Review: Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills Weekend Getaway

Background:

In summer of 2017, Beverly Hills got a new luxury hotel, the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. As I was living in Westwood at the time, I often passed the new hotel while going around the city. I made a promise to myself that I would indeed stay at the Waldorf for a weekend getaway or for a fun event.

Then, the perfect opportunity arose as I had a weekend night certificate that I got from my AMEX Hilton Aspire Credit Card.

Booking Award Stay:

To book the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills with the free weekend night certificate, I used the flexible date planner on the Hilton website. I found a Saturday in February with the standard 95,000 point night available, which means I could use the certificate. Availability wasn’t too hard to come by, I saw a few Saturdays available when booking two months beforehand. A quick call to Hilton Honors and I was booked into the Superior Two Queen Room with Terrace with my certificate. The lowest available rate per night was $729 for the night I chose at the time. A great use of the certificate! This particular property is one of just two Waldorf Astoria’s worldwide with the coveted Forbes Five Star Travel Guide Rating.

Fora Travel Benefits For Cash Stays:

I started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays. As a travel agent we are partnered with Virtuoso and Hilton Impresario to name a few. With this, you can get special perks when booking with us. This specific property features:

• Daily full breakfast for two people per room, served at the restaurant or in-room dining.
• Hotel/Resort Credit: 100 USD
• Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in.
• Double Hilton Honors points for the stay.

Also, there is a 3rd night free offer, for stays until March 31, 2024.

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

Diamond Benefits:

As a Hilton Honors Diamond Member, you get:

• $25 nightly food and beverage credit for up to two guests (so $50/night maximum) which can be used at Jean Georges, the Rooftop by JG and Lobby Lounge
• Room upgrade upon arrival, when available (I think only one category level up)
• Early check in
• Late check out
• Wi-Fi

I requested late checkout as I was only there for one night and was granted 2pm late checkout.

Arrival:

As you turn into the hotel’s porte-cochère from Wilshire Boulevard, a large fountain and sparkling hotel entrance awaits you. You are then greeted by a full staff that quickly welcome you and escort you to reception. Valet is $65 per night, there is no self-parking option available.

The reception is located to the right of the main lobby. The lobby is quite luxurious, with ample space to relax.

I tried checking in on the app beforehand, but there was only one room to select and it was not an upgrade, so I decided to wait until check-in. I asked if there were any upgrades available, and then the agent made a few calls, and was able to move me from the 4th floor to the 8th floor with a view. The agent then escorted us to the room and explained the features.

Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills Room:

Our Deluxe Two Queen with Terrace and View was located on the eighth floor, and featured a great view of the city. The room is 537 square feet with an 84 sqaure foot private terrace. If you would like to see my YouTube video of the room, check it out below.

Upon entry, the bathroom with double sinks and separate shower and soaking tub was located to the left. Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries were provided, as well as sewing kits and cotton swabs. A nice touch was that they provided the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer for use.

On the right side of the room, there was a nice walk-in closet.

The bedroom featured two very comfortable queen beds with excellent linens, and the furnishings were top notch. The side table next to the bed offered USB + power ports for ease of access. Alexa was offered in the room and could control the lights and music in the room.

The desk had a nice welcome letter and a dessert plate which was a nice touch.

The room had a Nespresso machine and minibar as well. The terrace featured two nice patio chairs and great views of Downtown LA in the distance from the left, and views of Century city on the right.

If we’re being nitpicky- the two aspects that could use improvement at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills would be 1) Toilet Paper Quality and 2) Insulation/Noise

The TP was very rough- one that I would expect at a 3 star hotel even. And, the street noise was kind of loud even 8 floors up and hallway noise was prevalent sometimes. Nothing major, but room for improvement!

Service:

Service at the hotel was quite excellent. I utilized the app and text function the hotel offered and always received a reply within five or so minutes. This was handy for making reservations and utilizing the car service.

Turndown Service was great too! On top of giving water and chocolates, they even gave a book to read! And, they provided a cable tie for my phone charging cable I left lying around. The attention to detail was amazing!

Since my stay was in February, I’m not sure what the current service levels are, and not sure of the distancing measures at the time.

Complimentary Rolls-Royce Car Service:

My favorite feature of the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills is the complimentary car service provided to guests within a three mile radius of the hotel. The hotel has a Cadillac Escalade and a Rolls Royce Phantom.

I messaged the concierge on the app to reserve the car service to take us to dinner and we got the Rolls Royce Phantom! I was very excited to ride in a Rolls Royce. Later, I wanted a ride to the Century City Mall, and got the Rolls Royce again. Loved this experience so much!

Breakfast at Jean-Georges:

I decided to use my $50 food credit at Jean-Georges for Sunday Brunch. The breakfast was of excellent quality, and service was great. A true five star hotel breakfast! I opted for a full American breakfast and I thought the potatoes with cherry tomatoes were the best I’ve ever had.

Amenities:

There’s a rooftop pool which had good views of LA. Due to the colder February LA weather, I opted to not take a swim but it would be great in the summer. During my stay, the Rooftop by JG was under renovation but that sounds like it would be a fun place to grab a bite and have some drinks. Additionally, I didn’t have time to use the fitness center, but it looked adequate for a workout.

As of July 2020, the hotel is open with the exception of Jean-George Beverly Hills, La Prairie Spa and Fitness Center. The Rooftop by JG is open for lunch and dinner on weekdays, and open for brunch, lunch and dinner on the weekends. Room service is available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And the Rooftop Pool is open.

Location:

The location is great, only a half a mile from Rodeo Drive, and a mile from Century City. I utilized the car service to dinner next to Rodeo Drive and took a nice walk back.

The Verdict:

Overall, I truly enjoyed my stay at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. The fine attention to detail with the design and service made for a great weekend getaway. Truly a five-star experience. I can’t wait to return!

Check out my YouTube video tour of the room here!

Have you stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills before? What were your thoughts? 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!