Maison 140 Beverly Hills

Housed in the home of the glamorous former silent film star, Lillian Gish, this intimate, 43-room boutique hotel off a quiet street in Beverly Hills does the stylish spirit of its previous inhabitant proud. Reworked as a French-meets-Mandarin boutique, Maison 140 is a little like a 1920s Parisian inn mated with a lush Shanghai opium den -- and they had one brazen L.A. baby. Black hallways offset a lipstick-red elevator, French antique dressers with feet hold up lamp bases shaped like Chinese women in traditional dress, and pagoda-print and bamboo wallpaper climb from walls to ceilings. You'll never get bored, visually. (Gwen Stefani must've agreed -- she's having the Maison's designer do the interiors of her Mulholland Drive mansion.)

The management charmingly plays up the hotel's theme -- serving daily absinthe happy hours and French press coffee at the lobby lounge, Bar Noir, and issuing heavy antique-looking copper room keys on red silk string instead of the usual plastic key card. It would have been nice to see what they'd do with a French- or Asian-inspired spa, but unfortunately there's no room for one -- or for a full business center, pool, or on-site restaurant. (Ending around 10 p.m., room service food is actually bussed in from the kitchen at Mosaic, just around the block.)

Maison 140 lacks the amenities and services of other Beverly Hills boutique properties like the pricier Mosaic Hotel with its pool, on-site restaurant, and free shuttle service, or even the similarly priced Luxe Rodeo Drive with its separate restaurant, free in-room Wi-Fi, and nightly turndowns. Loyal guests of Maison 140 forgo these features because they love the affordable room rates (well, for Beverly Hills, at least) and the hotel's inimitable style, starting with the stark black-and-white lobby. You'll never see a hotel that looks quite like this one -- especially in Beverly Hills, where demure decors of beige and cream dominate.

This tiny 43-room hotel runs on a minimal staff. There are just one or two front desk employees to check guests in and occasionally assist with bags, as well as daily housekeeping and room service that ends at 10 p.m. (which comes from the nearby Mosaic hotel, as there's no on-site restaurant).

• Free glass of wine upon check-in
• No separate concierge
• No porters or doormen
• Room service throughout the day
• No valet parking (self-serve -- actually on the cheap side for this area)

The Maison 140 is located in a quiet, residential side street just off Wilshire Boulevard, in the sedate, wealthy environs of Beverly Hills, an enclave of wealthy living and luxury shopping in the middle of L.A.'s west side. The hotel is not in the midst of a happening nightlife scene or particularly cheap dining. But if luxury shopping is your want, you couldn't be better situated for the designer boutiques of Rodeo Drive or the indoor shopping mall of the Beverly Center. Meanwhile, college parents will enjoy Maison 140's proximity to UCLA.

• Around the corner from the old I.M. Pei-designed Creative Artists Agency building on Wilshire Boulevard
• Luxury designer boutiques of Rodeo Drive, eight blocks away
• UCLA and the surrounding college-focused Westwood Village of shops, restaurants, and movie theaters, about a 10-minute drive
• The Getty (free, gigantic art museum with lovely outdoor gardens) is a 15-minute drive.
• Santa Monica Beach is a 20- to 30-minute drive.
• Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Hollywood Boulevard are a 15- to 20-minute drive.
• Universal Studios, a movie-themed amusement park, is a 20- to 30-minute drive.
• LAX airport is about a 40-minute drive.

Room renovations in 2011 brought a stylish French-inspired decor to all units. Each guestroom now features Chinoiserie screens, hand-tufted European carpets and gilded armchairs, as well as marble bathrooms and Neil George toiletries. Sferra linens and bathrobes, flat-screen TVs, DVD players, minibars, and free Wi-Fi are all standard amenities now. Parisian Rooms have a king or queen bed and are slightly smaller that Mandarin Rooms, which feature king-size beds.

Smoking is not permitted in any of the rooms.

Expect next to no features at this tiny 43-room boutique. Offerings pale in comparison to the (admittedly pricier) Mosaic just around the corner with its pool, fitness center, and free car service -- or even the similarly priced Luxe Rodeo Drive and Crescent, which at least have their own restaurants and offer free Wi-Fi.

• The free 24-hour fitness center, a converted guest room, is fairly small -- little more than a single treadmill, a single StarTrac stairstepper, a weight bench with free weights, a tube TV, and hand towels.
• In lieu of a full business center, there's just one laptop computer sitting on a coffee table in the lobby (the printer is tucked behind the lobby sofa); usage is free, at least.
• There's no spa, but the hotel can arrange for in-room services.
• Guests get free access to the pool at sister property Avalon, but it's a mile away; there's free parking for Maison 140 guests.
• Daily continental breakfast served at stylish Bar Noir.

Dogs under 50 pounds are welcome at Maison 140, but there's a per-stay fee and the hotel offers no pet amenities beyond the free use of food bowls. Those with bigger dogs or other types of pets would be better served at Hotel Palomar in nearby Westwood, which charges no fee and accepts pets of any size or type.

Although Maison 140 does offer free cribs, the hotel's small rooms, cramped bathrooms, and lack of an on-site pool do not a family hotel make. There are no rollaways or connecting rooms. Truck the kids on over to the Magic Castle in Hollywood, instead.

Room service and a morning continental breakfast in the lobby bar try to make up for the lack of an on-site restaurant here, but you'll probably end up driving to nearby restaurants for most of your meals.

• Room service, available throughout the day, features a small selection of continental American cuisine (they outsource the food preparation to Mosaic's kitchen, around the corner); prices are comparable to other hotels
• Nightly "L'Heure Verte," an absinthe happy hour, and a not-so-cheap wine-and-cheese tasting every Wednesday
• The daily continental breakfast served at Bar Noir (or in-room at guest's request) is worth it for quality pastries from a local bakery and chunky La Brea granola, Spega Italian yogurt, and fresh fruit.