Review: Newly Renovated Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons

Background:

The Beverly Wilshire was built in 1928, and this famous Beverly Hills hotel sits at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive. The hotel has hosted many famous guests and was the setting of the 1990 film Pretty Woman. In 1992, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts acquired the property, and the hotel is now known as the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel.

My friend and I decided on a Saturday night stay at the Beverly Wilshire to celebrate a weekend staycation. I utilized a corporate rate for leisure travel, and was excited to try this property as this would allow me to have sampled all the Four Seasons properties in the Los Angeles area. Last year I was able to stay at the Four Seasons Westlake Village and Four Seasons Los Angeles Beverly Hills (just a mile away).

Takeoff Points:

Date of Stay: May 2022
Room Type: Signature Balcony Room
Pros: Beautifully renovated rooms right off a convenient Rodeo Drive location, plus solid service.
Cons: The pool area is a bit lacking, with a small pool and limited seating areas.

Fora Travel Benefits:

I work with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays. Fora is partnered with Four Seasons Preferred Partners. With this, you can get special perks when booking with us. This specific property features:

• Daily full breakfast for two people per room
• Hotel/Resort Credit: 100 USD per stay for guest rooms, 200 USD per stay for suites
• Upgrade at check-in, subject to availability.
• Early check-in and late check-out based on availability.

Rates for the Beverly Wilshire currently start at around $800 per night. If you are interested in getting these perks and want to stay at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons, feel free to email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com.

Beverly Wilshire Arrival + Check-In:

The Beverly Wilshire has 2 towers, the original Wilshire Wing that hosts the main lobby and is right off Wilshire Boulevard, and the Beverly Wing. Combined, they have 395 total rooms, and are separated by the porte cochère. Both towers are normally connected by a bridge on the second floor, but that is currently under construction, so you just have to cross through the porte cochère on the ground floor to get across the buildings.

We arrived to the hotel right before 3pm, and there was a bit of a line at the reception desk. Eventually, the reception desk became fully staffed, and we were helped by a very friendly associate. He appreciated our patience, offered us water and let us know that we were upgraded to a Signature Room with a Balcony.

Heading to Room:

All the rooms in the Beverly Wing are now newly renovated, and some floors are currently blocked off in the Wilshire Wing for renovations. I didn’t notice too many disruptions with construction, and everything should be completed by the end of the summer.

Our Signature Balcony Room was on the 9th floor of the Beverly Tower. On the other hand, the Wilshire Tower doesn’t feature any rooms with balconies, so if you book a Signature Balcony Room, you’ll be in the Beverly Tower.

Upon exiting the elevator, the hallways looked refreshed, with a digital doorbell, service light, and do not disturb at each room entrance. And, despite hearing that the hotel was pretty full, elevator traffic was never too bad which was nice.

Signature Balcony Room:

A Signature Balcony Room is stated to have 400 square feet of space, and our room had 2 Double Beds. Now, these doubles were not like the doubles or queens that you see in other hotels, and they can only fit one adult comfortably. The hotel states that the maximum occupancy for this room is 2 adults and 2 children ten years of age or younger, which makes sense. I think the beds look larger in my photo below due to the camera angle lol.

The beds were very comfortable, as expected with Four Seasons properties. I think the Four Seasons bed and bedding is the best across the luxury chains I’ve tried (Ritz-Carlton, Waldorf Astoria).

I really enjoyed the light color tones in the room. Additionally, everything was very clean. The AC worked well, even in the 90 degree LA heat. The television was large and equipped with modern features like being able to cast your content from your device. I’ve never seen Pretty Woman before, so I thought it would be the perfect time to watch it. Since the movie was available on Hulu, I was able to easily cast it from my phone to the TV.

Balcony:

The balcony was quite spacious, and it seems that on this side of the Beverly Wing overlooking the Wilshire Wing, balconies start on the 9th floor. On the Beverly Wing overlooking the pool and the city, most of the floors seem to have a balcony.

A Lavazza Coffee Maker is provided, as well as a hot water maker for tea. A fully stocked mini-bar is also available in the room.

One of the touches I love at Four Seasons properties are the wooden hangers. They are smooth, and just feel like good quality. Slippers were also provided in the closet.

The only nitpick I have about the room is that the USB/Power Plugs at each bed are located on the opposite sides from the center side table. So, if you wanted to charge your phone, you couldn’t set it down on a table, but you would have to put it on your bed. Minus this issue, I think the renovation was completed quite well.

The Bathroom:

The bathroom was spacious, fitted with a separate shower, tub and WC. And, there was a single sink with ample counter space. The water pressure in the shower was very good, and had a wand setting as well as a normal showerhead. However, the shower space was a bit on the smaller side.

Frederic Malle Eau De Magnolia toiletries were provided. And, I really enjoyed the scent! They were in the large reusable containers, which I normally don’t like. But, it seemed to be in high quality bottles and not too flimsy which was nice.

On another note, TP quality was good, and all the towels were plush and clean.

Service and Amenities:

Service at the Beverly Wilshire was solid. They have a chat function in the app, as well as a texting function. Surprisingly, their response times are stellar. Like literally less than a minute. The associate who checked us in was very friendly, and everyone encountered from the valet, pool, and housekeeping was all very welcoming too. I also appreciated the fact that the hotel was also able to accommodate a 2pm late check-out request.

The Spa is located on the 2nd floor of the Beverly Wing, near the pool. It’s currently open daily from 10am to 6pm.

Fitness and Pool:

The fitness center is open 24/7 and it overlooks the pool. Interestingly, it occupies two floors and has a good amount of space and equipment.

The Pool and Jacuzzi is open daily from 6:30am to 5pm, with the Pool Bar + Cafe open from 9am to 5pm. I went swimming Saturday afternoon around 4pm. Most of the lounge chairs were taken, but I was still able to find a spot. The pool area is quaint, but I do wish the pool was larger.

Morning Coffee:

Complimentary coffee is served in the morning from 5:30am to 8am in the main lobby and from 7am to 10am at the pool area. Additionally, they also had a little pastry which was cute and tasty.

House Car:

Additionally, there’s a complimentary house car service from Thursday-Saturday, 5pm to 10pm, within a 2.5 mile radius on a first come first serve basis. I had dinner plans in West Hollywood, and was able to utilize the house car. It was a bit of a wait on the way to dinner, but pretty quick to take us back to the hotel. Interestingly, the hotel doesn’t actually have their own house car at the moment, but they contract with a limousine company. The house car was a clean S class Mercedes, and the driver was very friendly!

Valet parking is available at the hotel for $55 per night. It includes in and out privileges. Or, if you want self-parking, you can park overnight in the City of Beverly Hills garage, Beverly Canon Gardens, which is $22 and a few blocks away.

Dining:

The Beverly Wilshire houses 2 restaurants, THE Blvd Restaurant and Lounge and the popular steakhouse CUT by Wolfgang Puck. THE Blvd is open daily from 7am to 10pm, and the Bar is open to 11pm on Friday and Saturday. CUT is open Tuesday to Thursday from 5:30pm to 10pm, and Friday and Saturday from 5:30pm to 11pm.

I didn’t try any of these restaurants during my stay, but I’ve been to CUT on a previous visit to the hotel. I personally thought the steak at CUT was just okay and too salty so it hasn’t been on my mind to go back to give it another shot. On the other hand, THE Blvd looked nice, and they even have a cute outdoor patio overlooking Rodeo Drive. Perhaps I will try THE Blvd on a future visit.

Additionally, in-room dining is available 24/7.

The Verdict:

 

Safe travels,

Ty