Los Angeles - Montage Beverly Hills
Spring 2009
Frank's view 
An icon in the making
The gods were not smiling on Californian entrepreneur, Steve Fuerstman, when he extended his Laguna Beach Montage hotel brand, and opened Beverly Hills’ first major new luxury hotel in 16 years.
The 201 room Montage Beverly Hills welcomed its inaugural guests in November 2008, two months after Lehman Brothers collapsed and the US banks came tumbling down.
Perhaps, close to Hollywood is not the worst place to base a new 5 star palace. The presence of movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, holding court whilst we were having breakfast, suggested that Tinsel Town has adopted the Montage as an alternative to other local institutions such as The Four Seasons and The Beverly Wilshire. Indeed, Ali Kasikci, MD of the Montage, was poached from The Peninsula.
Modelled on a grand Spanish mansion, the Montage certainly looks every bit the superstar smooching pad. The Beverly Hills trademarks are all there; the ground floor bar for early evening meet and greets, the rooftop pool lined by cabanas, and a superb Spa, which definitely leaves the competition for dead.
There are two restaurants on the ground floor and one on the 9th floor, by the pool. Dining at The Montage was not a great experience, but that’s another story.
The hotel boasts some of the largest guest rooms in Beverly Hills, so I opted for a ‘Grand Lux. King size’ at $595 + tax. The layout was carefully considered with a good size bathroom including walk in shower, bath, two washbasins and a separate wc. Two people could use the bathroom comfortably without risk of a space squabble.
A huge HD television was perched above a desk with an IT unit featuring every AV / computer socket imaginable.
Our room had a balcony with two comfy chairs, a table and a view towards the Hollywood Hills, with the famous sign being visible in the distance.
In room Internet access is complimentary (as it should be). The download speed was incredibly fast. The wireless connectivity is also strong all over the hotel. I was even able to check email on my iPhone by the pool, using the hotel wifi.
Very few things in the travel industry are perfect and, sadly, a room at The Montage is no exception.
The air conditioning unit jolted into short bursts of activity every few minutes with the twang of a schoolboy built rubber band mechanism. This was particularly disruptive during the night. Switching it off removed the need to visit the Spa for a sauna.
The bathroom lighting was also irritating. The hotel’s eco-architect had presumably glanced over a piece of research, which said that most people don’t switch hotel bathroom lights off. The solution was to put the lights on a timer. The problem was that when I tried to switch the lights on just after the timer had cut out, they didn’t work. Well, I think that was the problem. I never quite figured it out, but there were several occasions when I just could not get the damn lights to work, then suddenly, they did.
Nevertheless, The Montage is a first class, five star, luxury hotel, and I will definitely stay there again. It has found its feet quickly and will, in time, establish itself as a Beverly Hills institution.
Montage Beverly Hills
225 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills
+1 310 860 7800
http://www.montagebeverlyhills.com/
The 9th Floor Roof Top swimming pool
The 201 room Montage Beverly Hills welcomed its inaugural guests in November 2008, two months after Lehman Brothers collapsed and the US banks came tumbling down.
Perhaps, close to Hollywood is not the worst place to base a new 5 star palace. The presence of movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, holding court whilst we were having breakfast, suggested that Tinsel Town has adopted the Montage as an alternative to other local institutions such as The Four Seasons and The Beverly Wilshire. Indeed, Ali Kasikci, MD of the Montage, was poached from The Peninsula.
Modelled on a grand Spanish mansion, the Montage certainly looks every bit the superstar smooching pad. The Beverly Hills trademarks are all there; the ground floor bar for early evening meet and greets, the rooftop pool lined by cabanas, and a superb Spa, which definitely leaves the competition for dead.
There are two restaurants on the ground floor and one on the 9th floor, by the pool. Dining at The Montage was not a great experience, but that’s another story.
The hotel boasts some of the largest guest rooms in Beverly Hills, so I opted for a ‘Grand Lux. King size’ at $595 + tax. The layout was carefully considered with a good size bathroom including walk in shower, bath, two washbasins and a separate wc. Two people could use the bathroom comfortably without risk of a space squabble.
A huge HD television was perched above a desk with an IT unit featuring every AV / computer socket imaginable.
Our room had a balcony with two comfy chairs, a table and a view towards the Hollywood Hills, with the famous sign being visible in the distance.
In room Internet access is complimentary (as it should be). The download speed was incredibly fast. The wireless connectivity is also strong all over the hotel. I was even able to check email on my iPhone by the pool, using the hotel wifi.
Very few things in the travel industry are perfect and, sadly, a room at The Montage is no exception.
The air conditioning unit jolted into short bursts of activity every few minutes with the twang of a schoolboy built rubber band mechanism. This was particularly disruptive during the night. Switching it off removed the need to visit the Spa for a sauna.
The bathroom lighting was also irritating. The hotel’s eco-architect had presumably glanced over a piece of research, which said that most people don’t switch hotel bathroom lights off. The solution was to put the lights on a timer. The problem was that when I tried to switch the lights on just after the timer had cut out, they didn’t work. Well, I think that was the problem. I never quite figured it out, but there were several occasions when I just could not get the damn lights to work, then suddenly, they did.
Nevertheless, The Montage is a first class, five star, luxury hotel, and I will definitely stay there again. It has found its feet quickly and will, in time, establish itself as a Beverly Hills institution.
Montage Beverly Hills
225 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills
+1 310 860 7800
http://www.montagebeverlyhills.com/
The 9th Floor Roof Top swimming pool
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
