Review: Staycation at Four Seasons Los Angeles Beverly Hills

Background:

I thought it would be nice to have a little staycation with my parents for their anniversary. And I recently found out from a coworker that we have corporate rates even for leisure travel at some Four Seasons properties. The closest property to me was this one, The Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. My parents and I have previously stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills last year, so we were excited to compare the two.

The hotel opened in 1984 and it’s actually not located in the city of Beverly Hills. Due to some interesting history with zoning, the hotel was literally built across the street from Beverly Hills proper, so it’s in the city of Los Angeles instead.

Quick Takeoff Points:

Date of Stay: July 2021
Room Type Reserved: Superior Balcony Room
Pros: Opulent beds and a truly five star experience makes the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills a solid luxurious choice to explore the LA area.
Cons: The bathroom is a bit dated along with a smaller sized room and the location could be a bit more central to Beverly Hills.

Fora Travel Benefits:

I started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays. As a travel agent we are partnered with Four Seasons Preferred Partners. With this, you can get special perks when booking with us. At no extra cost, this specific property features:

• $100 hotel credit for rooms and a $200 hotel credit for suites.
• Daily breakfast for two
• Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in
• Late checkout, based on availability

If you are interested in getting these perks and want to stay at the Four Seasons Los Angeles Beverly Hills, feel free to email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com.

Arrival:

Upon pulling into the porte-cochère, we were greeted by a valet attendant. At booking, I was told there is complimentary self-parking, or valet for $50. I’m not sure if that’s due to COVID, as I would have assumed the hotel would be valet only, but I didn’t mind saving $50 so we opted for self-parking. The valet attendant gave me a parking pass and told me to enter the garage and park on level P2 for self-parking. The garage is a bit dark, but thankfully there were signs to guide you in the right direction. 

Check In:

From the parking garage, a quick elevator ride takes you to the lobby. It’s quite a small boutique property and there’s a small seating area behind the concierge and a little perfume shop near the entrance. A bit of a more classic style which isn’t exactly my vibe, but it was still tastefully done. I do prefer the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills though.

The front desk associate was very nice and quickly checked me in. According to her, the hotel was at full occupancy last weekend and this weekend was in the 90%. She also told me that many travelers were locals coming for a staycation like myself.

There is also a nice outdoor green space behind the lobby, which helps make you feel like you’re not completely in a city setting.

Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills Room:

Our room was on the 12th floor, and one thing to note were that the elevators were a bit dated, I hope they modernize them soon. On the bright side, I wonder if we were actually upgraded to a Deluxe Balcony Room as our view was very nice.

Upon entering the room, there’s a closet with a pair of slippers and nice wooden hangers.

The bedroom consists of one king sized bed, and a plush chair along with a dining table with two dining chairs. My parents said the bed was very comfortable, and the sheets were of excellent quality. Even better than the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, and the Ritz in Santa Barbara that we recently stayed at. Looks likes Four Seasons is winning at the bed game.

There’s an iPad on the nightstand that serves as the hotel directory and you can chat with the hotel team on there as well.

The balcony is a bit small, with no furniture. The view of downtown LA was nice, as well as being able to see the Hollywood Hills. Right in front is the brand new Four Seasons residences which will be completed soon. I wish they were able to put some patio furniture, like the Waldorf Astoria.

The room had a lot of nice amenities, including a Nespresso Machine as well as a hot water maker. Both were very clean. Nespresso capsules were provided as well as nice teabags from Rishi. There was a minibar in the room as well. A total of 4 cans of water were provided (love the cans instead of bottles!), and a sealed mask. Wipes were also provided to wipe down remotes, phones and switches.

The television was quite large, at 65 inches. And, the room was updated to have charging ports and USB ports around the room, so although the room was on the smaller side at 380 square feet; it was designed and updated well. The AC unit was easy to control and worked well and the sound insulation in the room was pretty good too.

The part of the room that needed the most updating was the bathroom to be honest. The marble for the sink counter was dated.

The shower area was more updated, and all of the finishes were of a good quality. The bathroom was a standard three piece, but at least it was roomy. Toiletries were provided by Codage Paris, and I liked the scent.

Random rant, but a pet peeve of mine is the quality of toilet paper I’ve been experiencing at luxury properties. From Waldorf Astoria, Ritz Carlton and now the Four Seasons, it seems that all the 5 star hotels have cut back on their TP quality substantially. I just got back from Portland and stayed at a Hyatt Regency and the TP there was the same as the Four Seasons. Bad, but still the same. Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed this trend as well? I remember my stay at the Four Seasons back in 2016 at the Vancouver property had excellent TP…

And although at booking I requested the rollaway bed to be set up prior to check in, the hotel didn’t deliver on that request, and so I had to call up for the rollaway. Thankfully, they came up rather quickly, but it was a bit annoying to not have it set up yet. I seem to run into this problem in US properties all the time, but normally when travelling across Europe all the rollaways are always set up and ready prior to checking in. Must be an American thing…but I much rather have everything set up than having to call and wait. On the bright side, the rollaway bed was decently comfortable from my experience and I was happy overall.

If you would like to see my YouTube video of the room, check it out below.

Amenities + Service:

The service across the hotel was relatively professional and to the level expected for the Four Seasons caliber.

When making the reservation, the hotel did ask if I was celebrating anything special and I did let them know it would be for my parent’s anniversary. They delivered a plate with chocolate covered strawberries shortly after we checked in which was a nice gesture!

Additionally, the Four Seasons offers a house car that can take you within a 2 mile radius complimentary from Friday-Sunday between 5pm and 11pm on a first come- first serve basis. You can’t reserve it in advance, but if you call down to the valet or use the chat option on the app, you can check if it’s available. We were able to utilize the service to take us to the Peninsula for dinner and were able to use the app to get a ride back to the hotel as well. The driver was very nice, and the car used was an Escalade. Not sure if they also have a Rolls Royce like the Waldorf Astoria did when I stayed there, but I do remember taking the Rolls Royce at the Waldorf was a very nice experience.

The hotel has an outdoor pool on the 4th floor as well as a spa. There’s also an outdoor fitness center on the pool deck which is pretty cool. I didn’t have any photos from the pool or fitness center, but you can check it out on their website.

Dining options at the hotel include Culina on the ground floor for all day dining with an Italian flair, Cabana Restaurant for poolside dining and room service.

Location:

The location of the property is in a residential neighborhood, making it a bit awkward to walk to dining and shopping in Beverly Hills. It’s about a little over a mile to Rodeo Drive, so the location is not the most convenient for walking. But a peaceful area nonetheless. Fortunately, we were able to use the house car service to take us to our dinner about 1.5 miles away.

Breakfast at Culina:

We opted to try brunch at Culina, and there is both outdoor and indoor seating. We opted for outdoor seating, and overall enjoyed our brunch. During brunch you can order from the standard menu, or opt for a 3 course menu.

I ordered the LA Omelette which was with egg whites, kale, quinoa and avocado. I really enjoyed the omelette, but wished the potatoes were more unique as it was a bit plain and got tiring.

We also got the New World Fruit Plate and thought the dragon fruit was a nice touch.

My parents got some standard breakfast fare with eggs and ham + bacon and thought it was decent.

Overall, we enjoyed our brunch at Culina, but if we had to choose, I think we all agreed we enjoyed our breakfast at Jean-Georges at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills just a bit more.

The Verdict:

In all, I truly enjoyed my stay at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. The bedding was top notch, and the property certainly lives up to the Four Seasons brand with its luxurious furnishings. If my travels bring me back to the Beverly Hills area, I might want to try another property, but happy to stay here again if they spice up the bathrooms.

Have you stayed at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills before? How was your stay here? Comment below!

Happy travels,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!