Move over Real Housewives — this season, Beverly Hills’ real star is the city itself, which is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary with a series of celebrations and events all year long. There’s a massive centennial Block Party on April 27 along — where else? — Rodeo Drive, which will include a record-breaking, 15,000-slice chocolate birthday cake replicating the famed street. But that’s not the only fun to be had in town.
Here’s how to have your cake and eat it in the country’s most famous ZIP code.
The greatest challenge to staying in Beverly Hills comes from narrowing down the options. To sleep with the stars, look no further than The Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows on Sunset Boulevard (from $445). Here, a suite paying homage to one of the property’s most famous guests, Marilyn Monroe, is one of five specially designed accommodations around the city honoring its storied past. Part of the city’s Suite 100 program, the room is available from March 7 through the end of December for $1,914 — the price, a nod to the year the city was incorporated. The suite is designed by Adam Tihany, who is also responsible for the nearly completed restoration of the hotel’s rooms and the legendary Polo Lounge.
A stone’s throw from Rodeo Drive, the Montage Hotel also marks the city’s banner year with a special suite in honor of the Film Noir era (from $595). Dripping with 1940s Lalique accessories, the room is a luxe complement to the hotel’s spa — a Spanish-inspired beauty mecca where treatments such as the detoxifying Red-Carpet Recovery (a relaxing massage and hydrotherapy) can be followed by a dip in the extravagant, mosaic-tiled saline rooftop pool.
To experience 90210’s take on cool, head to hotelier Jason Pomeranc’s Sixty Beverly Hills (from $300). Formerly The Thompson, the boutique hotel effortlessly straddles the line between SoCal’s laid-back aesthetic and a retro vibe; the rooftop bar makes an ideal perch from which to absorb the cityscape.
You can’t visit Beverly Hills without shopping — even if its just through the windows along Rodeo Drive. But the city does offers hidden gems such as candy and fashion emporium A.sweeT, and style haven Gratus (gratus.com), with a well-edited selection of brands including LA designers Calvin Rucker and NewBark.
Making its star-studded debut in late 2013, the Wallis Annenberg Center of Performing Arts has secured Beverly Hills as a go-to cultural destination.
Once the home of the Beverly Hills post office, it stands tall on Santa Monica Boulevard, beckoning patrons of the arts with its programming for all ages, including performances of Doug Elkin’s newest body of dance work in March.
To blend in with the locals, one must look the part. Start with the hair at José Eber, who’s worked his magic on Hollywood’s most famous tresses for more than 30 years from this sleek, Waldo Fernandez-designed salon. For polish with panache, make sure to book an appointment with ultra-girly salon Olive & June, where a team of expert nail artists will doodle on your digits to your heart’s content.
Beverly Hills’ fare easily rivals its fashion, and no trip to the city would be complete without a meal at Spago.
Meanwhile, those in the know will have already scored a reservation to Aussie heartthrob and TV personality chef Curtis Stone’s recently debuted restaurant, Maude.
The 25-seat gem offers a rotating multi-course tasting menu a night, centered around one seasonal ingredient.
Hakkasan’s sexy new outpost (and 11th location worldwide) is a welcome addition to Beverly Hills nightlife scene.
The 10,000-square-foot emporium entertains foodies and fun-seekers late into the night with its famed Cantonese cuisine.