An Oasis of Luxury ~ The Peninsula Beverly Hills
The Peninsula Beverly Hills offers the perfect, luxurious oasis - set in one of the most prestigious areas of Los Angeles.
As I drove up, the doorman opened my car door, asked my name. I said Gostelow. He escorted me inside, to front desk, and introduced me to the agent as 'Mary Gostelow'. How do you know, I asked him? 'This is the Peninsula', he said.
Since I was a little early I worked for quarter of an hour in the lobby lounge, a meeting place for highest executives, it seemed (perhaps they too appreciated, as I did, the complimentary wireless WiFi there). My room was ready, and what a delight.
End room 324 looks out into the leafy courtyard, and also to Little Santa Monica street. It has cream walls and curtains, with a big tree design also used for the fabric skirting the bed, and forming its half-tester above. The bed had a cuddly caramel-coloured Kashwear throw at its end. I had a big desk, with WiFi or Ethernet capability, a flat screen television and Bose radio. In the bathroom, there was another flat-screen, and plenty of own-label toiletries, plus soft robes. There was, of course, a safe, and magazines were kept handy in a big cane basket. I called housekeeping, wondering if they could somehow remove the ballpoint pen mess on my cream leather jacket. Director of the laundry, Fulgencio Ventura - looking like an ambassador or Fortune 500 CEO - arrived in 5 minutes, and said he would bring it back in 90 minutes .
Down in the packed Belvedere restaurant, napkins monogrammed for our names were laid on our table. I adored the hotel's macaroni and cheese, basically elbow-shaped pasta with creamy taleggio cow's milk cheese, and truffle sauce. We were just finishing when Ventura glided across the room, holding my pristine jacket, on a similarly-cream satin hanger, the whole under a transparent plastic cover. I was able to go to my meetings after all.
Next on my schedule was a 5.30 appointment at the spa, on the hotel's fifth floor rooftop. Director Isabel di Donato had arranged first an hour's California Mud Slide. I was lathered in a rough herb mixture, and then covered and wrapped in Colorado Indian Spring colloidal mineral clay, and then, feeling like silk, my body received an hour-athletic massage (warning, this is not for the faint-hearted - the kneading of my tight-tight calves was excruciating, but I felt marvelous afterwards). By now it was dark so I headed outside to the rooftop pool - this is fabulous, with stars overhead (and by day, at least, stars around, too). The pool is vaguely Italianate, and there are ten mushroom-coloured cabanas, each with blue furnishings, flat-screen televisions and all necessary connectivity.
I retreated up to my room and called room service. It will take 30 minutes, the agent said - and it did. In my absence the maid had been in, and I now noticed that one pillow case had my entire initials on it, a feature for all loyal guests. A card suggested Pen-Air, food-to-go for your plane. This reminded me that this has often been the hotel to lead: the idea of 24-hour check-in/-out came from here, as did being able to time when housekeeping comes.
I slept like a log, and after my pre-dawn run I helped myself to an excellent paper cup of coffee from a service table in that lobby lounge. I was actually breakfasting with a friend up by the pool, at the Roof Garden. What a lovely way to start the day, surrounded by lush rooftop greenery, with a working firebowl a few feet away (because of the cold, servers, all in chinos or shorts, wore Pringle-type traditional blue sweaters). I called for my car ten minutes ahead of time, came down and there was JC, the El Savadorean chief of valet parking here. The car was of course there, JC gave me driving instructions - and off I went.
The Peninsula Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
~ Mary Gostelow, Kiwi Collection. Mary Gostelow is Editor-in-Chief of WOW.Travel, the Online Luxury Magazine of Kiwi Collection Inc.
