Home of the Golden Globes and many other spectacular high-profile Hollywood events, The Beverly Hilton hotel will be debuting a $35 million hotel transformation this spring. The complete renovation will coincide with the property’s 65th anniversary in April.
The plan is to reintroduce the local landmark to a new generation of travelers and industry events. All 566 guest rooms, luxury suites, event and meeting spaces will benefit from the cosmetic upgrade, including the public spaces and CIRCA 55 restaurant.
“Since Conrad Hilton opened the hotel in 1955, The Beverly Hilton has been an essential part of Beverly Hills and Hollywood history, playing host to some of the most memorable moments,” said General Manager Sandy Murphy. “We are so excited to bring a fresh, contemporary look to this iconic property as we continue to innovate in the way we deliver word-class hospitality to our guests and the community.”
“The renovation is the most natural part,” said owner Binyamin “Beny” Alagem. “As one of the world’s most famous hotels, it’s an important part of Beverly Hills and we are keeping it to the highest level of what it should be.”
“We have events almost every night and people are looking to the Hilton as an important area of gathering. In order to continue the tradition and build on the history, we are now looking into the future,” he noted.
“We are remodeling it to the level that will satisfy the new generation of guests that are coming to stay with us,” said Alagem. But this is not about trying to attract a new, younger clientele to the property. “The thing about the Beverly Hilton,” he said, “we have a tremendous loyalty from generations of family members who used to come here from grandparents and parents and now they bring their kids, so it’s continuing.”
“We have an incredible asset which is the human side of the Beverly Hilton. Many of the team members have worked here for more than 20 years,” said Alagem. “They know the hotel, have a tremendous skill set and they recognize the guests. They feel like family and it’s like they are coming home.”
According to Alagem, “It’s unusual for a hotel to only have three owners in 65 years.” [Conrad Hilton being the first.] “I’m continuing the tradition. Merv Griffin [previous owner of the hotel] had an incredible vision. He was such a sweet man. When we started negotiating [to buy the hotel] we became friends and we went on some double-dates with my wife and Nancy Reagan,” he recalled.
This renovation was not a case of keeping up with the The Waldorf next door, which opened in 2017, and Alagem also owns. “The Waldorf Astoria is the baby sister of the Beverly Hilton, it’s a smaller property, but the Beverly Hilton stands by itself,” he said.
Part of that distinction lies in the hotel’s vast meeting and event spaces, comprising more than 60,000 square feet of indoor and open-air patios with top-notch production capabilities. These areas will also be reimagined and refreshed, including the ballroom which is home to some of the most high-profile red-carpet events in Hollywood.
The Beverly Hilton partnered with Texas-based Paul Duesing Partners to reimagine the interiors of the hotel. The team drew inspiration from “Easeful California living and a dazzling Hollywood Regency style.” Every guest room and suite at The Beverly Hilton will offer showcase custom furnishings, spa-like bathrooms and elevated amenities. Embodying the very best of California weather, the renovations will welcome the outdoors in, with terrace views, and natural light complementing a serene and updated interior palette.
For the interiors, expect to see teal and champagne colors with pops of crisp high- gloss white and luminous metallics. The renovated rooms will offer guests three unique experiences: the energetic modernism and intelligent design of the Oasis Building, the resort-inspired Hollywood glamour of the poolside cabanas, and the secluded opulence of The Wilshire Tower.
The sweeping, floor-to-ceiling transformation will encompass all the guest rooms, including nine private luxury suites, offering visitors a fresh new way to experience the property. Upgrades to furnishings, flooring, wall coverings, fixtures, and in-room technologies will infuse the design with sophistication and modern comfort to complement the hotel’s mid-century facade. The Presidential Suite will trade a deep burgundy and gold palette, dark wood accents, and heavy fabrics for sleek, contemporary furnishings, and a soothing color palette.
The hotel is also making strides in sustainable travel by cutting its environmental footprint in half and doubling investment in social impact projects by 2030. The hotel renovation will bring new environmentally-conscious innovations to the hotel. All of the guestrooms will feature LED lighting and they will no longer stock the bathrooms with single-use plastic bath amenities. Every shower will feature Molton Brown dispensers for shampoo, conditioner and body wash. In addition, the hotel will join Hilton’s soap recycling initiative which helps underserved communities and has diverted more than 3.1 million pounds of waste from landfill. Taking it one step further, the hotel will be removing plastic water bottles from mini- bars. Instead, guests will receive a reusable aluminum bottle in their room that they can refill at multiple water stations throughout the property during their stay.
The public spaces, including the main lobby, Oasis Tower lobby and CIRCA 55, will be the final phase of the renovation, and will debut a fresh and contemporary look in April 2020. “We are very proud and look forward to maintaining it to a level that it deserves,” concluded Alagem.
