By EMILY BRYSON YORK
Staff Reporter
The Polo Lounge, a former Rat Pack hangout, still attracts celebrities, but you’re more likely to see Burt Reynolds than Lindsay Lohan.
A number of four- and five-star hotels have been remodeling and in some cases rebuilding their hotel bars to attract hipper crowds, but the Beverly Hills Hotel has clung to the notion that its iconic Polo Lounge is cool enough as it is. But last week, the Dorchester Group, which owns the hotel, opened Nineteen 12, a new bar at the hotel that is designed to attract younger drinkers.
“This hotel has a very loyal following. Most of the guests have been coming here for years and years,” said Bar Manager Philip Spee. “We wanted to create a new space where a younger demographic could feel comfortable while not taking anything away from the clients who have been coming here.”
Nineteen 12 takes up space that was a suite and a meeting room to the left of the hotel’s front entrance and overlooks the pool, a garden, and Sunset Boulevard. The Polo Lounge remains open.
Spee said the idea of the new bar was to remain true to the hotel’s historic roots while introducing something new. The bar’s name is a reference to the year the hotel first opened.
“A lot of places opt for something modern and bare,” he said. “We wanted something more tasteful and in line with the hotel.”
One of the hotel’s primary rivals, the Beverly Wilshire, introduced CUT Steakhouse and Sidebar last summer. The stark, modern interior at those sites was praised by design experts, but some customers balked at the seeming incongruity with the hotel’s design.
Spee of the Beverly Hills Hotel said: “We have such a rich history and so many legendary people have stayed here that when I came on board, I realized that if this was going to be successful, it had to fit just right with the hotel’s history.”
Part of that effort is the revivification of cocktails that were popular when the hotel opened, such as the Shady Lady, which is tequila, midori and grapefruit juice. On the more modern side, the bar also sells cocktails in the form of popsicles and Jello shots.
