The first of these destinations was the Shangri-La Hotel in Santa Monica and the second was the Beverly Hills hotel in Beverly Hills.
Th Shangri-La is on the corner of the Santa Monica Freeway and Ocean Drive. As you walk into the hotel you are moved towards the elevators which take you to the penthouse. Arriving a top of the hotel you get to enter through the bar area that has a very nice modern chic decor. This leads to an outdoors patio area the over looks the ocean and the Santa Monica pier. I recommend going there for the sun set as it is just gorgeous. The bartenders are all very knowledgeable and both nights I was there I told them to surprise me with a gin beverage. These guys truly make it an art as they have fresh fruit available a big block of ice that they chip ice cubes from and a vivid imagination in terms of new concoctions. Dress code is casual business all the way to black tie if there is an outside event going on. I recommend calling ahead to make sure it is open to the public the night you want to go as they throw events fairly regularly according to the door man Andre. Drinks will run you 12 to 22$ but well worth it to watch the bartenders in action with the lost art of drink making.
Coming back from Hollywood one night We decided to stop in at the Beverly Hills hotel to have a drink. We went there on a monday and lucky for us it was not too busy. There are two ares to go too one is almost a restaurant that turns into a bar (The Polo Lounge) the other is a bar that over looks Beverly Hills and Sunset Blvd. (Bar Nineteen 12) While tlaking to the front desk about which one to try out I remembered on hearing that the hotel has very unique ball rooms. Seeing that it was not too busy we asked the receptionist to give us a tour which was not a problem. I have to say that the hotel made you feel like you where in the 1930. It was renovated less then 15 years ago but they kept all the old world touches in place. The ball rooms where spectacular even having some of them overlooking gardens.
We decided to go to bar nineteen 12 since it was named after the year the hotel was built.
The servers was where very quick and helpful and new the drink menu inside and out. As soon as you sit down you are brought olives to eat while you wait for your drink. I got the French 75 out of the favorite selection. I am not a big fan of champagne but it was recommended by the server so I gave it a shot. I was very surprised and very pleased. The Champagne sweetness was taken away by the gin bitterness but the bubbles remained there was also a hint of citrus that played nicely with the cucumber in the hendricks gin. Prices run from 16 dollars into the hundreds for things like a Johnnie walker 1805 or a Macallan 50 yr.
If you want to feel like you are in the 30's in old hollywood then this is the place to have a drink.
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