Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills started out as a Mexican land grant in 1838 to Maria Rita Valdez Villa known as El Rodeo de las Aguas. She raised cattle and horses. She ultimately sold her ranch to two historically important founders of Los Angeles: Henry Hancock and Benjamin Wilson for $4000, an area that now has an assessed real estate value of close to 40 billion dollars. The ranch changed hands several times before being renamed Beverly Hills in 1906 and the areas first streets were constructed in 1907 including Rodeo, Cannon, Crescent and Carmelita Drives. The famous Beverly Hills Hotel was established in 1912. It was the movie industry and the early movie stars who put the town of Beverly Hills on the map. Today, Beverly Hills is a highly desirable town with about 35,000 residents. Its glamour continues to make it an important backdrop of movies, television shows, and entertainment industry events.

About Beverly Hills

The main shopping district is highly concentrated making an entertaining experience for the traveler on foot. The City of Beverly Hills maintains a number of parking structures for visitors with free parking for the first two hours. The area between Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards is known as the golden triangle.

Rodeo Drive is the premier shopping destination where many fashion houses have located flagship boutiques including Louis Vitton, Prada, Channel, Bally, Armani, Versace, Cartier, and Tiffany to name a few. At Rodeo Drive and Wilshire is Via Rodeo, a concentrated shopping center that looks like a European shopping district with cobblestones. Two blocks north is the equally distinctive Rodeo Collection. Each year on Father's day, Rodeo Drive is closed to hold the "Concours on Rodeo," one of the top vintage car shows and it's free to the public.

Beverly Boulevard one block East is a little more casual and home to many of the most important specialty retailers including: The Gap, Crate & Barrel, Banana Republic, North Face, and Williams Sonoma. Nate'n Al at 414 North Beverly is a legendary deli that has been a Beverly Hills institution since 1945.

Wilshire Blvd flanks the bottom of the Golden Triangle and it is here that the larger retailers and department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Barney's New York can be found.

Beverly Hills Hoteliers are of course legendary. These islands of personal accommodation, while expensive, spare no effort to bring luxury to the world-weary traveler.

The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows on Sunset is as famous (perhaps more so) than many of its guests. The unabashed "Pink Palace" sits on 12 areas of lush gardens and is a five star hotel. Even if you don't stay there, treat yourself to a drink at the Polo lounge. For those to do stay there, the combination of location, privacy, and personal comforts is unmatched.

The Peninsula Beverly Hills is truly located at the heart of Beverly Hills at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards. It enjoys both AAA five diamond and a Mobil five star ratings. The Belvedere restaurant in the hotel is consistently rate one of the top restaurants in Los Angeles. The hotel prides itself on providing a residence like atmosphere and return guest find that there is a long memory for their personal preferences. Perhaps for that reason, a number of high-end travelers use the Peninsula as their home away from home when traveling to Southern California.

The Beverly Wilshire is located on Wilshire Boulevard at Rodeo Drive. It is probably best known as the hotel in the 1990 Garry Marshall movie, Pretty Woman, with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. This chic hotel just benefited from a $35 million renovation in 2007. The hotel is a Four Seasons property with top services and amenities. For example, not sure what jewelry to purchase for a special occasion, the hotel has a jewelry ambassador who stands ready to assist you. Its restaurant, Wolfgang Puck's CUT, is also a great place for stargazing.

Raffles L'Ermitage, Beverly Hills has to be on anyone's short list of truly great hotels. Located on Burton Way just out of the Golden Triangle, the hotel offers spacious rooms and gracious hospitality. Conde Nast Traveler listed the hotel as one of the best in the world and it has earned a Mobil 5 star rating. The roof top pool with its unparalleled views of the Santa Monica Mountains is not to be missed.