George Clooney Slept Here

Enough already! Kate and William are honeymooning in Seychelles. But most of the rest of the British Royal Family chose to stay at the Beverly Wilshire, the tony hotel where Julia Roberts’ Vivan and Richard Gere’s Edward Lewis fell in love.

That’s not all that happened at this Italian Renaissance beauty that was built in 1928 when Beverly Hills had fewer than 18,000 residents. For example:

1. John Lennon checked in during a rare fight and temporary estrangement from Yoko Ono.

2. HBO’ Entourage regularly films there.

3. For years, Warren Beatty lived in the penthouse suite.

4. The family reception following Michael Jackson’s memorial service was held there.

5. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ limo regularly pulls up to Cut, the hotel’s Wolfgang Puck steakhouse.

6. BFF’s Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have been known to join them.

7. Chris Brown and Rihanna shacked up there during a brief post-arrest reconciliation.

8. Justin Timberlake got into a tiff with a photographer while staying there with Jessica Biel.

9. Dashiell Hammett wrote “The Thin Man” there.

10. In the 50’s, Elvis took up residence while shooting movies at nearby Paramount Studios.

11. Even the Dalai Lama has bunked there.

12. Lucy Lawless held her wedding reception there.

13. Socialite Barbara Hutton died of a heart attack there in May 1979.

14. Elton John, Mick Jagger and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber all called it home for long stretches.

15. Speaking of Royals, in 1998, at the height of “Titanic” hystery, the Beverly Wilshire threw a benefit for the Princess Diana Memorial Fund. It was attended by Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury, Ralph Fiennes, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson and couples who have long been kaput, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger.

Find out more at this link: Beverly Wilshire.

April 28–There’s no such thing as a free lunch but there is a 50-cent martini. At least for the next 10 days.
Until May 8, you can score a martini for two thin quarters at a famous hotel that normally charges $18 for the drink E.B. White called “the elixir of quietude.”

Even Julia Robert’s Vivian, the down-on-her-luck prostitute in “Pretty Woman,” could afford the late-night special that’s being offered for the next 10 nights at the Beverly Wilshire. That is if she gets there 19 minutes and 61 seconds after the clock strikes midnight when Blvd bartenders mix up the 50 cent martinis to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Four Seasons, the upscale hoteliers that now own the Beverly Wilshire. With its towering ceilings, chi-chi outdoor patio and eight-foot illuminated onyx bar, the Blvd began featuring the 50-cent bargain on March 21, 2011.

It’s definitely a deal that puts Wal-Mart to shame. Not that the two brands are usually uttered in the same sentence. This is a hotel that caters exclusively to the well-heeled. I’ve heard steaks at Wolfgang Puck’s Cut, designed by Richard Meier, the acclaimed architect of L.A.’s Getty Center, goes for $20 an ounce. And its Penthouse suite starts at $25,000. Sure, it’s the biggest suite in Hollywood and, yes, the rate includes a Porsche, but that’s still far from a blue light special.

So congratulations Beverly Wilshire! Here’s to your 50th anniversary and to your 50 cent martinis!

The Travel Channel pegged it as one of the world’s sexiest beach bars. Mel Gibson picked it as the place to drink vodka and tequila the night of his infamous arrest. And LeAnn Rimes and new hubby Eddie Cibrian chose it last Saturday as the spot for a post-wedding brunch.

The cobalt blue bar at Moonshadows in Malibu, California was once a popular hangout for surfer dudes. But ever since Italian-born Andrea Bullo took the reins, Moonshadows and its shell lamps, understated Japanese décor and umbrella-dotted patio that hangs over the Pacific Ocean has become an upscale spot to enjoy innovative cuisine and toast the always-brilliant California sunset.

Rimes and Cibrian showed up at Moonshadows in a classic Chevy Corvette convertible to meet 40 friends. Already, they’d surprised many of their friends and family who, thinking they were coming to a late engagement party (the duo first announced their engagement December 27), discovered Friday they were there at the private Malibu home to watch the couple trade “I Do’s.”

On both occasions, Rimes wore white. On Friday, she wore a handmade Reem Acra (along with a quarter-million dollar art deco brooch with 25 carats of diamonds, 10-carat diamond earrings and three wedding bands representing Cibrian and young sons Mason and Jake) and at Moonshadows, she wore a revealing white crocheted Pucci dress with matching crocheted bag.

Click here for more on this notorious Malibu restaurant.

Kate Hudson may want to keep the sex of her baby-to-be with Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy a secret, but the word’s out on the Sao Paulo hotel where she stayed last week when the British rockers opened for U2 on their South American stadium tour.

The Fasano, a five-star, family-run boutique hotel smack dab between Sao Paulo’s Anevida Paulista and Faria Lima Avenue, was the perfect choice for the Almost Famous actress. Each guest, upon check-in, gets a free 15-minute massage, perfect for pregnancy aches, and the food, upscale Italian, is lovingly hovered over by the Fasano family whose cooking pedigree goes back more than ten decades. With six well-known restaurants around the Brazilian city, the Fasanos decided to take the hospitality business one step further when they opened their namesake hotel in 2003.

From Day One, Brazilian models, film stars and business tycoons have flocked to this hotel in the uber-cool Jardins district, Sao Paulo’s most fashionable neighborhood. The 23-floor hotel is perched on a private avenue, named after great grandfather Vittorio Fasano who immigrated to Brazil from Milan more than 100 years ago.

With an English red brick façade, fireplaces and a lobby filled with elephant-size leather armchairs, the Fasano, designed by architects Isay Weinsfeld and Marcio Kogan, has been described as over-the-top gangster glam. It also happens to have what Wallpaper Magazine picked as the world’s numero uno bar. Kate’s beau, Brit Bellamy who she met at the Coachella Music Festival last year, would certainly feel comfortable at the ultra-cool Baretto, a jazz bar with live music every night although he might wonder if he’s downed too many bottles of their autographed (celebrities sign bottles) wine. The British Union Jack that hangs in the bar cheekily sports the red, green and white of the Italian flag.

The hotel’s 60 rooms, decorated with sleek dark wood floors, rugs, books and hand-picked antiques, attracts boutique shopping bag-carrying Gisele look-alikes.

As for Bellamy and Hudson, they wrapped up their South American tour on April 13 with a hush-hush gig at the Sao Paulo nightclub, Bar Secreto. And, yes, they even sang covers of everything from the Rolling Stones to David Bowie.

For more on the ultra trendy Fasano Sao Paulo, click here.

Just two months after announcing her pregnancy, Jessica Alba, still looking movie-star thin and beautiful, boarded a plane for Beijing to support the Chinese debut of good friend Diane von Furstenberg’s “Journey of a Dress” retrospective, an exhibition that chronicles the fashion designer’s 40-plus years as a designer, art collector and philanthropist. The show that features personal archives, including the original wrap dress from 1973 and art by Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente and Ahn Duong made its debut in Moscow, moved to Sao Paulo and opened April 2 in Beijing.

Along with supermodel Natalia Vodianova and Wendi Murdoch who also traveled to China for the show, von Furstenberg and Alba stayed at the Yi House, a boutique art hotel nestled in the northeast corner of the 798 Art District.

Yi, like many Chinese characters, has a double meaning: “without equal” and “guest house,” a playful, yet grandiose pun that, in this case, works. With a Swiss chef who has been known to import white truffles from Italy, an attentive, fluently English-speaking staff, custom-designed furniture and exclusive access to 798’s galleries and private tours, this 30-room hotel is a sparkling alternative to the corporate monoliths that dominate Beijing’s high-end hotel scene.

Located on the site of a 19th century crystal factory, the hotel more than lives up to its art district location. Bauhaus graffiti mural flank the building, every suite has photographic portraits by Chi Peng and the lobby has art exhibitions that change every three months.

Although Alba couldn’t imbibe, she and von Furstenberg popped into the hotel’s Gossip Bar, a late-night cocktail bar that attracts art district coolios, and Fennel, the high-end restaurant helmed by Swiss chef Christian Hoffman.

While in China, Alba also visited the Temple of Heaven and the Pearl Market, rode in a rickshaw and attended von Furstenberg’s glam Red Ball, an elegant black tie fete held at the studio of Chinese artist Zhanag Huan. With typical Furstenberg aplomb, the 600-person party featured thousands of red lanterns, an original Ming temple and a hundred performance artists lighting the path with red lasers.

Click here for more on Beijing’s Yi House, 706 Hou Jie No. 1, 798 Art District, Jiuxianqiao Lu 2 Hao Yuan, Lido District.

Like Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and Robin Hood, I recently wandered into an enchanted forest.

I didn’t happen upon any evil witches, merry men or dwarfs, but I did find an inspiring five-star chateau with a modern-day alchemist who gave me a secret elixir insuring a long life.

Located in the Czech Republic’s legendary St. George Forest, Chateau Mcely, now a boutique hotel, was once the hunting lodge of the Thurn-Taxis aristocracy, a German-based family who set up the postal service in 16th century Europe. From 1869 to 1948, the young aristocrats used the castle to stage news-making parties, fox hunts and literary soirees with such guests as Mark Twain and Rainer Maria Rilke. After the war and the Communist takeover, the neo-Classical chateau that’s situated about an hour northwest of Prague, fell into disrepair.

In fact, Chateau Mcely was slated for demolition when Inez Sipulova bought it in 2001, not having a clue where she’d find the small fortune she’d need to renovate the crumbling mess.

A few months later, she met American James Cusumano, a late 50’s rock star (his band Royal Teens sold several million records up into the 60’s) who later started several successful businesses, the last of which he’d just sold to look for a new project.

Together, the Cusumanos, who married in 2003, restored Chateau Mcely to its former glory. Or make that better than its former glory as this wooded property became the first five-star hotel in the Czech Republic, the second in the whole of Europe, to earn the EU’s green Eco Label. That means that not only is the chateau powered with renewable energy (wood chips discarded by local sawmills), but it has a wastewater recycling system, uses long-life light bulbs (sometimes even candles), composts food scraps and trains its staff to sort trash from recyclables.

Set on 12 acres, Chateau Mcely also uses herbs and flowers from the St. George Forest to make its own cosmetics and spa products and to concoct the secret elixirs guests receive upon checking in.

Turns out, Cusumano is quite the Renaissance man. Among his many talents is amateur alchemist. During the renovation process, he built an on-site alchemy lab now stocked with flasks, beakers and antique microscopes where he mixes up the sizzling concoctions. Also unique at this 23-room forest getaway is a 17th-century wine cellar, a roof-top observatory complete with high-power telescopes (guests climb a skinny, pull-down ladder to reach the telescopes and the views of the night heavens) and a European-style park with forest paths, wishing fountain, princess cottage, an outdoor sauna and an herb garden.

Chateau Mcely 420 325 600 000

A psychic might have predicted an early death for Chicago’s five-star Peninsula Hotel. Its grand opening was slated for September 11, 2001. It had zero name recognition in the Midwest. And it rang in at a price point right up there with such already-deeply entrenched luxury brands as the Four Seasons.

That psychic, I’m pleased to say, would have been dead wrong. In fact, as Chicago’s Peninsula Hotel makes preparations for one doozie of a 10-year-anniversary wing-ding, here are five reasons why, against all odds, the Peninsula has become the number one luxury hotel in Chicago:

The Stone Lions. In Asia, where the Peninsula has a long-standing pedigree, discerning customers look for the hotel’s signature guardian lions that are believed to have mythic protective powers. The Chicago lions, flanking the door on Superior Street, just 18 discreet steps from the Magnificent Miles, don’t just provide powerful Feng Shui, but they harbor a certain, shall we say, reputation. The flagship Peninsula in Hong Kong, open since 1928, holds several records for ordering large fleets of Rolls-Royces. Louis Vuitton considers its boutique in the Beijing Peninsula as its “world flagship” and the Beverly Hills Peninsula, which opened the year before Chicago, happens to sit next door to Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and had already gathered fans among Hollywood players.

The Stores. Not only can guests practically gaze into the enticingly-appointed windows of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile from Peninsula rooms and suites, but they can sign up for Peninsula Academy’s (each Peninsula has its own customized academy) shopping extravaganzas. Former Geraldo producer, Bonnie Kaplan, calls these customized excursions a “shopping thrill ride.” She interviews each customer before planning a half or full-day itinerary that includes hard-to-find boutiques, private designer showrooms, artists’ studios, and, of course, champagne and canapes.

The Spa. Occupying the top two floors, the Peninsula spa has an outdoor sundeck, a half Olympic length heated pool, floor-to-ceiling windows with lots of natural light and eight relaxing treatment rooms and suites.

The Sci-Fi. Someone once compared the Peninsula’s nightstand console to the command center of the Spaceship Enterprise, only with more buttons. From the comfort of their bed, guests can do everything from control the heat to dim the lights to set the high-tech “do not disturb” light near the door.

The inability to “just say no.” Guests might be put off at first by all the questions at reservation. They shouldn’t be. The Peninsula just wants to know which direction to head when providing that extra mile. For example, if the reservationist discovers a guest is in town to golf, a selection of golf magazines will be stocked in his room. Peninsula’s pageboys, the guys in the white pillbox caps, are employed for the sole purpose of running errands whether that’s filling a prescription, walking dogs or taking an American Girl doll to have her hair fixed for a birthday party.

Peninsula Chicago, 108 East Superior, 312.337.2888.

What childhood would be complete without a ride in a cherry red Radio Flyer?

In Chicago, where the iconic wagon company was started by a 16-year-old Italian immigrant back in 1917, kids at the Four Seasons get complimentary use of six Radio Flyer wagons, perfect for trips to nearby Lake Michigan beaches and parks. Some of the wagons even have canopies.

The Four Seasons, known for being kid-friendly, also offers pint-size robes, fun tub toys, games and the cutest cow cookies you’ve ever seen. Each adorable frosted cow comes on a tray with a black and white place mat (think Gateway computers) and milk in a black and white pitcher.

The five-star hotel even provides a Bedtime Stories Butler who shows up with a selection of classic kid’s tales for a complimentary read-a-loud before presenting said lucky kid with a Disney nightlight

As for the wagons, they all have names (Windy, Speedy, Redd, Wheelie, Flyer, and Rider), personalized Illinois license plates, seat belts and rooms for lots of extras. They’ve carried everything from Mia St. Claire, being carefully wheeled back from the American Girl store by her new owner, to gourmet picnic baskets, created by Four Seasons chefs for a day at the beach.

Click here for more on this elegant beauty on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

You’re going to be hearing a lot about a little movie called Trust. It opened last Friday and it’s powerful, about how a seemingly innocent online encounter can unravel and nearly destroy a middle-class American family. The movie, being universally praised, was written by David Schwimmer. Yes, the very same actor who played goofy, neurotic, but lovable Ross Geller on Friends. It’s Schwimmer and co-writer Andy Bellin’s stab at raising awareness about the internet’s heart-wrenching potential as a hunting ground for sexual predators.

Before Trust was made into the indie film starring Catherine Keener and Clive Owen, it was staged at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre, the cutting-edge theater Schwimmer co-founded with seven fellow thespians in the fall of 1988 soon after graduating from Northwestern University.

Even though the former Friends star is about to have a baby with new wife, Zoe Buckman, and spends most of his time in New York so she can be closer to her British roots, he’s still a staunch supporter of his adopted hometown of Chicago. He owns a home (or rather a loft) there and shows up regularly to star in, direct and help mount Lookingglass Theatre’s highly-physical renditions of classic literature and myth. For years, while Schwimmer was busy in California portraying Ross, Lookingglass, albeit regularly staging world-premiere original works, was a gypsy, moving from stage to stage. But by 2003, thanks in part to Schwimmer’s unwavering support, it moved into permanent digs, a stone castle-like structure on the north end of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

And, yep, Schwimmer was there for the grand opening, directing the first production, an adaption of fellow Chicagoan Studs Terkel’s Race.

According to his fellow Lookingglass co-founders, Schwimmer is not only dedicated to theater, but he’s unfailingly interested in social issues and using his influence to “make a difference.” Trust, for example, grew out of his years volunteering at a Rape Treatment Center in Santa Monica. He once wrote a film about Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto and has publicly stated that someday he’d like to teach.

As for Chicago, Schwimmer is equally devoted. While going to Northwestern, he worked at Ed Debevic’s, the cheesy faux-50’s diner where he playing a roller-skating character named Romeo. He recently lent his support to Chicago’s John Hancock Observatory. With 360-degree views and, on a clear day, the ability to see 80 miles and four states, this observatory on the 94th floor of the Hancock Building offers a free self-guided audio tour of Chicago narrated by you know who. Although Schwimmer points out all the important landmarks, everything from Millennium Park’s Cloud Gate, a three-story bean-shaped sculpture that reflects and distorts the city’s skyline, to the competing observatory, the former Sears Tower, he also offers a few personal details: he’s a Cubs fan and he once lived at 11th and Halsted.

All I know, is Schwimmer’s familiar voice made the tour extremely fun. As I gazed out across Chicago, listening to each tour stop with my headphones, I almost felt like Rachel Green, being wooed by the man of my dreams.

Elizabeth Taylor, resting comfortably now in that luxury suite in the sky, knew a thing or two about upscale traveling. Even before marrying Nicky Hilton, heir to the Hilton Hotel chain and the first of seven husbands, Liz booked accommodations with panache.

In honor of last week’s passing of the always-radiant star, we’ve decided to recap some of her favorite haunts:

Hotel Splendido, Portofino, Italy. To this day, if you call this luxury hotel overlooking the harbor in Portofino and get put on hold, you’ll listen to the soundtrack of “I found my love in Portofino,” a song written by Fred Buscaglione, a famous Italian singer, to honor Liz and Richard Burton who got engaged in this very hotel. While on break from filming the movie, Cleopatra, in Rome, the star-crossed couple committed to marry, even though they were both hitched to others. According to legend, the proposal took place on the wisteria-covered terrace of the hotel’s first floor suite.

The Gresham, a landmark Dublin hotel, still has a two-bedroom suite named after the illustrious American actress. She and Richard Burton visited twice, once with a pet monkey who created quite a hullabaloo. In 1965, while Burton was in Ireland filming The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Richabeth, as they’d have been known if they were together today, took over a whole floor of the hotel to accommodate their entourage of four kids, nanny, maid and Elizabeth’s pet monkey, a small African primate that knocked over vases and lights, ripped curtains and was clinging to the water pipes when Franco Zefferelli flew to Dublin to discuss production of the Taming of the Shrew. On St. Patty’s Day, Taylor gave each of the Gresham staff a baby bottle of Power’s Whisky and a green carnation.

Ritz-Carlton, Montreal. On March 15, 1964, just a year after meeting on the set of Cleopatra, Taylor and Burton checked into this iconic Montreal hotel for what was to be their first wedding. The bride wore yellow chiffon and an $180,000 diamond and emerald necklace while a Unitarian minister did the honors. Located smack dab on Montreal’s Golden Square Mile, this hotel, that has also hosted Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, is within walking distance of many of this historic city’s high end boutiques, galleries and museums.

The Dorchester, London. Even before hooking up with Burton, Liz practically called this five-star hotel a second home. The largest of the hotel’s three rooftop suites, the Harlequin, still has the original pink marble bathroom installed for Taylor. According to legend, Richabeth carved ‘RB xxx ET’ into the marble after a night of partying.

Once while the famous couple was enjoying the Dorchester, Liz decided to surprise her new-found beau with a van Gogh she bought at Sotheby’s for 92,000 pounds. She loaded it into a taxi, carried it up to the penthouse suite where she hammered a nail above the fireplace to hang it for Burton’s return.

This famous hotel has also hosted Britney Spears, Julie Andrews, Kim Basinger, Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Judy Garland, Johnny Depp, Russell Crowe, Jack Black, Nicole Kidman, Michael Jackson, Peter Sellers, the Beatles and Lady Gaga.

Hotel Imperial, Vienna. In 1972, on a wild weekend getaway to Vienna, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton checked in to the Hotel Imperial on Vienna’s Ringstrasse. As the hotel of choice of the Austrian emperor, it was known for hosting distinguished guests from Richard Wagner, who wrote parts of his operas here, to Charlie Chaplin to the less illustrious, Adolf You-know-who, who worked here as a day laborer before before returning as a conquering hero after Germany annexed Austria in 1938.

Hotel de Crillon. When the violet-eyed star stayed at this famous Parisian hotel, you could smell her signature White Diamonds perfume from Champs-Elysees and Faubourg St-Honore, the mecca of fashion shopping streets. Located on one of the world’s most beautiful squares, this 18th century masterpiece was commissioned by Louis XV and you know what that means. Its sumptuous marble, moldings and crystal chandeliers were converted into a 147-room, five star hotel in 1909. Others besides Liz who have stayed in this palatial hotel on Place de la Concorde: Marie (“Let them eat cake”) Antoinette, Jackie O, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Arnold Schwazenegger and King George V.