Checking In With Sharon Osbourne at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles is unforgettable. And staying there is something else. Story Holiday Goddess Editor Vicki Arkoff.
Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned in it (six times), The Rat Pack got wild in it, Rachel Welch was discovered in it, The Eagles sang about it, Clive Davis’s annual Grammy party draws everyone to it, and Beverly Hills society can’t do without it. The grand, pink “Hotel California”, properly known as the Beverly Hills Hotel, is the most recognizable, beloved, and expensive landmark in a city populated with entitled citizenry not known to compromise.
The first time I stepped onto the lush grounds was 20 years ago when I found myself knocking on the bungalow door for Ozzy Osbourne, wife Sharon, and then-little kids Aimee, Kelly and Jack. Since then I’ve enjoyed cocktails in the Polo Lounge and parties in the Crystal Ballroom with Paula Abdul, Carl Reiner, and Bill Maher, and once ran into Michael Jackson as he was checking-out with a massive TV among his luggage.
“I’ve been staying there since I was a kid,” says Sharon Osborne, the daughter of Don Arden who managed Small Faces, Electric Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath in the 1970’s. After she married Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne, the couple had only one place in mind when they decided to leave England. “When I first moved to America I lived at the Beverly Hills Hotel,” says the star of The Talk, The X Factor, America’s Got Talent, producer and co-star of the reality show, The Osbournes, and the second runner-up in Donald Trump’s competition show The Apprentice.
“We’ve lived there on and off in the same bungalow for 40 years,” says the woman who also lived at the Dorchester Hotel in central London for a year while filing series three of The X Factor.“Because I’ve been there so long, when we check in they say ‘Welcome home.’ It truly is a second home for our kids. They feel safe there. We all do.”
Surrounded by 12 acres of lush gardens and exotic flowers, The Beverly Hills Hotel has 210 rooms and suites including 23 one-of-a-kind bungalows. Guests may choose the comfortable elegance of the main building or the beauty of the bungalow gardens. Our rooms and suites offer a variety of unique features such as private garden patios, kitchens, fireplaces, and balconies with gorgeous views of the palm-lined avenues of Beverly Hills.
The Beverly Hills Hotel’s classic pink Bungalows are the most exclusive accommodations in Southern California. Private Bungalows – ranging from US$580 to US$3,7000 per night — offer guests ultimate privacy and a taste of the ultimate California lifestyle with lush greenery, winding pathways and separate entrances through charming gates or pathways, up to four bedrooms, spacious living and dining areas, fireplaces and kitchens. The most exclusive bungalows offer grand pianos, private garden patios and private plunge pools.
In 2011, the hotel is unveiling two spectacular Presidential “Ultra” Bungalows, the largest and most prestigious suites in Los Angeles at a nightly rate of US$9,000 to US$12,000. Each three bedroom, three-and-a-half bath bungalow blends the indoor and outdoor experience through 5,500 square feet of living space featuring a spacious great room with 12.5 foot classic cottage style ceiling, Chef’s kitchen, expansive outdoor living area, outdoor fireplace and shower, exercise area, and a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass doors overlooking a private, waterfall-edged swimming pool.
Beverly Hills Hotel: 9641 Sunset Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA. 91210. (310) 276-2251. (800) 283-8885. www.BeverlyHillsHotel.com
Images CBS/The Beverly Hills Hotel
