Hotel Bel-Air

The Hotel Bel-Air is a boutique hotel located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California. The hotel is one of the nine luxury hotels operated by the Dorchester Collection,[1] which is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA).[2] The hotel has a total of 103 rooms, 45 of which are suites.[3] The Bel-Air hotel has an overall old Hollywood style and is surrounded by 12 acres (4.9 ha) of gardens in the Bel-Air Estates neighborhood.[3]

Hotel Bel-Air
Matchbook from hotel, circa 1990
The hotel pool.
Hotel Bel-Air is located in Western Los Angeles
Hotel Bel-Air
Location in Bel Air/Western Los Angeles Area
General information
LocationBel-Air, California
Address701 Stone Canyon Road, Los Angeles 90077
Coordinates34°5′11.09″N 118°26′46.63″W
Opened1946
OwnerBrunei Investment Agency
ManagementDorchester Collection
Other information
Number of rooms103
Number of suites45
Number of restaurants1
Website
Official website

Located just outside Beverly Hills and Westwood, Hotel Bel-Air has regularly housed notable guests and celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Wagner, Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Jimmy Stewart, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, who frequented the hotel so regularly she had a suite named after her.[4] Hotel Bel-Air was also the setting for Marilyn Monroe's last Vogue magazine shoot, six weeks before her death.[5]

History

The hotel was originally built in 1922 on 60 acres (24 ha) of gardens by Alphonzo Bell.[6] Since opening in 1946, the facility, located on Stone Canyon Road, has served celebrities, heads of state and dignitaries.[7] Initially built as office space and riding stables, it was purchased in 1946 and converted into a hotel by Texan entrepreneur Joseph Drown.[8] Drown partnered with architect Burton Schutt to redevelop the property as a luxurious hotel.[9]

The hotel was themed on an oasis, with Drown adding Swan Lake, which guests cross by foot bridge to get to the hotel. The grounds are planted in ficus, fig, palms and continuously-blooming flowers.[10]

After Drown's death in the 1980s, the hotel was sold to the Hunt family of Texas and became part of its Rosewood Hotels & Resorts collection.[11] The Hunt family revitalized the property by hiring famed chef Wolfgang Puck to consult on the menu and hotel restaurant.[11] Caroline Hunt sold the hotel for $100 million in 1989 to Japan's Sazale Group.[12]

In 1995, the hotel was purchased by Prince Jefri Bolkiah of the royal family of Brunei,[11] then in 2008 the Dorchester Collection, owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, acquired the hotel. After a two-year closure for major renovations, the hotel reopened in October 2011.[11][13]

In 2014, the hotel faced controversy relating to its ownership's relation to the Sultan of Brunei. The Sultan enacted the first phase in adopting aspects of Sharia law to the Brunei criminal code, and his hotels were boycotted in protest.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Hotel Bel-Air". Dorchester Collection. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  2. Szu Ping Chan (September 18, 2013). "Luxury Rome hotel snapped up by Dorchester owner". The Telegraph.
  3. Forbes Travel Guide (January 13, 2012). "An Inside Look At Wolfgang Puck's New Restaurant At Hotel Bel-Air". Forbes. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  4. Ventre, Michael (October 28, 2011). "The Hollywood History of Hotel Bel-Air". LA Confidential Magazine. Niche Media. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  5. Garrahan, Matthew (November 5, 2011). "The return of a Hollywood legend". FT.com. Financial Times. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  6. Sharon Waxman (August 3, 2009). "Hotel Bel-Air to Close for Major Renovation". The Wrap. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  7. "Mission Statement". Joseph Drown Foundation. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  8. "Hotel Bel-Air". Architectural Digest. Conde Nast Publications. 30: 69. 1973.
  9. Eric Rosen. "See and Be Seen at The Polo Lounge". Los Angeles Confidential. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  10. Dane Steele Green (December 20, 2012). "Hotel Bel-Air Is Restored and Reopened". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  11. Michael Gross (January 2012). "Hotel Bel-Air's Modern New Look". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  12. "The Texas One Hundred". Texas Monthly. August 1989. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  13. "Hotel Bel-Air to Debut in October 2011" (Press release). Alisha Mahon, Hotel Belair. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  14. Martha Groves; Nabih Bulos; Matt Stevens (May 5, 2014). "Sultan of Brunei's Beverly Hills Hotel boycotted over rights issues". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
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