Hotel
I arrive in Los Angeles on a late night and stayed at an airport for the night. The next stay I headed-off to my permanent accommodation, the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills for the rest of my stay. I arrive at the hotel early in the morning and the hotel staff are amazing and manage to sort out a lovely room for me well ahead of the usual check-in time. The staff here are simply amazing and work to cover every little detail.
The SLS Beverly Hills is an electric hotel with a flourish of quirky style and flamboyance which is reflective of the personality of its designer Philippe Starck. When you walk into the hotel there a number of unique features which certainly stop you in your tracks. There is a solid-glass deer heads mounted above the fireplace, 177 different styles of chairs, a horse sculpture with a lamp on its head, 20 whimsical chandeliers and an outdoor cabin-like area which an opportunity to reminisce of the country… and oh yes there is another solid-glass deer head mounted there too for touch. It is almost like I am at the Mad Hatter’s tea party… why oh why did I not bring my Top Hat! Here are some snaps of the hotel:
The outdoor area – very hunting cabin-esque.
The lovely indoor area… with another deer head.
And yet another deer head above the fire place.
The fun doesn’t stop in the elevators with a stylish glowing snaps of cool peeps – that red dress!
The lobby and lift area has a electric glow kinda feel which is in stark contrast to the cabin feel in the bar and entrance area.
As you head up to the room each lift area on all the floors has quirky objects… on my floor there is a billiard table, Louis XV chairs and electric glowing photos of pop icons.
The Room
The room is amazing, it has a beautiful super plush and oh so comfortable king bed with a glass headboard, a flat-screen 40-inch plasma TV hidden inside the smoky mirror on the wall and a spacious desk behind the bed which is so ergonomical. On the side of the room there is a caramel coloured tufted leather sofa with table for an intimate coffee meeting. The room has this sensuous dreamy touch to it, perfect for a romantic getaway. I can’t quite put my finger what does it… the moody lighting, the fur spread on the plush white Porthault sheets, the mini-bar with snacks classed as saints (the healthy stuff) and sinners (chocolates, crisps & even an “intimacy kit”) or the wardrobe which is decorated with the heads of Roman centurions. They all work together to provide a magnetic allure which attracts you to the room even on the sunniest California day!
I have compiled a little video of the room to give you a sense of the size, the features and the bathroom. The bathroom had four mirrored walls which makes it difficult to photograph, but as you’ll see on the video there is a beautiful wide sink area with bright coloured glasses, a rainforest shower and spacious shower area, plenty of towels and luxe Ceil products.
The Pool
My favourite part of SLS has to be the Altitude rooftop pool. It’s got the same electric décor as the rest of the hotel including a big red lip seat in the middle of the pool deck, various artwork and mirrors which surround the pool, a variety of colours of pillows, brown sofa deck chairs and an interesting menu. I could seriously live by the pool – it’s the best life.
The highlight of the pool area has to be the Copper Passion… it is a sensational tonic brewed with passionfruit purée, vodka, and a rosé cava float and is served in a aesthetically pleasing two-piece pineapple-shaped copper tumbler. If you have the urge (like I kinda thought of doing) of secretly souveniring the tumbler – the hotel will charge you $150!
The art of sitting around the pool doing absolutely nothing is quite a chore, so I decide to order from the bar menu. There are delicious sliders which absolutely hit the spot and some octopus tacos which prove lovely on a sunny day in Cali.
In the evenings the California sunset and the vast number of palm trees provide quite a hit as one gazes across the horizon from the pool deck. This is the view it is just stunning.
Overall
The hotel does service very well (although there was a little hiccup one night on the pool deck where my wine delivery wasn’t quite seamless) and every little touch from restaurant reservations to early check-ins and late check-outs were handled without incident. The hotel does leave you with a magical wonderland feel and a little detached from reality which lets face it… its what we need from our holidays. I certainly felt disengaged from the rest of the world during my stay. It is certainly one unique hotel indeed.
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