Hotel Bel-Air: a home away from Hollywood

The Hotel Bel-Air in California has long provided sanctuary to the stars

Hotel Bel-Air exterior
(Image credit: © Hotel Bel-Air)

Like the morning after a glamorous Hollywood launch party, a period of recuperation from the carousing of Christmas is in order. The Hotel Bel-Air, set in the hills west of Hollywood, has been offering just such sanctuary to the stars since the mid-1940s. It’s now part of the Dorchester Collection, bedfellows with the prestigious Coworth Park in Ascot and, of course, The Dorchester in London.

When you cross the little bridge that connects the entrance and valet parking to the hotel and its 12 acres of tended gardens, you are leaving the world behind. Below, swans glide across the still waters of Swan Lake, the centrepiece of the gardens. Proceed through the warren of courtyards and cloisters and you will notice the old photos of famous guests dotted around the pink walls like slightly fuzzy memories.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.