What do you get everytime a celebrity walks into the Beverly Hills Hotel? Tabloid fodder, scandals and saucy pictures. (Photo by Reggie Bibbs via Flickr)

There’s one weird scandal going on at the Pink Palace (that’s what the hotel likes to call itself…) which has made a celebrity out of a female songwriter. It seems last September Tanya White, who has written songs for Janet Jackson and Seal, was attending a birthday party for actress LisaRaye McCoy at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and was evicted from the womens restroom for not being ‘womanly’ enough.

Songwriter Tanya White admits she doesn’t dress like the typical woman, but she says security guards went too far when they confronted her in the women’s bathroom at the hotel last September.  White claims that even after proving she was a woman, they told her to get out and escorted her off the premises.  “The men said, ‘You need to get out of the bathroom.’ When Latrice said, ‘She’s supposed to be here, she’s a woman,’ security responded, ‘It needs to leave,’” said attorney Gloria Allred. - ABC7, June 6 2008

Only in Beverly Hills can a woman who dresses like a man end up having an argument with security guards over whether it she is man or a woman. Lets move on to the more ‘normal’ things going on at the Beverly Hills Hotel. There’s lots of things to do in Los Angeles, but none comes remotely close to the heat and controversy generated by tabloids and paparazzi pictures chronicling the lives of celebrities and their scandals. And the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Blvd is usually like as not the scene of the crime.

Here’s some pictures taken last year of Lindsay Lohan as she exits the hotel, and here’s the latest Lindsay sighting, post-rehab, at the hotel’s ‘Fountain Coffee Room’ in the basement level, where she was dissed by Jessica Alba and Cash Warren. Friends star Jennifer Anniston was spotted at the hotel’s Polo Lounge enjoying a romantic dinner with John Mayer. This was in addition to their sizzling poolside Miami getaway at the Mandaran Oriental’s beachclub. And then there’s Britney Spears who was allegedly banned by the hotel for being a ‘toxic’ guest and a troublemaker.

Granted the Polo Lounge is a great place to hang out or eat or bump into a star. But, is the hotel worth staying in for ‘ordinary’ people? Are the rooms any good? Well, if its good enough for A-list celebrities, it’s good enough for me. The hotel’s  204 guest rooms, including suites and 21 bungalows, are each custom designed with English-style sofas, canopied beds, velvet throw pillows, and artwork. Every room is unique, with different patterns, fabrics, hues, draperies, and textures.

Some of the specialty suites and bungalows have private entrances, and are equipped with everything from a baby piano and wood burning fireplace to a 2000 sq ft balcony. Every room in the hotel is soundproofed and offers a butler service button, fax machine, high speed and wireless internet, two televisions (one in the bathroom), private minibar, a marble bathroom with hairdryer, in-room safe, walk-in closet and a choice of 4 daily newspapers. Room rates start at $385 and onwards upto $1025 for a suite.

For dining and entertainment, in addition to the Polo Lounge and the Fountain Coffee Room, the Beverly Hills Hotel also houses the Cabana Club Cafe and Bar Nineteen 12.

Info: 9641 Sunset Boulevard Beverly Hills CA 90210; (310) 276-2251; www.beverlyhillshotel.com/

Posted on June 8th, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: Hotels