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Montage Beverly Hills
An elegant reminder that style is the ultimate sophistication - discover the wonder for yourself at Montage Beverly Hills
By: Mary Gostelow
The spa, as you would expect from Montage Beverly Hills, was as stylish as any bedroom, though in my case it was actually the size of the walk-in closet.
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It was the size of the walk-in closet at the 201-room hotel that is billed 'the golden age of Hollywood' that first evoked a wow from me. This closet would be ten by ten feet were one corner not taken out to accommodate the toilet stall leading off the adjacent bathroom. There is still room in the closet, however, for two long rails, enough to hang 100 frocks or more (and the wood hangers were specially made to be broad enough to allow men's jackets to hang correctly). Apparently this is one of three such configurations that the hotel's amazingly creative MD Ali Kasikci designed to accommodate local matrons who from time to time have floods, or termites, both of which mean a hotel stay for at least ten days. I did wonder, however, why the wall-inlaid safe is so shallow it would only take a minor princess' back up tiara, no more jewels.
I had arrived at Montage Beverly Hills after a nightmare with my Expedia-booked rental car as the company (Advantage) had disappeared. Next time it is tempting, if you are arriving out of New York, to order the hotel's ex-Manhattan transport service. Empire Limos pick you up from your home, office, drive you to JFK and fast-track you airside. At Los Angeles airport, you are similarly met and immediately driven to the hotel, your baggage following later. I only remember finally driving up to the door of the Spanish 'colonial revival' building, designed by architect HKS Hill Glazier Studio. I was greeted by the valet director Juan Carlos Rivera, who had followed Ali Kasikci from the nearby Peninsula Beverly Hills. I was quickly ushered to my room by a charming young South African wearing a sand-colored suit and, like all guest staff, a highly-prominent sound-system wire.
Suite 546, which looks diagonally across Wilshire to the Beverly Wilshire, is color coordinated throughout - a feature that is typical of the interior designer, Darrell Schmitt. Suitably for its Golden Triangle location - the area of Crescent Drive and Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards, which used to house a bank, the Canon Theatre and the former Gucci building - it has golden yellow diamond-lozenge carpeting everywhere except the foyer, which is salmon stone inlaid with a carpet-like pattern. Walls are soft sand, woodwork, including ceilings' peripheral cornices and the ceilings themselves, are cream. Drapes at the three full-length, will-open French windows are sand colored in the bedroom, stone in the parlor, controlled by buttons.
The bathroom has time-sensitive lighting. No movement for 30 minutes and the lights go off. This room has sand-colored tiled floor and walls, with an Italian mosaic design set into the wall above the tub (which has a white fabric neck cushion television set in the wall at your feet). The shower is big enough for a sumo wrestler: it has overhead and wall-set faucets, one easy-operate lever, an inset shaving mirror. A pair of white oval sinks are set in mottled brown marble, with a shelf above. Toiletries, customized golden pomegranate by Agraria San Francisco and screw-topped, so the contents do not flop out in blobs, are balanced in a dark brown leather tray. All bath linens are sand-colored, from Fili Casa: there are face mitts plus washcloths (and white shaving towels, too). The M-monogrammed robe, silk brown and black stripes outside, fine black terry inside, is from Kasikci's home country, Turkey. Brown velvety slippers also have the M monogram, in gold. The spare toilet roll in the adjacent stall, which has drawings for Audrey Hepburn clothes on the wall, is in a dark brown wood cover. Toilet paper and tissues, both remarkably soft, are recycled.
The bedroom is dominated by a carved antique-look wood headboard. The bed is made up with night linens (Fili d'Oro, 500-count), with two neck pillows with my initials on them: stay in the Governor and Presidential Suites, by the way, and you get Pratesi linens. The clear glass bedside lights - nothing so practical as fibre optic, here - have flesh-colored silk shades with matching tassels that, one fears, could pull. The bedroom's armoire, in American antique style, holds the LG flat screen. Below is a permanent leather-topped shelf: a panel rises up out of this with jackpack and all sockets, so you can use it as a desk - there is a standing lamp nearby for more light.
I really do not need the parlor but here it is, more office than sitting room, actually, though it does have a three-seat pale-rust silk sofa, and three American Colonial arm chairs (sand-colored leather), and a marble-topped circular table that three could just about dine at, and a narrow marbled-mushroom marble shelf in the ceiling-high bookcase that has another jackpack (though the shelf is barely deep enough to use as a desk, but it does have hidden lighting over). Another wall has a similar mottled-mushroom shelf that holds the brown leather bar kit, with martini shaker and glasses and brown leather ice bucket. The minibar, below, has Antipodes and Fiji waters, and 375ml bottles of Dme Vacheron Sancerre and Matanzas Creek Chardonnay, Elite Naturel and Mission San Juan juices and a wide range of beers and miniatures, and Canada Dry rather than Schweppes mixers. The minibar price list is a full-color booklet, about 12 x 12cm, showing closeups of some of the paintings in the hotel, say On the Harbour, Robert Philipp (American), 1895-1981, in the Library: art advisor was Julie Klein.
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There are all kinds of added-value extras. 20 yellow-edged scarlet tulips and an array of whole fruit (pears, apples, red grapes) sit on a square dish, with an oyster-opening-type knife. A young man brings a tray with a salmon-colored rose floating in a small fish bowl, a sugar swirling stick in a white pot, and a glass of Pomegranate iced tea (I later read in the excellent directory, a leather-coated ring binder with brown printed wording, that this is organic rooibos blend, naturally caffeine free, rosehips, hibiscus and cornflowers blended with lemon and orange peel, a tea by Algarbar). The only reading material is in the form of hardback books, for which the selector gets full marks. The section includes a gigantic Rizzoli production: California Romantica, and other, smaller, books include California Mediterranean, Picturing Los Angeles, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Lanvin, and fiction collections, James Cain, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Stationery, which of course matches the over color scheme (cream paper, brown lettering) is tucked into an open-topped folder. Heavy non-move notepad covers come with brown-inked bronze pens. At any hour, you can have a John Lobb shoe-clean (as at the Hong Kong Mandarin Oriental and London Connaught). One more perk is that four of the hotel's 55 suites come with drive-yourself Mercedes.
This is a 24-hour place, I was told: you have your room for any 24 hours, and vacuuming is done with a soundless machine to avoid unwanted noise. I popped into the 24-hour gym, big on lots of fresh bananas, Evian and Technogym equipment and spinning bikes and very US oriented (no rowing machines). All 17 of the spa's treatment rooms were occupied but I liked the extremely spacious, well-lit changing rooms and the women's big spa tub, sauna and steam room. I looked at the Kim Vö hair salon but could not see Bill or Hillary, or Oprah or Goldie - or others mentioned on this artist's site - having their locks colored. I headed up to the ninth floor rooftop pool, 44-feet long, but it was too cold out there, even for me and its Conservatory Grill restaurant was not open yet. I took one of the two Otis elevators, big and functional, with stone floor, solid wood ceiling and walls, down to the ground floor, where the elevator lobby is for some reason 'hung' in trompe l'oeil curtains. There was a lounge, golden, big chandeliers, big seating, big working fire, and the library, with masses of antique books, led off it. A nearby bar looked cozy, back-lit behind the spirits bottles.
The main restaurants are set on two floors, looking out on to a garden designed by Nancy Goslee Power. Downstairs is 85-seat all-day Parq, comfy in big salmon banquettes, tall pillars, an adaptable menu. There is an open kitchen at the rear, and behind that is a stylish 12-seat private dining room, with oval table, working five place, and one long wall looking into the kitchen, the other looking out at Beverly Drive. Up carpeted stairs, on the gallery overlooking Parq, is the dinner-only, five nights a week, 44-seat Muse. Tables were set with white linens, Bernardaud, red roses, a little gold-shaded light.
The duty manager, Mary, in a black trouser suit, offered big bottles of Antipodes water, and Patz & Hall was her Chardonnay choice. Butter was a simple roundel, breads were lavash, milk-white or brown olive, and quickly replenished. The amuse was a shot glass with white and orange foams. Now this is 'approachable food', said Ali Kasikci, pointing out that they had already, to customer demand, expanded Chef John Cuevas' menu. The Montage guest wants food that is easily recognizable, not covered in too much sauce, and portions must be large enough so dieting women can satisfactorily leave plenty on the plate. There is a seasonal five-course menu and a seven-course Grand menu, both available with or without wine pairings. I chose from the å la carte, home-made tagliatelle and maitake (mushrooms), burnt butter; Scottish halibut steak with parsley and passionfruit. Our Pinot was Panther Creek Freedom Hill 2004.
In the morning, my New York Times (your favorite, I think? I had been asked on arrival). On my way to my pre-dawn run I stopped by a house phone to order coffee. It later arrived at the requested hour, on a big wood tray with yet another orange flower swimming in a fish bowl. There was gold and white Villeroy & Boch bone china, and the coffee was in a tall concave-sided black Eva Solo flask. The bill was neatly in a small envelope. My car was waiting when I went down, with a couple of chilled Evian bottles in the driver's seat arm. It will be the best hotel in the world by the end of 2010, promises Ali Kasikci. Yes, this is already a place To Be Seen. The Governor - of California, naturally - has been here several times, once in t-shirt and rubber boots, and, beautifully attired, Nancy Reagan was among those brought to the hotel by its onsite ambassador, Frank Bowling.
Montage Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, United States
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