery, modern work by leading international artists at the cool Gagosian and classic paintings, drawings and prints by European masters of the 17th to 20th centuries at Galerie Michael.
Elsewhere, there are more than 70 public art sculptures and installations dotted around the city, which you can discover on a self-guided walking tour.
Where to eat
Mirame
Opened in 2021, Mirame stands out as a fun, less formal but nevertheless luxurious option for brunch, lunch, or dinner. It feels like you’re dining in a fancy Bajan beach shack. Think breezy high ceilings, scatter cushions on bench seats, walls hung with dried flowers and folk art, potted cacti on the terrace, rattan light shades. It serves contemporary Mexican cuisine with a Californian twist with dishes including green chilli buttermilk fried chicken and a margarita for Mexican food heaven.
The Terrace
You don’t have to stay at the fancy five-star Maybourne hotel to enjoy lunch at its onsite restaurant, The Terrace. The white-clothed tables outside in its European-style garden are set on gravel, underneath shady white parasols and surrounded by a collection of fragrant herb-filled terracotta pots. Adding to the across-the-pond ambience is the complementary Mediterranean-style menu. Go for something light like a salad of smoked trout, Carpinteria avocado and ruby grapefruit segments followed by a hearty bowl of delicious rigatoni Bolognese.
maybournebeverlyhills.com/restaurants-bars/the-terrace/
THEBlvd
A fun way to appreciate the impressive landmark Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, is time spent on the sunny terrace of THEBlvd Restaurant and Lounge at the front of the hotel. It’s an absolute must for the location alone. It faces directly up Rodeo Drive; the ultimate spot for taking in life playing out in this glitzy LA city. Order a chilled white wine, some crudités and kick back. Bigger appetite? The signature hand-cut French toast made with brioche, berries, and caramel pecan crumb for breakfast won’t go amiss.
fourseasons.com/beverlywilshire/dining/restaurants/the_blvd/
Factbox
For more information, visit lovebeverlyhills.com.
Ellie flew from London Heathrow to Los Angeles thanks to Virgin Atlantic.
