The $200 million Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills celebrated its grand opening on June 28 with style and thrills. The event welcomed a couple hundred guests including the owner, design team, contractor, and two high-flying daredevils kicking things off with a death defying Batman walk down the side of the new 12-story hotel.
Located at corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, in one of California's highest rent districts, the Waldorf is owned by Alagem Capital Group and was designed by a collaboration between Pierre-Yves Rochon Inc. (PYR), Perkins + Will, and Gensler. MATT Construction was the general contractor, and Nabih Youseff and Associates was structural engineer.
To create a cohesive architectural design inside and out, Gensler designed the master plan for the 207,461-sq-ft property and co-designed the exterior of the hotel with PYR. To this end, each of the property's 170 guestrooms are inspired by the contemporary interpretation of Hollywood glamour and the Streamline Moderne style of the 1930s and 40s, say project officials.
I met Pierre-Yves Rochon, principal and global design director for PYR at the opening and he told me the design team tried to create the feel of a private residence with the property and not "just one more hotel" in Los Angeles.
Rochon, whose firm led the interior design of the project, said the team studied Los Angeles in 1930s and its residential architecture and gave the Waldorf some of that same Art Deco / Paris, France-inspired style and color from that period. He says this 30s feel continues in the interior with design and furniture.
"The design celebrates the history of Los Angles and Hollywood," says Andy Cohen, co-CEO of Gensler, who I also bumped into at the opening ceremony. "We spent a lot of time and effort to make sure this project is the pinnacle project in Beverly Hills and LA."
Every guest room features floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto oversized private balconies. In public spaces, the property boasts a triple-height lobby with a contemporary Art Deco design, hand painted murals, art pieces, custom crystal chandeliers and elegant Lalique installations.
The LEED Gold hotel boasts Portuguese limestone on the exterior, and finishes such as cherry and sycamore wood, as well as antique bronze, Calacatta marble, Crema Marfil marble, and Noir Saint Laurent marble throughout the interior.
Hotel amenities include an iconic rooftop pool and terrace, three restaurants, a 5,000-sq-ft spa and salon, a private Rolls Royce house car offering complimentary drop-off service for guests, and 6,300 sq-ft of meeting spaces, including two ballrooms, and a greywater reuse system for landscape irrigation located beneath the parking garage.
Other members of the project team included SWA - landscape architect; Syska Hennessy Group - MEP design consultant; ACCO Engineered Systems - mechanical engineer / subcontractor; Rosendin Electric - electrical engineer / subcontractor; Pan-Pacific Mechanical - plumbing engineer / subcontractor; Incledon Consulting Group - civil engineer; Sean O'connor Lighting - lighting consultant; Egg Office - signage consultant; and Argento / Graham - LEED consultant.
