Hotel Bel Air Private Viewing - The Gardens, Restaurant and Bar

The well known Landscape designer Jonny "Appleseed" Goldstein was called on to renovate 12 acres at the Hotel Bel-Air.

Of course, maintaining and preserving what had begun in the 1940's, he was respectful to the legacy of this iconic property's historic gardens. Set deep in the wooded canyon, landscaped with 2,000 botanical species including a 60-year-old lonchocarpus tree, a 12ft bird of paradise, cascades of bougainvillea (a personal favorite) and a colony of hummingbirds...oh ya and there are some Swans, too.

The famous Swan Lake now features a recirculation and filtration system that saves more than 250,000 gallons of water a month. The new gardens have a gray-water system that recycles water from new villas - it's all extremely well planned and so absolutely peaceful. You completely forget that you are in one of the busiest areas of Los Angeles, with UCLA only a few blocks away.

I was fortunate enough to have the oppurtunity (and even though it was Oscar Weekend) to be given a Private tour of the grounds and many of the rooms and villas. Today, on Dec-a-Porter 360*, I wanted to share some of the gardens as well as the Bar & Wolfgang Puck Restaurant designed by David Rockwell.

As I walked along the gardens, with birds and all the flowers looking Spring worthy, my thoughts went back to the many incredible stars that considered this place their second home: Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly, to name only a few.

The wedding gazebo. This is the place where all the "magic" happens...

David Rockwell updated the hotel’s famed Oak Bar along this path to the Restaurant & Bar

My personal favorite part of this was these absolutely stunning outdoor loungers

An organic herb and produce garden on the grounds can be used by the hotel’s chef, Wolfgang Puck.
I must say one of the key moments of this private tour, was our final moments where we sat and drank over a fabulous lunch with all the trimmings.

the bathrooms of the restaurant

An amazing afternoon at the Bel Air...

Have a wonderful weekend, and on Monday I hope to share a few more images from my *Private Viewing* of this special Los Angeles oasis.





*all images by "moi" for Dec-a-Porter. Please by kind if repinning or reusing and link back.