Hotel Bel-Air reopening day ends with a fire alarm - USA Today
USA TODAY's Kitty Bean Yancey provided this report for Hotel Check-In.
BEL-AIR, Calif. --The Hotel Bel-Air , a 65-year-old pink palace in L.A. known as a discreet getaway for Hollywood celebs and VIPs, opened its doors Friday after a two-year, top-to-bottom renovation.
USA TODAY was the first to check in, with staffers leading the way to the redone digs over the bridge by the pond where the hotel's three swans glide.
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Gardeners were adding last-minute flowers to the Bel-Air's famously lush landscaping; workers still had much to do to complete some of the Bel-Air's more celebrated suites, including the one Oprah Winfrey favored, the "Grace Kelly Suite" where the actress used to stay and the two-story presidential suite with new infinity pool and dining room with walls hand-painted in intricate floral patterns by three Russian women.
The look outdoors is much the same: pink stucco, Spanish mission-style architecture, arched walkways, oval pool, gurgling fountains with mosaics, lovely old trees. Inside, it's sleek modern custom-made furniture and retro Hollywood-glam accessories replacing the dowdier but beloved old-fashioned furnishings in the 103 rooms and suites. Each one is different, with various color schemes and accessories.
New ultramodern hillside "Canyon View" rooms and suites (expect to pay $1,650 and up) feature floor-to-ceiling picture windows and sliding doors, spa pools and decks. Older rooms include cozy digs with courtyards. Some are done in neutrals, some more colorful. Each room comes with electronic bells and whistles than include a bedside light-dimming system and an iPad that can even be used to scope out and order room service.
"The whole idea was to have a rebirth," says the hotel's acting general manager, Edward Mady -- who also is general manager of The Beverly Hills Hotel and a regional executive of the Dorchester Collection, which runs the two hotels. He will only say the redo cost "millions and millions" and explains the business model: "to take the customers you have and get them to spend more, to get new customers and to get more efficiency."
The old Bel-Air was not a moneymaker, says Christopher Cowdray, the Dorchester Collection CEO in town for the opening. He says the hotel is looking to replace the general manager who left suddenly just days ago. Requirements: Someone who can handle "the complexity" of the expanded hotel, with new expensive La Prairie spa and name-brand Wolfgang Puck dining.
The least expensive room on opening day was $565, and about two dozen guests were let into rooms and suites that included those with fireplaces and heated toilet seats (at upper price levels) and showers too complex for the average turn-on-the-faucet types to easily work.
As with every opening, kinks were still being worked out. And there were some doozies -- including picketing by the UNITE HERE union. One picketer wore a swan outfit, a reference to the hotel's symbol; another was dressed as the Sultan of Brunei, a reference to the hotel's ownership by the Brunei government. Picketers say many former unionized Bel-Air workers were well-qualified did not get their jobs back after renovation. Mady says 86% of Bel-Air workers took severance pay of 2.5 weeks' pay per year served and that the hotel hired based on "skill sets" needed and is letting staffers vote in a secret ballot whether to unionize. The hotel served picketers cookies and bottled water.
Around 11 p.m., another uh-oh moment occurred in the hotel's new Puck restaurant, which is due to open to the public Nov. 1. Apparently an overhead heater or the two-sided fireplace tripped the sprinkler system, dousing a female guest in a chic dress. She was understandably panicked, and the restaurant was temporarily evacuated.
Minutes later, calm was restored, and guests began drifting off to their plush and pristine accommodations. In unoccupied rooms, workmen toiled on.
Bottom line: It'll be a hit if kinks are worked out, the hotel's A-list and well-heeled following goes for the modern interiors and revamped bar and restaurant (memo to Puck: Please warm the delicious pretzel bread before serving), and if service stays attentive when the Bel-Air is full.
17 Oct, 2011--
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