The Hotel Bel-Air is a
boutique hotel located in
Bel-Air,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The hotel is one of the nine luxury hotels operated by the
Dorchester Collection
Dorchester Collection is a luxury hotel operator owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), an arm of the Ministry of Finance of Brunei. Dorchester Collection owns and manages nine luxury five star hotels: The Dorchester (London), The Beverly H ...
, which is owned by the
Brunei Investment Agency
The Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) is a government-owned corporation that reports to the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Brunei. Established in 1983, its offices are located in Bandar Seri Begawan at the Ministry of Finance HQ. Data o ...
(BIA).
The hotel has a total of 103 rooms, 45 of which are suites.
The Bel-Air hotel has an overall old
Hollywood style and is surrounded by of gardens in the Bel-Air Estates neighborhood.
Located just outside Beverly Hills and Westwood, Hotel Bel-Air has regularly housed notable guests and celebrities including
Elizabeth Taylor,
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979 ...
,
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
,
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
,
Lauren Bacall,
Paul Newman,
Robert Redford,
Jimmy Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
,
Audrey Hepburn and
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
, who frequented the hotel so regularly she had a suite named after her. Hotel Bel-Air was also the setting for
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
's last ''Vogue'' magazine shoot, six weeks before her death.
History
The hotel was originally built in 1922 on of gardens by
Alphonzo Bell
Alphonzo Edward Bell Sr. (September 29, 1875 – December 27, 1947) was an American oil multi-millionaire, real estate developer, philanthropist, and champion tennis player. The westside Los Angeles residential community of Bel Air is name ...
. Since opening in 1946, the facility, located on Stone Canyon Road, has served celebrities, heads of state and dignitaries. Initially built as office space and riding stables, it was purchased in 1946 and converted into a hotel by Texan entrepreneur Joseph Drown. Drown partnered with architect Burton Schutt to redevelop the property as a luxurious hotel.
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.
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
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is an international luxury hotel and resort company operating 28 hotels in 16 countries, currently owned by Hong Kong-based Rosewood Hotel Group (formerly New World Hospitality and rebranded in May 2013). It was found ...
collection.
The Hunt family revitalized the property by hiring famed chef
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur.
Early life and career
Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname ...
to consult on the menu and hotel restaurant.
Caroline Hunt sold the hotel for $100 million in 1989 to Japan's Sazale Group.
In 1995, the hotel was purchased by
Prince Jefri Bolkiah of the royal family of
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...
,
then in 2008 the
Dorchester Collection
Dorchester Collection is a luxury hotel operator owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), an arm of the Ministry of Finance of Brunei. Dorchester Collection owns and manages nine luxury five star hotels: The Dorchester (London), The Beverly H ...
, owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, acquired the hotel. After a two-year closure for major renovations, the hotel reopened in October 2011.
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.
Gallery
File:Hotel Bel Air.jpg, Pool
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bel-Air
Hotels in Los Angeles
Hotels established in 1946
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, which is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA). The hotel has a total of 10 ...
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, which is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA). The hotel has a total of 10 ...