BEVERLY HILLS & LAS VEGAS
They are as different as chalk and cheese: one is a sophisticated, tiny enclave of designer label shops and chi chi restaurants, the other, a neon lit fantasy city in the middle of the desert. Welcome to Beverly Hills, and viva Las Vegas!
By Beverley MALZARD
On the West Coast of the United States, we fl y into Los Angeles for a double dip holiday of contrasting sights and experiences. First stop Beverly Hills.
Located in the county of Los Angeles in California, Beverly Hills, less than 14.5sq km2, is one of the most adored and captivating cities in the world and is synonymous with wealth, glamor and exclusivity.
The city has swathes of green grass, tall palm trees, leafy parks and immaculate streets, as well as the usual suspects. There’s always more here. It’s almost mythological, displaying its pedigree in every experience to be had.
Glamor kicked off here when the Beverly Hills Hotel opened in 1912 and became the center of community life. Far from serving only as a provider of accommodation, the hotel also served the community with a theatre and a church, and as a place to meet. It was the touchstone as to what Beverly Hills was to become – fabulous.
And so began the era of glamorous show-off s and elegant lifestyles that could be seen through the magic of movies and the mansion-lined hills.
Silent movie stars put their signatures to the burgeoning real estate contracts of Beverly Hills, and the ghosts of Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino and more still maintain the best tables in the house here.
In the post-WWII years, Beverly Hills developed as one of the most glamorous places in the world to live, eat, play and, especially, shop. The Golden Triangle, with Rodeo Drive at its center, was marketed to the world as the shopping destination of a lifetime. And how has that worked out? Very well thank you!
The excessive development of the 1950s was halted, giving way to more discerning projects. New hotels were built and art and entertainment precincts emerged, and some of the world’s most beautiful houses of fashion put up their signs along Rodeo Drive and along the surrounding boulevards. Beverly Hills is an easy, walkable city where all the top boutiques ply their wares within a few blocks of each other.
My base was the elegant Montage Beverly Hills hotel on North Canon Drive. After four days there being pampered and having all my wishes granted, I’ll freely admit that fell a little in love with it.
For very special guests there are “house cars” that can be used to take you to nearby locations, and by house car, I mean a 2016 Rolls Royce Ghost.
LUXURY SHOPPING
For shopping, or window shopping, nothing beats a stroll down Rodeo Drive. Chanel, Louis Vuitton, YSL, ooh la la! Then there’s Beverly Drive, Brighton and Drayton Way for retail outlets for brands that are no less fabulous, but a little more affordable.
FOOD TO FEED THE SPIRIT
Beverly Hills has a long list of exclusive restaurants that have either been here for decades or have hit the ground running in the last few years.
I tried two of the best. First cab off the rank was CUT Lounge at the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel. This fab modern space is lauded over by the talented and charming Wolfgang Puck, who was working the room when I ate there. Magnificent steaks are brought to you on a tray for choosing – “pick me, pick me” says the rib eye! I chose the New York cut and creamy mashed potatoes… so good!
The following night I went to a classic hotspot, Beverly Hills Hotel’s famous Polo Lounge. I went retro and had onion rings, a Wagyu beef burger and the heaven-sent Chocolate soufflé.
What more could I want? Frank Sinatra to join me?
VINTAGE VEGAS
Expect subtlety in Las Vegas? Forget it! Let’s go retro in this desert playground that lights up the galaxy at night.
It’s all about light in Vegas – this crazy city is neon city! It’s fl ashy, trashy, entertaining, showbizzy and one of the great destinations in the United States to visit. You may think it’s all burgers and fries, but you would be wrong. Some of the world’s best chefs are plying their trade here, aiming to satisfy the most discerning of palates that are spending big in restaurant dining.
High-end boutiques with platinum labels? Of course! But there are also Outlet complexes on the edge of town with all those labels and more at half the price.
Party all night in the bars, play the machines, hit the tables or be entertained by some of the world’s greatest performers, such as Elton John, Cher, Celine Dion, and in the past, Elvis Presley, BB King and Frank Sinatra … all with their names up in lights.
This extraordinary city is complex and multi-layered. It’s generous and never lets the visitor down. What you see is what you get…. and more and more. If you’ve never seen the Pyramids of Egypt, the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty or a Venetian Canal, you can see them all here, it’s (almost) the real thing. But the vintage side of Vegas still has some old-fashioned charm, slightly edgy and resonating, with a resurgence of the mobster genre spurred by TV series and movies.
WHAT TO SEE IN VEGAS
- Ironically located, The Mob Museum can be found inside the former federal courthouse and the US Post Office building, and is one of the few remaining historically significant buildings Las Vegas has to offer. At the museum, the difference between fact and fiction is exposed, and the collection is enthralling, interesting and thoughtfully collated. You’ll learn about the Mob’s biggest “celebrities”: Al Capone; Whitely Bulger and Bugsy Siegel. This is the underworld uncovered. No embellishments, no glorification. Just the facts.
- The Golden Gate Casino, located at 1 Fremont Street, opened under the name Hotel Nevada in 1906, and was the hotel of choice for mobsters, stars, politicians and carpetbaggers alike. This is the oldest operating hotel in Las Vegas, and was the first place in the city to have a telephone, while also being the first to serve a shrimp cocktail!
- The Neon Museum is a slightly melancholy place with dead neon signs fondly placed in the sand outdoors. There are some beautiful pieces, such as the original signs of the old Sahara, the Golden Nugget and the Moulin Rouge. Much of Vegas is torn down regularly to make way for bigger and shinier things, however these signs remain to tell the tale of the city’s colorful past.
- The Strip. In Las Vegas, hotels are often the destination. Each has its own selection of gastronomic restaurants, extravagant theatres, milelong casino floors, mind-blowing nightclubs, luxurious spas, shopping malls and amazing attractions. See the world on The Strip: volcanoes, canals, art galleries and one of the world’s largest hotels, the MGM Grand.
- Downtown Vegas presents smaller-sized hotels at good value, and is home to the Fremont Street Experience – a free evening show run on the hour, every hour featuring an overhead light canopy stretching the length of five football fields. Take a camera, because no one at home will believe what you’ve seen!
FACTS ABOUT LAS VEGAS
Almost 40 million people visited Vegas in 2012. It has 14 of the 20 largest hotels in the world and has more hotel rooms than any other city on earth.
