Now the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills (a Four Seasons property), this famed and elegant five-star hotel was built by real estate developer Walter McCarty to boost interest in the then-young city of Beverly Hills.
The hotel was erected where a popular racetrack that drew large crowds from 1920 to 1923 used to stand. (El Camino Drive, on the east side of the hotel, was once Speedway Drive.).
The Beverly Wilshire became the most luxurious accommodation on Wilshire Boulevard west of the Hotel Ambassador. The property once spanned an entire block, with gardens and later tennis courts used for exhibition matches featuring champions like Pancho Gonzales and Bobby Riggs.
Welton Becket and Associates designed the fourteen-story building in 1969, shortly after Becket’s death. This addition made the hotel the tallest building in Beverly Hills at that time.
Since its opening in 1928, this legendary establishment has been the preferred address of celebrities and the international elite, and it’s easy to see why. Located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, the hotel stands at the enviable heart of Beverly Hills, with designer shops, fine dining restaurants, and postcard-worthy views right at its doorstep. Other illustrious guests of the hotel include public figures, musicians like Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Elton John, and actors Michael Caine, Michael Douglas, Farrah Fawcett, Bette Midler, Dustin Hoffman, Anjelica Huston, Robert Pattinson, Walter Matthau, and Al Pacino, among others.
The hotel has appeared in multiple Hollywood productions, like ‘Beverly Hills Cop’, ‘Bulworth’, and ‘American Gigolo’, but perhaps its most famous role was in the movie ‘Pretty Woman’. In recent years, the hotel has continued to be a symbol of luxury and elegance, attracting a new generation of celebrities and discerning travelers seeking the quintessential Beverly Hills experience.
