Hotel Bel-Air
| Hotel Bel-Air | |
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| Hotel Bel Air pool | |
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| Location | |
| Location | Bel-Air, California |
| Coordinates | 34°5′11.09″N 118°26′46.63″W / 34.0864139°N 118.4462861°W |
| Opening date | 1946 |
| Rooms | 103 |
| Website | Hotelbelair.com |
The Hotel Bel-Air is a boutique hotel located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California. The hotel is owned by Hassanal Bolkiah, the current Sultan of Brunei. It is part of the Dorchester Collection group of international luxury hotels. Rates run from $565 a night for the most modest room to $4,800 for a hillside suite.[1]
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[edit] History
Since opening in 1946, the 103-room[2] facility located on Stone Canyon Road, has served many celebrities, heads of state and dignitaries.[who?] It was originally built by Alphonzo Bell, who developed the area and founded Bel-Air Estates. Originally built as office space and riding stables, it was purchased in 1946 and converted into a hotel by Texan entrepreneur Joseph Drown.[3]
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Left: Restaurant. Right: Lobby
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Joseph Drown's partner in the Hotel in the early 1950s was Ted Chanock, a former Chicagoan. Chanock and Drown remained partners until Chanock's death in 1973. Chanock's wife, Frances, remained on as a permanent resident as a condition of the Rosewood purchase agreement with the Joseph Drown Estate in the 1980s.[4]
It was developed as an oasis, a hideaway within the city. Drown added Swan Lake which guests must cross by foot bridge to get to the hotel. The grounds are planted in ficus, fig, palms and continuously-blooming flowers.
The hotel reopened in October, 2011 after a two-year renovation.[5] Upon reopening, management refused to rehire laid off unionized employees. This resulted in street demostrations and calls for a boycott.[6]
[edit] Reception
The hotel has been on the Mobil five star list more than any other hotel in California and enjoys numerous accolades including "#1 in the U.S." by Travel and Leisure, rated "#1 Boutique Hotel in the U.S." by Departures Magazine, and was recently listed as one of the "Top 25 Hotels, Past 25 Years" by Institutional Investor. Memphis Tennessee Artist Paul Edelstein dined in the Hotel Bel Air Restaurant during his four day stay in Hancock Park from January 10-15th to attend The Annual Art of Elysium Art Auction.
[edit] References
- ^ Hotel Bel-Air reopens to protests by activists, ex-union workers, By Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2011
- ^ http://www.hotelbelair.com/Default.aspx?treeid=531&NewsItemID=38
- ^ "Mission Statement". Joseph Drown Foundation. http://www.jdrown.org/mission/index.html. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ "Architectural digest, Volume 30". Conde Naste Publications. 1973. p. 69. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=k9VUAAAAMAAJ&q=Hotel+Bel-Air+Ted+Chanock&dq=Hotel+Bel-Air+Ted+Chanock&hl=en&ei=-PjyS--sJIKN_Aau74jyDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA.
- ^ "The Best Closes to Get Better". Zagat.com. July 31, 2009. http://www.zagat.com/Blog/Detail.aspx?SNP=NLA&SCID=37&BLGID=22642.
- ^ Hotel Bel-Air reopens to protests by activists, ex-union workers, By Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2011
