Hotel greeter snorts a bit
He snuffles and snorts. He waddles when he walks. He has the most wicked underbite.
And, he’s utterly charming in the way only a stocky, snub-snouted, ugly-cute English bulldog can be.
The one-year-old canine, appropriately named after Britain’s best-known prime minister, Winston Churchill, is the real-life mascot at The London West Hollywood, the 226-suite Los Angeles hotel that flawlessly melds U.K. panache with Southern California cool.
My wife, Kerry, and I are staying at the hotel and meet Winston in the lobby after breakfast in The London’s Boxwood restaurant.
The hotel’s assistant director of sales, Mary Spellerberg, is the playful pooch’s chaperone today.
The pair stops so we can fuss and fawn over Winston.
We take a seat on the green velvet couch with Mary and Winston hops up to keep us supplied with lavish licks and grunting nuzzles.
“Winston’s here every day to greet guests,” says Mary, while stroking Winston’s neck wattle.
“He’s the hotel’s star. The guy everyone wants to meet.”
If you want more time with Winston at your wedding, corporate event, movie screening or photo shoot at the hotel, he can be booked for a $200 appearance fee. Only in West Hollywood. We say goodbye to Winston to embark on an eclectic long weekend in West Hollywood combining touristy fare with local intel.
We head to Hikes and Bikes LA for the Celebrity Bike Tour through Beverly Hills and West Hollywood (WeHo to those in the know).
As its name suggests, this 4.9square-kilometre city surrounded by Los Angeles is west of Hollywood proper with its preponderance of studios and that famous hillside sign.
West Hollywood is home to famous stretches of bars, restaurants, shops and talent agencies on Sunset Boulevard to the north, Melrose Avenue to the south and Santa Monica Boulevard right through the middle.
Cycle guide Zack Signote, a cross between celebrity fan boy and local historian, tells us West Hollywood’s anything-goes attitude makes it a mecca for the stylish LGBTQ+ community, Hollywood A-listers, entertainment industry titans and tourists.
We see this diversity first-hand later while lounging around The London’s cabana-ringed and palmtreed, 10th-floor rooftop pool.
Singles and couples, both straight and gay, sun themselves while a family from Germany and another from the American Midwest splash in the turquoise water.
Only in West Hollywood is there an all-vegan, all-organic Mexican restaurant run by women called Gracias Madre where we order the jackfruit tacos and the most enormous margarita for two.
Dinner that night is the winepaired Sunday supper in the ivycovered courtyard of Lucques on Melrose Avenue.
Santa Barbara County Gruner Veltliner is sipped.
Pan-roasted barramundi fish is consumed.
To sweat off some of this indulgent dining, the next morning we head to the nearest branch of Shape House to be wrapped in infrared blankets and heated to 77 C for an hour to detoxify while watching episodes of That ‘70s Show on TV. Again, only in West Hollywood. Refreshed and lighter, we spend our final day shopping and lunching at outdoor mall, The Grove, and dining at Sunset Boulevard’s hot, new Tesse restaurant — caviar on toast, lobster sausage and chocolate souffle anyone?
Air Canada flies to Los Angeles from Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.
Check out TheLondonWestHollywood.com and VisitWestHollywood.com.