Los Angeles—Philippe Starck’s master plan for world design domination continues apace with the opening of SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills. The luxe 297-room hostelry marks the debut of the superhip SLS brand (Miami and Las Vegas to come next year), and Starck signatures—lavish use of silver gilt, whimsical mismatched chandeliers, Brobdingnagian lamp shades, white slipcovers, modish earth-toned suites, Marie Antoinette-meets-midcentury witty bits—abound. So what’s new? Lots: French fashionista Pascal Humbert has whipped up more than 80 sculptural modern looks for the staff, from housekeeper to front desk to limo driver. Design honcho Moss’s “floating emporium” vitrines—a new concept replacing the ubiquitous hotel “been-there-bought-that” boutique—ensure guests will never be more than a bar stool–swivel away from stylish purchases while at the Bazaar, the theatrical lobby-retail-lounge-dining venue. Spanish avant-garde chef José Andrés is at the helm of the restaurant... and of the roving carts offering caviar cones and (our favorite) foie gras cotton candy. There’s a private, guests-only lobby, too, and seven suites have in-room cutting-edge Technogym equipment for maintaining that L.A. muscle tone. The sleek hotel furniture, designed by Starck exclusively for SLS and manufactured by upscale Milan-based Cassina Contract, is also available for purchase—just in case Monsieur Philippe has not yet returned your phone calls imploring him to redecorate. 

 

SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills: 465 South La Cienega Blvd.; 310/247-0400; slshotels.com. "Old Tricks, New Hotel" originally appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Culture+Travel. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Culture+Travel's Fall 2008 Table of Contents.