Word: hotelful
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...like my Campbell's soup can. I've got a name like Douglas Coupland. I've never met a hotel clerk who's spelled it right the first time. Whereas "Gen X" is simple. So, no, we should all be so lucky to have something so simple like that as an identifier...
When Carlos Lopes, the managing director of the Hotel Bel-Air, asked a breakfasting guest early last year what he thought of the renovations to the suite he was occupying, the guest replied, "Well, it's not my personal taste." Fortunately for an unnerved Lopes, the man eventually added, "But my wife loves it." It turned out to be a rare bit of negative feedback about the venerable property's $20 million upgrade, which is now fully complete. "Overwhelmingly, the patrons said the new look was in keeping with the image," he recalls. "So I was able to sleep...
...luxury since it opened in 1946. Its guest registry has included an assortment of Rockefellers, Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes and Grace Kelly, as well as Prince Charles, Oprah Winfrey and Julia Roberts. For many glitterati, the Bel-Air serves as a second home. "I've never managed a hotel where the clientele is so loyal, has such high standards, and feels so proprietary about it," Lopes says...
...when Mobil Travel Guide subtracted one of the five stars from the Bel-Air's rating in 1999, Lopes knew a face-lift to the "dated and tired" design was imperative. He would have to nip and tuck carefully to avoid rankling the hotel's faithful. "I had to update every facet, while preserving the classical elegance that is the Bel-Air's signature," he says...
...These personal touches include a a hand-painted ceiling design, built-in bookshelves and hardwood flooring. The initial revamp so impressed the Mobil judges that they restored the five-star rating in 2003. Since then, the final touches, such as a semi-enclosed treetop terrace for tastings from the hotel's 40,000-bottle cellar, have helped the Bel-Air keep its top Mobil designation...