Best hotel bars in Beverly Hills

Some of Los Angeles best bars are in hotels, and many of the best hotels are in Beverly Hills, many of which are the center of LA nightlife.


The SLS Beverly Hills is one of the newest hotels in Los Angeles, located at the border of Beverly Hills. Its Bar Centro is where to go to see and be seen, but given its design by Philip Starke, there's eye candy beyond just the pretty people. You can dine on eclectic and extremely modern tapas by famed chef Jose Andres, or just try one of their signature drinks, from the New Way martini or the Magic Mojito (strained over cotton candy).


The Beverly Hills Hotel is famous for many reasons -- one of them is the Polo Lounge, which you might recognize from such films Shampoo and Beverly Hills Cop. The Polo Lounge continues to be a mainstay in Hollywood's drinking set, for both business cocktails and late-night socializing. If you have a drink here, you'll feel important. But The Beverly Hills Hotel recently added a new bar, Nineteen 12 (the year the hotel opened), which attracts a younger crowd. This is the bar for letting loose (as seen in many episodes of Entourage).


The Beverly Wilshire also has two happening bars, The Blvd and Sidebar. Both generate lots of activity, as does the restaurant Cut's bar, also within the hotel. Often populated by Hollywood agents and their clients, there's a more relaxed atmosphere here than at the other hotel bars mentioned. You can bar hop within the Four Seasons' Beverly Wilshire itself, as many do -- three different experiences at three different bars, all guaranteed to satisfy a craving for LA nightlife.


- Lesley Bracker