BEVERLY HILLS
MEETINGS 90210: AS THE CITY WITH THE FAMOUS ZIPCODE CELEBRATES
ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY, WE LOOK AT THE ULTIMATE A-LIST MICE DESTINATION
BEVERLY HILLS IS CELEBRATING its centenary this year. Founded in 1914, it has been a byword for stardom and celluloid dreams ever since. Now with a population of more than
34,000, it has always been an independent city, despite being within the greater Los Angeles county. Karissa Fowler at the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau (BHCVB) says the city was founded following the opening of the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1912. “The hotel was marketed as being halfway between Hollywood and the sea. It became an escape from Hollywood for celebrities, who started flocking there. They then built homes in the area, and people began to follow.” She says early advocates for the city included silent screen stars Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Will Rogers. Being Beverly Hills, the BHCVB’s offering
of creative events has a certain amount of stardust you wouldn’t necessarily find in other
110 BBT MAY/JUNE 2014
destinations around the world. Here are a few examples of what it can offer: celebrity cooking demos and tasting dinners with superstar chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Thomas Keller; TV studio tapings such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Tonight with Jay Leno... you get the picture. Tickets to the Golden Globes, anyone? To mark the centenary, five of the city’s most luxurious hotels have each created a ‘Suite 100’ in one of their top-tier guest rooms. Each is themed from a different decade. At the Peninsula, it’s 1990s Hollywood glamour, with shiny red leather armchairs, a Swarovski crystal chandelier and mirrored finishes re- flecting the witty wall murals of flashbulbs and jostling paparazzi on red carpets. The other four participating properties encompass different eras and themes, such 1940s film noir at the Montage, and Marilyn Monroe-era ‘golden-age’ 1950s at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Peninsula sales director Rob Roche says: “The centenary is creating a big buzz. We are
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