SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills — Hotel Review Rating: 4.5 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reporter: Sara B.
Updated: November 2, 2009

 Scene

The SLS's logo is four monkeys perched among flickering candles on an ornate chandelier. One monkey is holding a mirror, another a fork, and two others are clutching crystal chalices. It's an apt metaphor for the 297-room hotel: a lot is going on, and not a lot of it makes any sense.

"Where's the lobby?" asks one guest walking up the red carpet through the front door. Funny, I was wondering the same thing. Guests pass an outdoor area replete with white leather seating, illuminated resin deer antlers, and bookshelves, then enter through double glass doors to find an empty desk to the right, a restaurant in front, and a black lacquered concierge desk to the left -- but no check-in desk. That's around the corner, tucked away in near-pitch-black darkness.

With a design and furnishings by Philippe Starck, restaurants by Spanish chef Jose Andres, retail space curated by design purveyor Moss, and uniforms created by French designer Pascal Humbert, the hotel spares nothing when it comes to looks. Everywhere you turn there's something to grab your attention: a pool table on every floor, fireplaces, a lamp with a base shaped like an AK-47 in the lobby. But one person's idea of high design may be another's sensory overload.

Opened in October 2008 on the border of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, SLS has a name that stands for ... "whatever you want it to mean," a front desk clerk told me. The reserved signs on the tables at the restaurant Bazaar read, "Saved Little Spaces." The shoe bag in the room reads "Shoes Love Shining." You get the point.

The hotel has a 6th-floor pool and terrace "crafted as an outdoor living room," according to the hotel's website, but outdoor living rooms apparently aren't for swimming -- one pool is no deeper than a puddle and filled with furniture. Rooms are a fairly spacious 400 square feet, have supremely luxurious beds, huge, well-equipped bathrooms, and cutting-edge electronics. But the mirror-filled design, though elegant and striking, may come across as cold and impractical. For elegance that's warmer and simply more comfortable, check out the rooms at the Sofitel just two blocks down the street.

 Service

Dressed in uniforms from French designer Pascal Humbert, the SLS staff is knowledgeable and surprisingly formal for such an unconventional place. As you'd expect at a luxury hotel, guests get turndown service, valet parking, and 24-hour in-room dining. And requests are answered promptly. My toothpaste arrived within five minutes in a wax paper bag with a generous two tubes and two bottles of Scope.

• Concierge on duty from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, until 11 p.m. on weekends
• Clubs seems to be the concierge's area of expertise (no surprise since the hotel's parent runs the clubs MI6 and Area). That said, they're also familiar with other clubs like Ecco and Les Deux.
• Parking is valet only, at a cost of $35 a night.
• Nightly turndown service
• 24-hour room service
• Poolside food and drink service from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Service requests answered promptly

 Location

The hotel is on the border of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, the enclave of wealthy living and luxury shopping. It's within walking distance of the Beverly Center mall, and a few minutes' drive from Sunset Boulevard and the Sunset Strip, a notorious stretch of clubs, hotels, restaurants, and nightlife. However, it also happens to be located on an unsightly stretch of La Cienega, a loud, busy major thoroughfare.

• Within five-minutes walking distance to the high-end Beverly Center. Stores include Bloomingdale's, Louis Vuitton, and Apple.
• 10 minutes to Third Street, a quaint stretch of upscale boutiques and cafes
• Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive is just over two miles away, or a seven- to 10-minute drive.
• Hollywood Boulevard and Grauman's Chinese Theatre are a 10-minute drive.
• Eateries in all prices ranges abound; quick, inexpensive options at the Beverly Center, great cafes like AOC wine bar on Third Street.
• Splurge on sushi at the famed Matsuhisa about a mile down La Cienega.
• Sunset Boulevard and the Sunset Strip, a notorious stretch of clubs, hotels, restaurants, and nightlife, is just over a mile away, or less than a five-minute drive.
• Universal Studios theme park is a 20-minute drive.
• The beach and the Valley are 30- to 45-minutes away by car (in opposite directions).
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is at least a 45-minute drive.

 Rooms

The sleek Philippe Starck-designed rooms are fairly spacious at 400 square feet, and the beds are super luxurious, but get used to staring at yourself because dark mirrors cover nearly every surface. Bathrooms are exceptionally spacious, but they, too, are lined with mirrors. Yes, even the shower. All in all, design often trumps function: The lighting is poor, the storage space is inadequate, and beware of the sharp corners of the bed (you could end up with bruised shins like mine). The room design feels more relaxed than the hotel's public spaces, but for an even softer and warmer room (though smaller), check out the Sofitel. However, tech amenities are top notch.

• Beds float in the center of the room (the desk is behind the headboard), and, with 300-thread-count D. Porthault linens, down pillows, and duvets, are super plush.
• Form over function: Bathrooms, separated from the bed area by a sliding glass mirror, are as spacious as they are mirror-filled and poorly lit. Turning on the faucet is akin to maneuvering a joystick.
• Double rooms have a soaking tub with rain shower; king rooms have an oversize shower.
• Water pressure was disappointingly weak. In another design flaw, it's impossible to turn on the shower without first dousing yourself with cold water.
• The rooms can feel dark, and light switches, including their locations, aren't especially intuitive, particularly those bookending the bed. Hint: The switch is the narrow peg-looking thing on the lamp.
• Toiletries, the hotel's own organic line, are divine. But they come in bulk containers and lack pump dispensers, so you have to assume the large squeeze bottles have been handled by countless guests.
• Tech amenities include a laptop-size electronic safe, snazzy iPod docking stations, and a super-sleek Sony 40-inch LCD TV with an integrated DVD/CD player that's imbedded into a glass wall.
• The 50 cable channels include HBO high-def and FX, as well as movies on demand; extensive DVD lending library available from the concierge.
• Creatively stocked minibar, with items ranging from gum ($4) to a half-bottle of Veuve Cliquot ($60).
• Low ceilings, though design manages to create the illusion of a larger space.
• Street noise in some rooms facing La Cienega, an extremely busy throughfare
• Small closet: too small for stays of more than a day or two; no drawers, only cubbies in the closet.
• The hotel is helping to keep print media alive -- a free copy of USA Today is delivered every morning.
• Wi-Fi is free in some room categories, but not all; costs $12.95 per 24 hours.
• Guests can stay in room suites outfitted with Technogym's Kinesis Personal series, which means a slightly larger room than mine (500 square feet versus 400 square feet) and personal training equipment.

 Features

The hotel has one of the best hotel gyms in L.A., a full-service spa, and a well-equipped business center with MacBook laptop. But the two pools on the 11,500-square-foot, 6th-floor terrace -- what the hotel calls an "outdoor living room"s -- are baffling. Both are square, and one is less than a foot deep, the other is less than four feet, making neither suitable for swimming.

• Two poorly designed pools on terrace. One is no deeper than a puddle (but has lounge chairs in it); the other is less than four feet deep, barely deep enough for a wet-the-hair dip; open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Seven private cabanas on the pool deck have flat-screen TVs, Wi-Fi, minibars, and MP3 docks; rates are high, typically between $300 to $700 depending on the day of the week.
• Poolside drink and food service from Jose Andres restaurant
• Incredibly well-equipped 2,500-square-foot, 24-hour fitness center with equipment from leading Italian fitness manufacturer, Technogym, an official supplier to Torino and Beijing Olympic games.
• Cardio equipment includes four treadmills, five ellipticals, two upright bikes, and one reclining bike -- all with personal TV monitors -- and an enormous assortment of weight machines, weights, and balls.
• Seating area has Eames furniture.
• Trainers from celebrity fitness instructor Harley Pasternak (clients include Kanye West and Halle Berry)
• 5,000-square-foot, full-service spa with six private treatment rooms
• Treatments range from "spun glass" facials to organic sunless tans; massages and body treatments are $130 to $385; facials $145 to $373; nails from $45.
• Well-equipped business center with MacBooks, copy machines, and printers -- $12.95 per 24 hours
• Retail space in Bazaar restaurant curated by renowned New York City-based design purveyor Moss has everything from books to cutlery to gilded piggy banks to tsotchkes by Kidrobot. Bring your credit card.
• Free car service in a custom Mercedes Jet Van within a two-mile radius -- drops off, but doesn't pick up

 Pets

Dogs under 40 pounds welcome for a nonrefundable $120 fee.

 Family

Superior rooms are spacious enough to fit in a rollaway bed, but the hotel's sleek vibe isn't particularly family friendly. That said, parents will find a few kid-suitable features, including a kids' menu, connecting rooms, and free cribs.

• Rooms with two double beds are available, and can be connected to a room with a king.
• Double rooms have bathtubs, but they're too deep for small children.
• Free cribs; rollaways cost $25 a night
• Kids' room service menu with options like scrambled eggs with cheese ($8), olive oil mini pancakes ($7), and a croissant with ham and cheddar ($7)

 Cleanliness

Opened in October 2008, everything about this hotel looks and feels brand new. Public areas and rooms are virtually spotless, except for some water stains on the showerhead.

 Food

Guests will eat exceptionally well without leaving the building, but they'll pay for it. The hotel's executive chef is Jose Andres, a Spaniard best known for his small plates who beat chef Bobby Flay on "Iron Chef America." Alas, at Bazaar, which earned a rare four-star rating from the LA Times restaurant critic, Andres takes the "small" in "small plate" to an entirely new level. The Philly cheesesteak with cheddar and wagyu beef is delicious -- but $8 for two or three bites. The restaurant is several different venues in one -- tapas bar Blanca, another called Rojo, Bar Centro with high communal tables, and Patisserie, the dessert area -- so, like the hotel, kind of confusing. Plus, it houses a massive retail space from design purveyor Moss. The more casual Tres restaurant serves Californian cuisine with Spanish influences.

• Two restaurants within the hotel, Bazaar and Tres, both by Jose Andres; Bazaar emphasizes Spanish small plates, Tres has Californian cuisine with Spanish influences.
• 24-hour room service
• SLS guests get preferential reservations at SBE's other L.A. restaurants, lounges, and clubs, including Katsuya (known for their sushi), and Area, one of the more popular clubs.
• The more casual Tres is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• Breakfast dishes from $9 (cereal and granola) to $28 (slow-cooked egg with caviar and potatoes)
• At $18, the breakfast table is a better deal; unlimited fresh berries and yogurt, cereals and fresh-baked pastries and croissants, and a small, but lovely antipasto plate with chorizo, salami, and cheeses.
• Soups and salads range from $10 for onion soup to $25 for lobster salad; burgers and sandwiches are $14 to $22; mains from $21 (homemade potato gnocchi) to $36 (grilled New York strip steak).
• Bazaar, open for dinner nightly, brunch and afternoon tea on weekends
• Tapas portions are tiny. Some are priced per person, others by the dish; chef's tasting menu is $65.

 Bottom Line

The Philippe Starck-designed SLS, opened in 2008, may dazzle -- and possibly overwhelm -- the senses with capital-D design. The rooms are sleek, luxurious, and spacious; its gym is enormous, and restaurants by Spanish chef Jose Andres are praiseworthy. But the high-design elements sometimes get in the way of comfort and practicality -- neither of its two pools, for example, is deep enough for swimming.