Hilton Worldwide’s much-anticipated Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills opens today on the triangular corner next to the Beverly Hilton. Designed by Pierre-Yves Rochor, the luxury 12-story hotel has 170 guest rooms and suites, each of which offers floor-to-ceiling windows and private balconies. The elegant venue has three cocktail lounges, including a French-inspired lobby bar and a rooftop deck with panoramic views, V.I.P. cabanas, and a swimming pool. The hotel boasts 6,500 square feet of meeting space, including the 2,945-square-foot Astor Ballroom, which seats 200 banquet-style or holds 400 for receptions. There is also a meeting room that seats 40 classroom-style, a French-American restaurant by famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and a spa by La Prairie.
The new Dream Hollywood, open since February, is quickly becoming one of Los Angeles’s hottest nightlife destinations with the opening of three stylish Tao Group venues, all designed by the Rockwell Group and available for private or semiprivate events.
First up was the 10,000-square-foot, two-story Beauty & Essex, which opened in late March and features multiethnic cuisine from chef Chris Santos. The bilevel space, which has a 20-foot oval skylight, seats 250 or holds 400 for receptions, while a private dining room seats 30. A ground-floor courtyard and a second-floor patio also can be rented for events.
The eponymous Tao, open since April, serves pan-Asian cuisine in a sprawling 300-seat restaurant and lounge. The massive space, which features a 20-foot-tall Quan Yin statue atop a koi pond, holds as many 750 for standing receptions. It also offers two 24-seat sky boxes and two 10-seat private dining rooms.
Also on site is Avenue, a 4,000-square-foot nightclub open since March. A semi-exposed garden patio (pictured) has a retractable roof and space for 250; it can be rented separately for events. The entire club holds as many as 450 people. Avenue is connected to Luchini Pizzeria and Bar—another Tao Group venue—which offers pizza slices and a speciality cocktail menu; it holds 100 people and can be rented in conjunction with the Avenue patio.
The Tao Group plans to open a fourth nightlife location at the Dream hotel in late June: an 11,000-square-foot outdoor rooftop and lounge named the Highlight Room.
