Hotel Bel-Air celebrates 75 years

Hotel Bel-Air’s story begins in the 1920s with the very creation of Bel Air itself; LA’s ultimate community of exclusivity. The hotel grew from Alphonzo Bell’s original vision to turn the best-situated land in Los Angeles into estates for ‘the kind of people you would like to know and have as your neighbors’. And the vision lives on today. Bel Air officially opened in October 1922 with uniformed guards at the gate, a first for any local community. These powerful iron gates still mark an impressive entry just north of the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Bel Air Road and celebrate a moment where you leave the rest of the world behind and enter the exclusivity of Bel Air. In 1946, a Texan hotel entrepreneur named Joseph Drown bought 18 acres from Alphonzo Bell, including the estate’s mission-style buildings, and immediately began transforming the site into the elegant and secluded hotel we now enjoy. He restored the property and added a series of new guest rooms before the hotel officially opened on August 24, 1946.

To this day, the iconic property remains at the heart of the Bel Air community and continues to welcome world travellers and Hollywood elite. In celebration of its 75th anniversary, the hotel will be featuring special activities and offerings throughout the month of August for guests and locals alike.