The Hotel Bel-Air, the famed 5-star retreat in Los Angeles, is set to open on Friday following an extensive two-year renovation.
The hotel is part of the Sultan of Brunei's Dorchester Collection, which owns hotels in Europe and the United States.
In its 65-year history, the Hotel Bel-Air has hosted countless celebrities and dignitaries, all discreetly, of course.
The hotel will reopen with 103 guestrooms and suites, a new 12,000-square foot building which will house a fitness studio, loft guestrooms and a 4,134-square foot La Prairie Spa.
Perhaps the most outrageous feature is the hotel's new Presidential Suite, which, at $13,500 per night, provides a few lucky (and rich) guests with 6,775-square feet of suite with private dining for 10, a chef's kitchen, a study, a great room with grand piano, and a private pool. The hotel's features were redesigned by Champalimaud and Rockwell Group.
The bonus? That private dining will be created by none other than LA legend Wolfgang Puck, whose management company will also oversee the hotel's restaurant with a culinary focus on — what else? — modern California cuisine.
And what would the Hotel Bel-Air be without its signature Swan Lake complete with, yes, swans?
Not all is rosy, however. The property let go of some 250 union member-employees when renovation began two years ago. Now the union representing the workers is planning on picketing the re-opening in conjunction with Occupy Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports.
