In his new book, The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows - The First 100 Years, Robert S. Anderson, the hotel's official historian and the great-grandson of its founder, tells the hotel's story, from its beginnings amid acres of bean fields to the present day, when celebrities such as director Sofia Coppola routinely stop by the coffee shop for a bite with friends.
Anderson's great-grandmother Margaret Anderson - who managed a hotel on the site of what is now the Hollywood & Highland Center, a mall including the theater where the Academy Awards are held - built the Beverly Hills Hotel for $500,000 with architect Elmer Grey.
"Elmer Grey designed the hotel in such a way so that every room got sunlight in one point of the day or another," Anderson said during lunch in the Polo Lounge, beneath its green-and-white-striped patio ceiling. "An acre of land was set aside for the guests to grow vegetables and flowers while staying here, so they would feel at home. That acre of land now is probably worth $25 million."
Making its famous guests feel at home, and giving them privacy, have always been part of the hotel's mission, beginning with silent film-era stars such as Chaplin and Buster Keaton, who shot movies at the hotel. The 1920s Hollywood power couple Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks met at the hotel, then renovated a palatial house above the property. Liz Taylor honeymooned in the hotel's lavish bungalows with six of her husbands, including Richard Burton. Bungalow Five was one of their favorites.
Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes not only lived in the bungalows on and off for 30 years, but, starting in 1942, parked his Cadillac in front of the hotel for so long that plants started growing out of it. He also had hotel staff leave late-night meals, including roast beef sandwiches, in a nearby tree. Monroe stayed in bungalows 20 and 21 in 1960 while reportedly having an affair with her Let's Make Love costar, Yves Montand.
Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed in bed for a week in another bungalow. "She was well-behaved and he wasn't," said Anderson, laughing. "Lennon would sing loud Irish songs. One night Prince was up here singing to some girl in a suite upstairs, in the '80s. People yelled to him, 'Knock it off!' "
The hotel remains a place where celebrities can let down their hair, attracting the East Coast elite as well as Hollywood locals. But paparazzi, beware. "For example, even getting through the front door," Anderson said, "if you're wielding a heavy-duty camera, they ask you what the hell you're doing."
Four stories high, surrounded by acres of gardens and flowers, the hotel evokes a lush Mediterranean fantasy island, decorated with banana leaves, palm fronds, and fuchsia azaleas. In the 1940s, African American architect Paul Williams designed the hotel's looping handwritten script logo and redesigned the Polo Lounge, which had previously been called El Jardin. Williams also designed the more casual Fountain Coffee Room below the lobby, which still has a curved, dark counter and green banana leaf wallpaper. The hotel was nicknamed the "Pink Palace" after being painted a salmon hue in 1948 to reflect light shades of the sunset.
Some things have changed, of course. Gone are stables for guests' horses; the school, movie theater, billiard room, and bowling alley that were once downstairs; and the foxhunts that were staged in nearby hills. There have also been financial ups and downs. The Great Depression forced the hotel to close in 1933; it reopened 10 months later under the ownership of Bank of America before being sold again, according to Anderson's book. The hotel was bought by the Brunei Investment Agency in 1987 and is now part of the agency's Dorchester Collection of luxury hotel properties.
In 1992, the hotel closed for a $100 million restoration, reopening in 1995. Today it has more than 200 rooms and suites, including 23 private bungalows big enough to accommodate staffs and families. Five bungalows date to 1915, while new presidential bungalows unveiled last year include outdoor rain showers. Rooms, decorated with peachy marble bathroom floors and green granite countertops, now run upward of $500 a night. Cocktails at the Polo Lounge, 15 cents in 1944, now start at $17. But spotting A-listers at the hotel remains a regular occurrence, whether in the Polo Lounge, the Cabana Cafe, Bar Nineteen 12 overlooking the hotel's citrus garden, or down a winding staircase to the enormous art deco Crystal Ballroom.
Regular folks who want a taste of the anniversary can try drinks from "These Walls Are Talking" cocktail menus featuring "100 Year Sidecar," "The Rat Pack" and "The Norma Jean."
In a film timed to the anniversary and directed by Chuck Workman, Michael Douglas mused about the hotel's nostalgic appeal to both celebs and those without Hollywood ties.
"I've been going to the Beverly Hills Hotel for over half of its life. You feel timeless," said the actor. "There's a thoughtfulness that makes you feel like you're coming home. It could be 50 years ago, except, of course, for the cellphones."
