The Montage name is probably more familiar from the sprawling oceanfront resort in Laguna Beach, but the sequel is tipped to do a lot of business as well. The Montage Beverly Hills is the first new high-end hotel in the neighborhood in almost two decades, and by virtue of that fact alone, it’s big news. More interesting from a guest’s perspective, however, is the fact that this sequel is every bit as fine as the original.
It’s eight floors of Spanish Colonial Revival–style luxury right in the heart of the Golden Triangle, a look that pays direct homage to Hollywood’s good old days. Look closer, however, and there are plenty of details that are very 21st-century — LCD screens inside bathroom mirrors, for example, or the wide-open kitchen in the Parq restaurant.
Of course it’s not the LCD televisions that make a first-class hotel. Nor is it the design, however successful its attempts to evoke a lost era of Hollywood glamour. The point here is that the facilities are first-rate, from the rooftop pool on down to the spa, and the service lives up to the standard set by the original Montage. So do the rates, to be fair — but if you’re here in the first place, budget is clearly not your primary concern.
author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com