“It doesn‘t get any better than this.”

The place has symbolic power worldwide – Beverly Hills stands for high-end luxury, Hollywood glamour and posh residences. Few people know that Beverly Hills is a city in its own right with 33,000 inhabitants, surrounded by Los Angeles and West Hollywood. Not only can visitors look forward to a Mediterranean climate, but also a lifestyle that offers the best of the best in every respect. High-calibre credit cards have become the most important travel item. And they run hot quickly here.

You can stay in Beverly Hills for a reasonable amount of between $300 and $500, but the selection of luxury hotels is quite impressive. „The Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, which opened in 1912, is still the most expensive hotel in the city, with prices starting at around $1,600 a night. The Pink Palace (as the hotel is also known) was the place to stay when Hollywood‘s film industry and the Beverly Hills villa zones were developed. There is hardly a major movie star who has not walked the halls of the hotel. Film diva Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned here with several of her husbands. Marilyn Monroe was a regular guest in the bungalows. Today, the hotel‘s famous Polo Lounge is the place where you probably have the best chance of meeting stars and managers from the film industry. The bar of the Polo Lounge still exudes that special classic Hollywood charm – you immediately imagine Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack coming to party or Marlene Dietrich posing with a cigarette and a seductive look. By the way, as a tribute to the year it was founded, the Polo Lounge offers a jazzed-up version of its McCarthy Salad – that is, for $1,912.

Other top hotels (prices from approx. $1,000 – 1,250 per night) are concentrated in the so-called Golden Triangle. Advantage: the shops, boutiques and restaurants of this central district of Beverly Hills are within walking distance. Our favourite place in the hotel „The Peninsula“ (9882 S Santa Monica Blvd./195 rooms/1991 built) has a rooftop pool with a view over Los Angeles. The hotel also offers spa and wellness treatments that are among the best in the world – rejuvenation included. If, on the other hand, you would prefer to savour high-quality spirits from the Highlands and enjoy the perfect cigar without having to spend hundreds of dollars, the „Cigar and Whiskey Bar“ at „The Maybourne“ (225 N Canon Drive/201 room/2008 built) is highly recommended Or try the „Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel“ (9500 Wilshire Blvd./395 rooms/1928 built), famous for being the setting in Pretty Woman, the 90s movie with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Available this year is a „Dreamer“ package. A top-class team helps you feel like a star, for example by arranging a professional photo shoot with portrait photographer Art Streiber. Beforehand, renowned stylists will help you find an exclusive outfit in a boutique and make you look glamorous with make-up and hairstyling. The end-of-shoot party is then held in the hotel’s private dining room.

Conveniently, the Beverly Wilshire is located directly opposite Rodeo Drive, the epicentre of high-end shopping on the US West Coast. Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren – this is where numerous flagship shops of the world‘s best brands and elite boutiques are found within a few blocks of each other. You can either just window shop or reserve a private room as a VIP shopper. At the House of Bijan, long known as the most expensive clothing shop in the world, you need an appointment – from a simple tie for $900 to a chinchilla coat for $125,000. For diamonds and jewellery, we recommend Van Cleef & Arpels or Tiffany & Co. For handmade perfumes, the traditional companies, House of Creed and Henry Jacques set exclusive standards. And in the Michael Gallery, where there are exhibitions, paintings by the greats from various eras are on sale, such as Rembrandt, Renoir, Picasso, Chagall, Dalí, Andy Warhol, and Mr. Brainwash.

When travelling in the Golden Triangle, it is a good idea to enjoy fine dining. A good choice is Spago, the flagship restaurant of Wolfgang Puck (176 N Canon Drive). It offers fine dining at a reasonable price.
Beverly Hills is famous for its mansions and sprawling estates with the super-rich and mega-stars as residents. North of Santa Monica Boulevard begins the ultra-premium market, where residential properties currently cost up to $100 million. „The Flats,“ the area up to Sunset Blvd. is largely flat. Tree-lined streets and dignified mansions in various styles on large plots of land shape the landscape. North of Sunset Blvd. The ascent into the Santa Monica Mountains begins. In Trousdale Estates, the northernmost arm of Beverly Hills, modern villas dominate. Beverly Hills Gateway, where the Pink Palace is located, is the most expensive corner with prices averaging $10.5 million per villa. Along with neighbouring Bel Air and Holmby Hills (both in Los Angeles), the area is known in the real estate industry as the Platinum Triangle.

In the Beverly Park area, singer Adele bought actor Sylvester Stallone‘s huge mansion for 58 million dollars this year. Which star currently lives where and where the homes of deceased Hollywood stars were can be explored by tourists on tours (for example at: starlinetours.com for about $90). Entering the celebrities‘ estates is, of course, strictly forbidden. However, the splendour of the early days of Beverly Hills can be seen at the Greystone Mansion (905 Loma Vista Drive). The mansion, which has been immortalised in several films, was built in 1928 in the Tudor Revival style with an English garden by oil magnate Edward L. Doheny in Trousdale Estates.

You can round off a holiday in Beverly Hills with interesting sightseeing.

For example, a spectacular film museum opened in Hollywood in September 2021. Almost 500 million US dollars were invested in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (short: Oscar Museum) (6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles). Also brand new is the SoFi Stadium. This entertainment and football arena (for the Rams and the Chargers) with 70,000 seats was completed in September 2020 and is the most expensive stadium in the world. Tours of SoFi Stadium start at $30 (Hollywood Park, Inglewood). A worthwhile classic is the Santa Monica Pier (also the final stop on Route 66) with its amusement park, bars, restaurants and flea market on the Pacific coast in Santa Monica. And for art lovers, the Getty Center is an excellent address (1200 Getty Center Dr, Los Angeles). This museum offers a special surprise after your time spent in Beverly Hills: admission is free.