Hotel Bel-Air, Dorchester Collection

Built in 1946 in a style that can only be described as romantic Mediterranean, the Hotel Bel-Air, with its rose-colored mission-style bungalows, is about as elite a hideaway as you can find. Hidden by bougainvillea, ficus, orange blossom, and fern, on eighteen acres right in the middle of LA’s most exclusive suburb, the grounds are mapped by terracotta passageways, and the reception area lies just beyond an arched stone bridge.

Naturally it was the Hollywood set who made it famous. Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned here with her first husband, Marilyn Monroe spent a lot of time hopping between rooms 133 and 33, and legend has it that Lauren Bacall flooded the hotel during the Academy Awards. Although the hotel has undergone extensive renovations, it still feels like a Hollywood hideaway from the golden age.

Celebrities are not known for the judiciousness of their requests, and the Bel-Air’s staff is legendary for their ability to do anything from set up a private wedding (between Ronald Reagan’s daughter Patti and her yoga instructor) to locating a 1962 sixpence coin. They’re also discreet — you have to be, in what one employee has called the “biggest shack-up business in town.”

Most Bel-Air guests come here for a break from the spotlight; nonetheless, the very public restaurant is always busy, and for good reason. The food at the Bel-Air is fantastic. Even the notoriously ill-tempered swans eat well here — on romaine lettuce leaves. The non-feathered guests rave about the lemon pancakes, the tortilla soup, and the hot water pipes underneath the terracotta floor of the restaurant patio, to warm the feet of anyone dining outside. Make sure you do, because the Bel-Air is about scents. The aroma of freesia, gardenia and rosemary from the on-site herb garden is divine, and for many, what characterizes the hotel at its luxurious best is the smell of the avocado wood burning in the fireplace at the bar.

How to get there:
Hotel Bel-Air is located one mile east of the 405 freeway off Sunset Blvd, just North of UCLA between Beverly Hills & Brentwood. Take Sunset Blvd. to Stone Canyon Road and travel roughly one-half mile.