To the casual, unknowing eye, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills could easily be overlooked – and actually, that’s sort of the point. It’s not perched on a hill, nor does it blaze with fashion-week flair like its louder neighbours. Instead, it’s the sort of hotel where you feel as if you’ve been let in on a secret: a place for those in the know.
It’s a curious place, Beverly Hills, where Botox and spiritual healing are administered with equal reverence, where Teslas outnumber taxis and where even the trees and bushes are as perfectly manicured as its inhabitants. It’s the sort of place that seems permanently filtered and lit in a perpetual golden-hour glow. And tucked quietly, elegantly, just a few blocks off it all – including the designer drag of Rodeo Drive – is L’Ermitage Beverly Hills.
Location-wise, L’Ermitage is the hotel equivalent of taking a breath. Just far enough from the madding crowd of Rodeo’s tourists and TikTokers, it sits discreetly along Burton Way, among the palm trees and Range Rovers. You can still swan over to Gucci or sip overpriced matcha with wellness influencers at Erewhon within minutes, but then you can quickly return to your hotel and recalibrate (and change your outfit) before another dose of Beverly Hills incredulity.
There’s something very un-Beverly Hills about that, yet in the same breath, it makes it so exactly Beverly Hills, at least for those seeking the kind of luxury that’s more about being in the know than showing off.
At the time we visited, the hotel had unveiled its freshly reimagined lobby – a facelift (appropriately) that’s less “extreme makeover” and more of a tasteful tweak. Gone is the dim, beige, ‘American standard’ formality of old. In its place: light, air and a renewed sense of purpose. It’s now a place you actually want to spend time at, rather than merely pass through when checking in. The creamy marble floors remain, but new are statement fireplaces, soft-wood furnishings, lush, textured textiles and brighter, more eye-catching art… all in a “California Zen meets Parisian atelier” kind of way. To celebrate, there’s a new Alcova lobby lounge, with a Negroni cart that tantalisingly suggested a pre-lunch libation (we did). A grand piano in the corner hinted at sophistication, although we didn’t hear it being played.
They’ve even made a special home here for L’Ermitage’s infamous Chief Concierge, Christine Grimm, a distinguished member of Les Clefs d’Or, the elite global network of hotel concierges. In the gilded folklore of Beverly Hills hospitality, few figures loom as charmingly large as Christine. To honour her craft – and years of impeccable service – the hotel has created a concierge office for her and her team. It’s a place where she can conduct her quiet magic in greater privacy, plotting dream proposals in the Hollywood Hills, unsnarling paparazzi problems or restaurant waitlists with a smile and a phone call.
Just off the lobby is Costa Cova Osteria. The food here was exceptional, at every meal sitting. Seasonal, locally sourced and executed with flair, dishes range from Californian to more indulgent fare with Mediterranean-leaning flourishes. It’s not a “scene” in the way that, say, The Polo Lounge is – and that’s a good thing. You can actually hear your dinner companions here. You can flirt without shouting. You can order a dessert or three without anyone knowing. Yet it’s far from just a breakfast room and hotel bar.
Back through the lobby, we headed up to the rooftop, which, at the time of our visit, also underwent a reimagination. The changeover here is far more dramatic, mind… with plans to take it from a quiet, ‘for guests only’ escape to something altogether more buzzy.
The latest evolution promises more activation (darling, everything in L.A. gets activated these days), with whispers of elevated experiences and curated events – perhaps even a Grammy party, or the like. Still, a posing pool and views stretching over the tops of the palm trees from downtown to the hills will thrill any calibre of guest.
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| While you’re Out There |
| Looking for something to do that’s timeless, and perhaps slightly unexpected, in Beverly Hills? A private architectural tour of mid-century modern homes, guided by a local historian or architect, is highly recommended. While Rodeo Drive and red carpets will always sparkle, the enduring allure of L.A.’s iconic residential design – especially in the tucked-away hills of Trousdale Estates and Beverly Crest – offers a deeply cultured, exclusive alternative. You can step beyond the gates of hidden masterpieces by the likes of Richard Neutra or John Lautner, explore their seamless indoor-outdoor flow and soak up views that stretch from the city to the sea. Add a chauffeured vintage car (a cherry-red convertible, perhaps?) and a catered lunch by a private chef in one of these stunning homes, and you’ve created an experience that’s at once rooted in place and with access that’s hard to replicate. It’s ‘quiet luxury’ with a brain and street cred. Ask Christine all about it, in her new ‘office’ in the lobby. |
From what we’re told, it’s all shaping up to feel fresh, relevant and reflective of what today’s Beverly Hills wants to be: elegant, aspirational, but also not taking itself too seriously – from a collaboration with sustainable designer furniture brand Arhaus on furnishings, to Poza, a new dining concept.
So, you can expect that this will be L.A.’s next ‘moment’. Poza, in name, is charmingly borrowed from the Spanish word for pool, and is a wink to California’s sun-soaked heritage and a salute to the fine art of poolside indulgence (preferably with something grilled, garnished and lightly chilled). The menu takes classic California cuisine and gives it a bit of a glow-up and the bar pours a crisp selection of spritzes, craft cocktails, local wines and those LA-brewed beers that somehow always sound like indie bands. Relaxed but polished, sun-drenched but serene, Poza claims not just to be a place to hang out, but a golden hour state of mind.
And for the first time in a long while, the paying public can now access the rooftop – and while that takes away some of its exclusivity and hidden-gem status, it puts the hotel front and centre in the local community.
Downstairs, the rooms at L’Ermitage Beverly Hills were, to put it plainly, massive. Bright, modern and blessed with balconies, they offer a rare kind of spaciousness in the city. Our suite felt wrapped in calm: golden hues, soft greys, honeyed woods and crisp white linens (personalised with our initials), with the sort of bright, flattering soundstage lighting that made us look ten years younger in the mirror (even before our cryo-facial back on Rodeo Drive).
But here’s the thing – while everything is beautifully executed and high-end, we found it rather bland. This is Beverly Hills, after all, so we expected a little more flamboyance, or at the very least a colour accent. But perhaps that’s the brilliance of it all. L’Ermitage Beverly Hills isn’t here to upstage its guests… It’s a worthy nominee for ‘Best Supporting Actor’, to use a local analogy. Perhaps it’s all as such to encourage us to bring our own personality to proceedings.
We surmise that L’Ermitage Beverly Hills is a place for travellers who come to experience the real Beverly Hills, and even if just for a night or five, and what it means to be a resident of 90210. Or at least, as real as Beverly Hills gets. It’s for the discreetly wealthy, the tastefully stylish, the business traveller who knows where to get a proper green juice but also loves a Negroni. It’s for the couple looking to live their Nancy Meyers fantasy and for solo visitors who want calm, space and a sense of belonging without the pomp.
In a city of hotels that practically demand you pick a tribe and pledge allegiance (are you a Beverly Hills Hotel hound, a Four Seasons type or a Sunset Tower soul?) L’Ermitage carves a more down-to-earth, thoughtful niche as an elegant outlier. A boutique that acts like a grande dame. A five-star with its feet on the ground.
The hotel isn’t flashy. It doesn’t need to be. It’s a quietly confident sanctuary in a city that often confuses volume with value. It delivers exactly what the modern luxury traveller wants: space, serenity, service and a sense of place.
Photography courtesy of L’Ermitage Beverly Hills
