Travel Like a Celebrity

Requiring a one-week minimum stay, the AKA Beverly Hills offers very high-end, full-service residences — a hybrid where guests get the finest hotel-like amenities, but at the same time giving them the space, privacy, and personalization of a private home. Though AKA is geared to accommodate those working in the entertainment industry, any guest will feel like a movie star while enjoying many of the property’s ultra-exclusive inclusions.

Thirsty? Have AKA’s private helicopter whisk you off to Napa — Northern California’s gorgeous and world-renowned wine country — for a day of sipping and savoring fine local wines and delectable treats. The afternoon begins with a 90-minute guided tour and tasting experience at the Far Niente Estate, including an intimate walk through its historic tri-level winery and wine caves built right into the surrounding hillside. After sampling Far Niente’s insanely tasty current releases, be sure to try the celebrated late harvest wine at its sister winery, Dolce.

After a lovely, lazy afternoon of wine-tasting, you’ll surely have worked up an appetite. I highly recommend ending your evening at the beautiful yet rustic Bottega restaurant. Owner and head chef Michael Chiarello combines his passion for seasonal flavors and sustainable living with his Southern Italian roots to create dishes that please your soul as much as your palate (and are reasonably priced). The Agnolotti con Fromaggio di Capra — a dish composed of roasted eggplant and goat cheese-filled pasta in a barely cooked tomato sauce, finished with fiery ’nduja salami and smoky Calabrian gremolata — is so indulgently delicious and full of flavor, you’ll be daydreaming about it weeks after.

Once back at AKA, enjoy some relaxing downtime by watching a movie in the property’s 20-seat private screening room available for residents (an especially convenient amenity for the many TV and film crews who stay here while shooting). A spacious landscaped terrace with fire pits and the private balconies with views of the Hollywood sign and Griffith Park will also keep you marveling, but if you’re like me you won’t want to leave the cavernous suites. (Mine literally had a room I didn’t discover until the day I was leaving; a bathroom I had just assumed was a closet.)

The hotel is walking distance to some of the best high-end shopping, but if you want to venture farther afield, AKA’s complimentary Tesla cars can chauffeur you to Rodeo Drive boutiques or anywhere locally you want to go. If Pretty Woman-esque images of snooty salesgirls are popping into your head, rest assured, in today’s Beverly Hills an eclectic mix of industry insiders and tattooed hipsters balance out the Lisa Vanderpump types. 

Back at the hotel, there are dozens of other perks including free Wi-Fi, a fitness center, yoga on the terrace, and in-room fireplaces. There’s a fully equipped gourmet kitchen in every room and dozens of famous eateries nearby, but none felt as wonderful as ordering something off AKA’s exclusive Spago menu and eating in bed. (AKA is the only place on earth restaurateur Woflgang Puck allows in-room dining.)

You may not have arrived at AKA an A-lister, but after seven days of this, you’ll definitely feel like one when you leave.