Photo: © The Beverly Hills Hotel, Dorchester Collection
The Beverly Hills Hotel: Hollywood’s Pink Palace for Those in the Know
Rising from the palms on Sunset Boulevard like a perfectly preserved movie set, the powder‑pink façade of The Beverly Hills Hotel has been part of Hollywood’s imagination since 1912. Guests arrive up its storied driveway before slipping out of sight into lush gardens, towards a legendary pool and bungalows steeped in anecdotes. Here, the “Pink Palace” balances unabashed glamour with almost obsessive discretion – a connoisseurs’ grand hotel where every corner seems to whisper a Sunset secret to those who linger long enough to listen.
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The Beverly Hills Hotel, a century of stories at Hollywood’s insiders’ Pink Palace on Sunset Boulevard
An undisputed Sunset Boulevard icon, The Beverly Hills Hotel has carried, for more than a century, the aura of an ultra‑coveted club, especially prized by Hollywood regulars. Opened on May 12, 1912, the hotel was conceived by Margaret J. Anderson and her son Stanley S. Anderson as an elegant rendezvous on the edge of Los Angeles, long before Beverly Hills became a legendary ZIP code. The original building, designed by Pasadena architect Elmer Grey, adopts a Mediterranean Revival style, its measured lines and pale volumes set against the lush greenery of the gardens.
The transformation into the “Pink Palace” came later: it was not until the 1948 renovation that the façade took on the shade of pink now inseparable from the address, lifted by palm‑green accents, the property’s visual signature. The following year, architect Paul Williams added the Crescent Wing, expanding the hotel’s silhouette while respecting its original spirit. A succession of distinctive owners further reinforced its status as a Hollywood stronghold: Hernando Courtright installed the Polo Lounge in 1941, and Ben L. Silberstein then presided, with almost domestic rigor, from 1958 to 1979. In 1986, Marvin Davis acquired the hotel before selling it less than a year later to the Sultan of Brunei.
Closed for a complete restoration in 1992, The Beverly Hills Hotel reopened in 1995 with revitalized facilities that did not compromise its heritage. Since 1996, it has been managed as part of the Dorchester Collection, a guarantee of service tailored to a demanding international clientele. In 2012, the property was named the first official historic landmark of Beverly Hills, formal recognition for a hotel already deeply embedded in Hollywood’s collective imagination. More than a mere address, this Pink Palace remains a sought‑after refuge for stars, royalty and travellers drawn to a Hollywood style of luxury that is both historic and timeless.
A connoisseurs’ grand hotel in the heart of 90210: location, atmosphere and clientele
Set at 9641 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, The Beverly Hills Hotel occupies a strategic position between the palms of Sunset Boulevard and the boutiques of Rodeo Drive and Beverly Drive, right in the middle of the famed 90210 ZIP code. The hotel lies around a 30‑minute drive from Los Angeles International Airport, a journey that can stretch to an hour depending on traffic. Forbes Travel Guide confirms the property’s Five‑Star status, while the MICHELIN Guide awards it three MICHELIN Keys, underlining both its level of service and its standing as a hotel icon.
The contrast is striking between the Pink Palace’s global renown and the almost domestic atmosphere its loyal guests seek out. Beyond the palm‑lined driveway, you enter a world where discretion trumps display. The clientele mixes movie stars, rock stars, royals, leading business figures and seasoned leisure travellers. Over the years, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, John Lennon and Yoko Ono and Charlie Chaplin have all used its rooms and bungalows much as one would return to a particularly well‑kept private home.
A four‑phase renovation carried out between 2012 and 2015 (lobby, Polo Lounge, pool cabanas, and all rooms and suites in the main building) fine‑tuned this dialogue between official prestige and the intimacy of a private club. Much like a nearby legend such as Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard, another insiders’ retreat, The Beverly Hills Hotel maintains a singular relationship with Hollywood, but adds the depth of a grand historic palace: formal service codes, a century‑old architectural legacy and institutional recognition. Regulars come precisely for this rare equation: a globally recognised address where anonymity is still remarkably well protected.
Rooms, suites and bungalows: contemporary comfort behind a Hollywood legend
Behind its historic‑palace façade, The Beverly Hills Hotel takes a decidedly contemporary approach to comfort. The property offers just over two hundred keys: some accounts list 210 rooms and suites, others 208 rooms including 23 bungalows, these latter having been restored under the guidance of designer Alexandra Champalimaud. The figures may vary slightly, but the spirit is consistent: a majority of rooms in the main building and a string of intimate bungalows scattered through the gardens.
In the rooms, the details show a clear intention to meet the highest standards of modern luxury travel: high‑tech panels to control light and temperature, generous walk‑in closets, Wi‑Fi, Bang & Olufsen televisions, carefully stocked minibars. Around a third of the rooms benefit from a balcony, fireplace, terrace or patio, opening onto the grounds or the hotel’s iconic pool scene. Marble bathrooms combine a shower and deep soaking tub, illuminated mirrors with built‑in screens, and bath products created exclusively for the hotel by Natura.
Suites extend this feeling of a private residence. They come with wellness kits including yoga DVDs, mats, blocks, stretch bands, Buddha boards, massage balls and therapeutic oils, complemented by in‑room yoga and meditation menus. As already noted, this focus on wellbeing speaks to an international, constantly on‑the‑move clientele keen to recover intelligently between long‑haul flights or film shoots. The bungalows, some with kitchens and private pools, take privacy even further. The Presidential Bungalow, with the option of butler service plus its own private jacuzzi and lap pool, stands out as a fully self‑contained retreat for stays where discretion is paramount.
Signature bungalows and Hollywood mythology: from Sinatra’s bungalow to Elizabeth Taylor romance
If the main building embodies the palace’s official prestige, it is the bungalows that truly feed the Pink Palace mythology. Designed as small houses wrapped in greenery, they echo, on a Hollywood scale, what other California properties approach via the “residential resort” concept. Here, however, the idea takes on a Hollywood tone, with hideaway bungalows for connoisseurs rather than simple vacation villas, in contrast to a property such as Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley with its private vineyard.
Some bungalows pay explicit tribute to emblematic guests. Bungalow No. 22 honours Frank Sinatra, while Bungalow No. 5 adopts a palette inspired by Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery. The actress also left her mark on the property by celebrating several of her honeymoons here, reinforcing the image of the Pink Palace as a natural backdrop for grand Hollywood love stories. Other anecdotes add to the legend: Howard Hughes is said to have lived for long stretches in the bungalows, John Lennon and Yoko Ono reportedly hid out here for an entire week, and Katharine Hepburn is remembered for diving into the pool fully clothed after a tennis match.
Beyond the stories, these bungalows sum up the dual vocation of The Beverly Hills Hotel: to host Hollywood’s social life and to orchestrate its most confidential retreats. Discreet circulation routes, terraces shielded from view and the possibility of booking spa treatments in a cabana overlooking the pool all contribute to the sense of a place designed for highly private stays. At this Pink Palace, you might cross paths with a global star at the Polo Lounge and lose sight of them minutes later, absorbed into the hushed discretion of bungalows swallowed by greenery.
Polo Lounge, Fountain Coffee Room and Cabana Café: a dining scene that feels both classic and current
The social heart of the Pink Palace beats around its tables. The Polo Lounge, installed by Hernando Courtright in the early 1940s, has become one of Beverly Hills’ most photographed and most talked‑about restaurant‑bars. A historic hangout for members of the Rat Pack and generations of entertainers, it still holds its place as a must for regulars’ lunches, business meetings and long dinners. Green banquettes, precise service, and a menu that balances American classics with more contemporary touches keep it poised between Hollywood nostalgia and present‑day dining.
Downstairs, the Fountain Coffee Room (sometimes referred to as Fountain Coffee Shop) offers a more relaxed take, with its long horseshoe counter and chic‑diner spirit, ideal for a discreet breakfast or a quick bite. By the pool, the Cabana Café extends the hotel’s culinary life with a lighter menu, refreshments and dishes served in robe and sandals, overlooking the discreet choreography of the cabanas.
Come evening, Bar Nineteen12 – a nod to the hotel’s opening year – assumes the role of an elegant cocktail lounge, perfectly pitched for a final drink after dinner at the Polo Lounge or a night in town. Taken together, these social spaces give the impression that The Beverly Hills Hotel operates as a self‑contained little urban scene, as already explored in our earlier focus on the history of the Pink Palace. Yet discretion remains central: the most sought‑after tables are often in the hands of loyal regulars for whom this grand hotel is almost a very private canteen, wrapped in Hollywood glamour.
Pool, Valmont spa and bespoke services: Five‑Star luxury designed to protect anonymity
Almost as instantly recognisable as the pink‑and‑green façade, the Beverly Hills Hotel pool creates a signature tableau: tall palms, green‑and‑white striped loungers, private cabanas with changing rooms and televisions, seahorse topiaries and potted lemon trees. Heated to 82°F year‑round, the pool is accompanied by a soundtrack of classic film scores. The cabanas, which can be reserved for private use, function as open‑air salons, suited to an informal lunch, a working meeting or a family afternoon shielded from view.
The Beverly Hills Hotel’s Valmont spa completes the wellbeing offer with a range of high‑value treatments, including options using diamond crystals and caviar. The possibility of arranging certain sessions in a cabana overlooking the pool reinforces this feeling of carefully choreographed privacy. A fitness center rounds out the facilities, complemented by the wellness kits available in the suites and the in‑room yoga and meditation menus, well adapted to frequent flyers, intense filming schedules and global decision‑makers.
On the services side, the hotel distinguishes itself with a chauffeured house car, a Mercedes 400 hybrid sedan, offered on a complimentary basis for any trip within a three‑mile radius – a meaningful asset in a city where the car still rules. Add complimentary Wi‑Fi, 24/7 room service and staff trained to Dorchester Collection standards, and the Pink Palace confirms its status as a property designed for highly experienced travellers, accustomed to the finest international service and intent on preserving both their comfort and their anonymity.
Explore the surroundings
Booking your own refuge at Sunset Boulevard’s Pink Palace: the insiders’ address
Staying at The Beverly Hills Hotel means joining the circle of those who see Sunset Boulevard not as a backdrop, but as familiar territory. This is an address for travellers seeking Hollywood luxury steeped in stories, without giving up contemporary comfort: themed bungalows inspired by Frank Sinatra or Elizabeth Taylor, a Presidential Bungalow with private pool and jacuzzi, the Polo Lounge for high‑level meetings, the Valmont spa for tailored rituals, the storied heated pool and service calibrated to the smallest detail. The Pink Palace keeps its allure all year long, helped by the mild climate and a loyal international clientele, made up as much of public figures as of anonymous guests drawn by the property’s aura.
The Beverly Hills Hotel is aimed first and foremost at demanding travellers: couples in search of a historic Hollywood setting, families accustomed to the standards of leading grand hotels, entrepreneurs and creatives looking for a base slightly removed from the bustle yet close to Beverly Hills appointments. Film and music professionals experience it almost as an extension of the studios, while lovers of legendary hotels tick it off as a collector’s address, on a par with the great urban palaces of the world. Above all, the Pink Palace remains a connoisseurs’ landmark: for those who know that behind the postcard image lies an art of detail and discretion that has been honed since 1912.
Practical information and reservations
The Beverly Hills Hotel, Dorchester Collection
9641 Sunset Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 – United States
Tel.: +1 (310) 276‑2251
Rates and availability: consult the official website or your preferred high‑end travel advisor.
Book via www.dorchestercollection.com or through your usual premium booking platform.