Day #2 at the BEVERLEY HILTON HOTEL

THE BEVERLY HILTON.

We woke up at 5 AM and had breakfast at the Hilton Lobby Bar where Frank Sinatra used to go for a nightcap. We ordered breakfast.

The bartender was a surfer named Rob. Rob gave us a little history on the Beverley Hilton.

“Conrad Hilton built this hotel in 1955. It was the first “Hilton” hotel. He was married to Zsa Zsa Gabor. Her sister Ava Gabor designed the pink bathroom in the Ballroom where they hold the Golden Globe Awards.”

Mummy ordered a blueberry muffin, my croissant was French, flakey, and fresh.

We walked around and looked at the dramatic flower arrangements.

There were 20’x30’ abstract paintings and moderne furniture mixed with superb Chinese pieces. You have to hand it to the Hiltons. They have preserved the mid-fifties ambiance, but the hotel has been updated and up-spiffed in a very cool way.

I went to the hotel gym and ran a mile, stood on my head and lifted weights. Mummy sat on the “Glute crunch” machine and lifted Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

There was a bowl of gargantuan navel oranges in a bowl at the “Spa.” We took two. We were really living it up.

9:30 AM
Homes of the Stars Tour

Mummy sat in front with our driver, an older Latin man. Juan was brimming with information and good cheer. We saw Salvador Dali’s House, Versace’s house, a Frank Geary building…. we saw the homes of John Wayne, Sophia Loren, the Barrymores, and Batman. We saw Tom Cruise’s old house, Tom’s new house….we went to special little streets, we saw the Playboy mansion, we saw the house where my friend Steve Bogart grew up with his parents Humphrey and Lauren Bacall.

On a sad note we saw movers packing up the late Paul Newman’s car collection-They were putting his antique cars on flatbed trucks. I got very depressed. I loved that salad dressing.

Look closely at the photo and you can see the Stutz Bearcat through the gates in the courtyard.

We saw the Hollywood sign. It’s hard to see, but Mummy saw it.

We went to the Walk of Stars. We saw Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the Whisky A Go Go, and we saw the quintessence of luxury retail: RODEO DRIVE!

We got so excited we asked the drive to let us off at Rodeo Drive and we shopped: Chanel, Versace, Yves St. Laurent, Armani… Mummy bought a new pink lipstick at Chanel. We sat down on a bench at Via Rodeo, the street built by Versace. It is just like a little street in Italy.


We had tea at an unbelievably chic bar. The bill came to 18 dollars for two cups of tea. It was worth it. Mr. Lee came to pick us up in the limo. He held the door for Mummy. Everyone assumed she was a movie star, but most of the people watching us were only 23, so they had never seen Mummy’s movies. Nonetheless, they knew. They felt the star power.


That night we were so tired we could hardly move. We decided that we didn’t have the energy to dress and go to Spagos. I dragged myself to the concierge desk, and looked into his liquid, brown, hospitality management eyes.

“ Josh, Do you think we can get a reservation at Trader Vic’s here in the hotel? We are somewhat pooped. “

Josh gave me a knowing smile.

“Phoebe, trust me. You do not want to go to Trader Vic’s. You want to go to Spago.”