Review: SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills

Review: SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills

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My usual go to hotel in the Beverly Hills/West Hollywood area is the Andaz West Hollywood, which I quite like and find to be a good value. I’ve always wanted to try the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, which is a Starwood Luxury Collection property. It has a good location, though is consistently priced much higher than the Andaz. SLS has another location in South Beach, with two more properties opening in Las Vegas and New York soon. SLS apparently stands for “Style, Luxury, Service,” for what it’s worth (hey, I asked them, so you guys deserve to know as well).

Since I had one night in LA on my return trip I decided to book the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills. As I explained in my previous post about the value of Starpoints, I always struggle with redeeming them given how valuable they are since they can be converted into airline miles, and this booking was no exception.

The SLS is a category six Starwood property, and Cash & Points was available for 10,000 Starpoints plus $180 ($208.04 including tax). That’s certainly not a cheap rate, but at least out of pocket it’s not totally horrible.

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Meanwhile the AAA rate was $347.65 ($401.81 including tax), but I really wanted to avoid spending that much if I could on one night for a hotel.

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Anyway, due to traffic it took about 45 minutes to get from LAX to the SLS, which has a pretty stunning interior. To the left is the entrance to their restaurant, The Bazaar, and to the right is the entrance to the hotel, which features a red carpet and a pretty cool exterior seating area.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills exterior

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The Bazaar restaurant exterior

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills entrance

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills seating area at entryway

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills seating area at entryway

The lobby is really unique, with almost indescribable decor. It feels a little bit like a ski lodge, a little bit like something out of a horror movie, a little bit like something out of a James Bond movie, and a little bit like something you’d expect in Beverly Hills.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills lobby

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills lobby

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills lobby

Reception is located through the entrance and to the left, where I was quickly welcomed by a friendly associate. Unfortunately no SPG Platinum upgrades were available, though she confirmed the other Platinum benefits, including complimentary internet and 4PM late check-out. She also offered me my choice of Platinum amenities, and I selected the breakfast.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills reception

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills lobby

I was assigned room 257, a superior room. When I got out of the elevator on the second floor there was a pool table and some unique lighted print to the right.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills hallway

My room was located about halfway down the hallway.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills hallway

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills room 257

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills floorplan

At around 400 square feet I thought the room was very large for a standard room. Upon entering the room was a wide entryway, with the bathroom to the left.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room entryway

To the right, was… well, I’m not exactly sure.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room entryway

So the room had a ton of mirrors. It was really difficult to photograph the room without making it look like I was making a selfie album. There are mirrors everywhere — in front of the bed, behind the bed, to the side of the bed, in the shower, next to the shower, etc.

The room had a king bed in the middle of the room, then behind the bed was the desk. Ever since seeing “The Conjuring” I’m generally a fan of beds that are in corners or against walls, because that way you only have to watch out for spirits on at most three sides of the bed.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room

In the corner of the room was a daybed with a coffee table, and next to that were the minibar snacks.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room minibar snacks

The room faced a residential side street, which was nice and quiet. Contrast that to a room facing Sunset Boulevard at the Andaz West Hollywood, which has a lot more action with some really great views, though is also a lot more distracting. For example, there’s a really bright digital billboard at the Andaz West Hollywood and even if you close the curtains some of the light still seeps through.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room view

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room view

Back near the entrance was the bathroom, which featured a sink, toilet, oddly placed towel rack, and shower.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room bathroom

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room bathroom

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room bathroom

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room bathroom

In the bathroom were some Ciel Spa toiletries for purchase, which I found interesting. There was also a complimentary bottle of Evian water.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room bathroom

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills Superior Room bathroom

In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, there’s a huge gym with plenty of equipment on the second floor as well, though unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to use it during this stay.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills gym

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills gym

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills gym

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills gym

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills gym

There was also a business center with some PCs.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills business center

And there was a massive, gorgeous rooftop pool on the sixth floor.

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SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills rooftop

While I had intended to have breakfast at the SLS, unfortunately I overslept so wasn’t able to partake.

On the whole I liked the SLS, and found the employees to be friendly and rooms to be large, if not a bit quirky. I’m not sure I liked it more than the Andaz West Hollywood, though, which is consistently priced lower. And that may simply be a function of the Andaz being in West Hollywood and SLS being in Beverly Hills (technically).

If the rate was right I’d certainly return, though.

Conversations (14)
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  1. lucky OMAAT

    @ Scott -- Yep, at check-out they gladly credited me the 500 Starpoints since I didn't do breakfast.

  2. Scott Guest

    So do you get the points because you never did the breakfast?

  3. John Guest

    I think this used to be Le Meridien. I've stayed there many times and always liked the hotel and the location.

  4. lucky OMAAT

    @ justSaying -- Not a lap pool, unfortunately, but more of a reflective pond around which people with six packs soak to show off. At least that's the perception I got.

  5. justSaying Guest

    but does it have a lap pool?

  6. lucky OMAAT

    @ UA-NYC -- Correct, the South Beach one isn't, though I'm not sure if the Las Vegas and New York ones will be.

  7. UA-NYC Diamond

    This is the only SLS that's actually part of SPG though, right?

  8. No Fly Zone Member

    I've been there, also in a +/- standard/superior room. Service and staff were great, but the decor and furnishings just did not work for me. I think the room would work better with about half the fluff; just too much clutter. Otherwise OK, if a bit overpriced.

  9. beachfan Guest

    The restaurant is awesome, especially the Ssam room which serves only the tasting menu.

    Jose Andreas is an amazing chef and the food is sort of alternating between molecular and traditional. A must try if you are a foodie.

  10. Seattle Guest

    There will be an SLS hotel opening in Seattle as well!

    http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020351962_fifthcolumbiahotelxml.html

  11. Nick OMAAT

    It's also not technically in Beverly Hills (then again, neither is the Four Seasons Los Angeles "at" Beverly Hills). It's across from the Beverly Center, though, if you like that sort of thing.

  12. Nick OMAAT

    For what it's worth, "Style, Luxury, Service" is a backronym (as I think it's called?) -- i.e., they (SBE Entertainment Group) came up with "SLS" first and figured out what it stood for after. SBE is among the douchier LA nightclub peddlers, though the SLS is actually relatively classy. But Sam Nazarian, the founder of SBE, wanted a hotel name that immediately conveyed luxury, expense and for lack of a better term "baller"-ness, and he...

    For what it's worth, "Style, Luxury, Service" is a backronym (as I think it's called?) -- i.e., they (SBE Entertainment Group) came up with "SLS" first and figured out what it stood for after. SBE is among the douchier LA nightclub peddlers, though the SLS is actually relatively classy. But Sam Nazarian, the founder of SBE, wanted a hotel name that immediately conveyed luxury, expense and for lack of a better term "baller"-ness, and he likes his expensive Mercedes coupe, so SLS it was. (Mercedes SLS's start at $200,000, by the way.) http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/class/class-SLS

  13. lucky OMAAT

    @ Carl -- While I wasn't parking a car, it seems as if valet with in/out privileges is $38 per day.

    It is a bit off from the center of Beverly Hills. With LA weather I'd argue it's easily walkable, though definitely not convenient for Rodeo Drive, etc.

    I didn't partake in breakfast unfortunately, but if I'm not mistaken it was a "legitimate" continental breakfast (so not a pastry basket as some hotels do).

  14. Carl Guest

    Is the Platinum breakfast a full breakfast? Or an upcharge?

    How much is parking?

    And is BH walkable from there? It's a bit off from the center.

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lucky OMAAT

@ Scott -- Yep, at check-out they gladly credited me the 500 Starpoints since I didn't do breakfast.

0
Scott Guest

So do you get the points because you never did the breakfast?

0
John Guest

I think this used to be Le Meridien. I've stayed there many times and always liked the hotel and the location.

0
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