Hotel Bel-air, Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES can feel like one long red carpet—exciting and exhausting in equal measure. When the A-list wants a break from the see-and-beseen, they come here, to the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Hotel Bel-air: a collection of blush-pink Spanish Colonial villas and suites set in a dozen lush acres of gardens and lakes across which swans sail serenely.
It’s not hard to see why it’s been a magnet for high rollers since it opened its doors in 1946. Elizabeth Taylor moved in as a newlywed with Nicky Hilton, Grace Kelly bedded down here after she won her Best Actress Oscar in 1955 and Marilyn Monroe lived on and off for more than a decade in a suite spritzed with Chanel No 5. The service is, of course, faultless: Paul Mccartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison once stayed at the Bel-air at the same time without having a clue the others were there, so careful are the staff about keeping mum.
The Bel-air’s Presidential Suite is gorgeously, gloriously, discreet. Nestled amid redwoods, tipu trees and bougainvilleas, it forms its own private compound boasting 6,775sq ft of indoor and outdoor space— think private dining for 10, a chef’s kitchen, a study, a day room complete with a glossy grand piano and your own personal infinity pool.
The recent renovation of the entire Bel-air was masterminded by Alexandra Champalimaud of Claridge’s and the soothing palette of neutrals with glossy dark wood and chrome accents works just as well on the West Coast as it does in London.
You can lose days by the famous oval pool, tuning into the birdsong and basking in the Californian sunshine, or being pummelled in the gilded spa.
If you’re forced to tear yourself away, a chauffeur will drive you anywhere within a three-mile radius at no extra charge, but, away from the flashbulbs on Sunset Strip and the movie studios, time slows down.
Wolfgang Puck heads up the kitchen at the Bel-air and meals here are made for lingering over: think breakfasts of huevos rancheros and green juice, fish fresh from the wood grill amid the jasmine and orange blossom at lunchtime, and herb salad, hand-cut pasta and molten mango cake under the stars after sundown. Hollywood feels a world away. Emma Hughes Rooms from $595 (£462) a night (00 1 310 472 1211; www.dorchestercollection.com). Air New Zealand flies direct from London to Los Angeles daily, from £349 Economy return and £801 Premium Economy return (0800 028 4149; www. airnewzealand.co.uk)