famous hotels – Page 2 – IAMNOTASTALKER

May 15, 2019May 14, 2019

The King Edward Hotel from “In Time”

I am a sucker for a grand staircase! My affinity likely stems from the movie Titanic, which I was obsessed with back in the day. Whatever the impetus, I am drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Case in point – while researching the Surfridge neighborhood for this 2013 post, I was led to a page on the Seeing Stars website detailing the filming locations of the 2011 sci-fi flick In Time. As soon as my eyes hit the image posted of the King Edward Hotel and its grand lobby staircase, I was transfixed. The historic downtown L.A. lodging went right to the top of my To-Stalk List and when I ventured out there shortly thereafter, fate stepped in. Though not open to the public at the time, a security guard happened to be standing by the front door and upon explaining that I was interested in seeing the space because of its In Time cameo, he welcomed me right in! Getting to pose for a photo on the staircase I had become so enamored with almost overwhelmed me with excitement. Though I sat on blogging about the hotel for years, when I learned that it sold recently and was undergoing a renovation, I decided it was high time to finally do so.

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The Beaux Arts-style King Edward Hotel, designed by architects John Parkinson and George Edwin Bergstrom, opened its doors in 1906.

Billed as an upscale “modern” lodging, at its outset the property featured a gleaming marble lobby, mosaic tile flooring, fire-proof construction, and a telephone and hot and cold water in every room. There was also a bar situated on the 6-story building’s lower level for those guests wishing to imbibe. A watering hole still sits in the same corner spot today. Currently known as King Eddy Saloon, legend has it that the space was home to a piano store that served as a gateway to a hidden basement bar during the Prohibition years.

At some point, the hotel and surrounding neighborhood began to fall upon hard times. The King Edward eventually transitioned into SRO housing and for many years sat largely vacant. It was during that time that I stopped by. Though no longer upscale by any means, the building’s elegance still managed to shine through. And its lighting was like nothing I had ever encountered! The lobby’s ethereal glow (which per the Esotouric tour company is caused by an abundance of magnesium on the windows) was absolutely magical, making the space and all who entered appear frozen in a past era. The effect is evidenced in all of the interior photos I took that day. (I promise, no filters were used on them!)

In 2018, the King Edward was purchased by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and is currently being refurbished, its 150 units transformed into affordable housing for the city’s homeless. Hopefully, the lobby will be largely left as is, not only for future Angelinos to appreciate, but so that it can continue to be utilized as a filming location.

In In Time, the King Edward portrays The Century hotel where Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) and Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) attempt to hide from the Timekeeper.

The film does a masterful job of showcasing the site’s lobby and its gorgeous staircase.

I am unsure if the room where Will and Sylvia stay is an actual space at the King Edward, is located elsewhere, or was a set. Whatever the case, it is pretty spectacular. That ceiling!

In Time is hardly the only production to feature the King Edward. The 1972 horror/comedy Private Parts is largely set at the hotel.

Informant Ralph Macafee (Dan Hedaya) is put up at the King Edward in the Season 1 episode of Hill Street Blues titled “Fecund Hand Rose,” which aired in 1981.

Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) meets his new partner, Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer), outside of the King Edward in the pilot episode of Hunter, which aired in 1984.

That same year, Lee Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner) and Amanda King (Kate Jackson) check out a murder scene at the hotel in the Season 1 episode of Scarecrow and Mrs. King titled “Remembrance of Things Past.”

The exterior of the King Edward appeared in establishing shots of the hotel where Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) and Janet Sosna (Lindsay Price) hunted for ghosts in the Season 9 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Confession,” which aired in 1998. All actual filming took place at the Ambassador Hotel, though.

The hotel’s exterior was also used in an establishing shot of the lodging where Clay (Victor Browne) stayed in the Season 1 episode of Charmed titled “Feats of Clay,” which aired in 1999.

The King Edward masks as the supposed New York hotel where Emil Slovak (Karel Roden) and Oleg Razgul (Oleg Taktarov) stay at the beginning of the 2001 drama 15 Minutes. Only the exterior is shown, though. I am fairly certain the men’s actual room was just a set.

Officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) and Officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) spot a suspect outside of the King Edward in the Season 2 episode of Southland titled “Phase Three,” which aired in 2010.

In the Season 2 episode of Ray Donovan titled “Rodef,” which aired in 2014, the King Edward portrays the SRO where Mickey Donovan (Jon Voight) is staying, which gets blown up.

Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) visits her brother, Hal LeSueur (Raymond J. Barry), at the hotel in the Season 1 episode of Feud: Bette and Joan titled “Hagsploitation,” which aired in 2017.

Det. Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) also lived at the King Edward on the television series Baretta, which ran from 1975 through 1978, but unfortunately I could not find any episodes of it available for streaming to make screen captures.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The King Edward Hotel, from In Time, is located at 121 East 5th Street in downtown Los Angeles.

April 5, 2019April 3, 2019

Hotel Constance from “Café Society”

It is always such a thrill to discover that a beloved restaurant, building, bar or boutique I wasn’t aware was a filming location has actually appeared onscreen. Such was the case with Hotel Constance, one of my favorite Pasadena-area lodgings. You’ve seen me talk about the place before in My Guide to L.A. – Hotels post back in 2015 (it’s number 9 on the list). I’ve stayed there with my family on numerous occasions and have always gushed about it, but somehow was unaware it boasted any film cred. So I was ecstatic to recently come across a mention on The Woody Allen Pages website that the locale was featured in the 2016 drama Café Society. A bit more digging led to some additional onscreen appearances, so I figured it was high time I dedicate a post to the place.

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Hotel Constance originally opened to the public on December 3rd, 1926. Commissioned by and named for Pasadena entrepreneur Constance V. Perry, the seven-story Mediterranean Revival-style property was the city’s most modern lodging at the time. You can check out what it looked like in its early days here.

Perry sold the hotel, as well as the adjoining one-story commercial building situated next to it on Colorado Boulevard, in 1930 in order to dedicate her time to other business ventures. At some point, the property was transformed into a retirement home known as the Pasadena Manor, a role it held for the next several decades. (While I am unsure of exactly when the retirement-home transition took place, the earliest mention of the Manor I could find on newspapers.com was in 1970.)

Though I lived just a few blocks from the building for several years and walked past it often, it was not until it was sold to Singpoli, a Hong Kong-based real estate investment firm, in 2007 and plans to revitalize it were talked about that I first took notice. I’ll never forget walking by the boarded-up structure one sunny afternoon and becoming completely enthralled with the historic images of the place pasted in the front windows, along with the placard announcing that the property would soon be restored and turned into a hotel once again.

It was thrilling to pass by the site in the years that followed and witness the new developments regularly taking place.

Amazingly, because no major renovations had ever been done to the property prior to the 2007 sale, much of its original detailing was intact, albeit covered over with carpet, plaster and wallpaper. Preservation architect Peyton Hall, who spearheaded the restoration, told the Pasadena Star News, “The interior of the lobby has (green-painted) paneled columns, and the mirrors on them are not original. The original terra-cotta tiles were covered with vinyl tile, and we’ve uncovered them . . . and the coffered ceiling and the stairway will all remain.” You can see what the lobby looked like mid-renovation here. An image of that exact same area in its post-rehab state is pictured below.

After the $60-million revamp, the hotel opened to much fanfare as the DusitD2 Constance Pasadena on July 31st, 2014. An arm of the Thai-based Dusit International, it was the luxury hospitality company’s first U.S. lodging.

The hotel’s interior aesthetic, envisioned by Hong Kong designer Joey Ho, is ultra-modern with nods to its historic past.

Check out that coffered ceiling!

The adjacent commercial building also underwent a large-scale renovation. While most of it was razed, the original storefronts were preserved. Per an Arcadia Historical Society post, “The six retail stores attached to the hotel had prior face-lifts and were scheduled for demolition. When the surfaces were removed, however, statuettes on columns were uncovered on the original façade. These statuettes were extensively damaged when someone literally took a hammer and knocked off pieces so that they could be boarded up, with a new storefront.” Thankfully, they were repaired and incorporated into the new design, which you can see almost completed in the Google Street View imagery below.

A second tower with additional guest rooms, a fitness center, meeting space, and a rooftop pool, hot tub, sun deck and bar, was also just completed last year.

In all, the property boasts 136 rooms and suites, a Cal-Asian eatery known as Perry’s Restaurant, the swanky Blue Room cocktail lounge, and many modern appointments including in-room iPads that control lighting and on which guests can order room service or read daily newspaper publications.

At some point, Dusit International ceased operating the site and today it is known simply as Hotel Constance. My family has stayed at the lodging numerous times and I can honestly say it is one of the best hotels we have ever had the pleasure of checking into. As I recounted in My Guide to L.A. post, during one of our visits, while the bellman was walking us to our room, my dad mentioned to my mom that he had forgotten to pick up a special cereal he likes on the way into town. The bellman overheard and, incredibly, said he would be happy to go pick it up for us – at no charge! I’ve never known a hotel to offer that kind of service, but at the Constance, they do. Sure enough, not 15 minutes later, my dad had his special cereal in hand! It truly is a remarkable place.

In Café Society, Hotel Constance portrays the supposed Wilshire Boulevard office of talent agent Phil Stern (Steve Carell), who Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) visits in the hopes of getting a job. For the shoot, filmmakers made use of the building’s Mentor Avenue side.

Only the exterior of the hotel appears in the film. Per The Woody Allen Pages, interiors were lensed at the Brooklyn Public Library located at 10 Grand Army Plaza near Prospect Park.

In the Season 2 episode of Jane the Virgin titled “Chapter Thirty-Six,” which aired in 2016, Rafael Solano (Justin Baldoni) briefly meets with Avery Van Allen (Shvona Lavette Chung) at Hotel Constance’s Blue Room Lounge.

In 2017, the Lounge portrayed the InterContinental Miami hotel restaurant where Charlie Murphy, Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez, D.L. Hughley and Eddie Griffin grabbed breakfast in the Season 1 episode of The Comedy Get Down titled “Black Wives Matter.”

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Hotel Constance, from Café Society, is located at 928 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can visit the property’s official website here.

February 11, 2019November 5, 2019

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel from “A Star Is Born”

It’s not everyday you’ll find photos of a public restroom on my site. It’s not everyday you’ll find me stalking one either. But a couple of years ago, the Grim Cheaper and I were granted an extensive private tour of the Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles that included a visit to the hotel’s Regency Room men’s lavatory. Our guide thought we would want to see the space thanks to a bit of cinema history that exists there. (More on that in a bit.) Flash forward to last week – while scanning through the 2018 A Star Is Born prior to writing my recent post on East Hollywood bar The Virgil, I was shocked to see the very same bathroom (well, the women’s version, at least) pop up in an opening scene and decided I just had to chronicle it here. When I sat down to write the post, though, I discovered that the entire Biltmore property – not just its bathroom – has ties to three of the A Star Is Born movies. So I figured a more all-encompassing article about the hotel was in order.

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The Biltmore’s Regency Room was originally part of the Sala De Oro ballroom, which was constructed during the hotel’s 1928 expansion. You can see what the stunning venue looked like in its early days here and in its current state below.

The grand space, surprisingly located on a sublevel of the hotel, ran 140 feet long and 107 feet wide and boasted three open stories, an insane vaulted ceiling, a large mezzanine, box seating for 46 groups, a stage (built on hydraulics that allowed it to be raised and lowered), a dance floor, a check room with a capacity for 100 guests, and its own kitchen. So stunning was the massive hall that it was chosen as the site of eight different Academy Awards ceremonies.

In 1934, management decided to change things up by turning the ballroom into a hopping nightclub named the “Biltmore Bowl.” Architect Wayne McAllister, who also gave us Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, was brought in to revamp the room. And revamp it he did. He moved the stage, making it the central focal point, and also, oddly, split the venue into two levels, a two-story upper floor and a single-story lower floor. You can see what the upper level looked like during its heyday here and here.

Sadly, the nightclub was gutted by a fire in the 1950s and subsequently renovated, at which time the grand ceiling and elegant stage were removed. But the split levels remained, with the top floor becoming a ballroom that retained the Biltmore Bowl name and the sub-level becoming an exhibit hall initially dubbed the “Rex Room” and later the “Regency Room.” The gilded, gated entrance to both spaces is pictured below.

The Biltmore Bowl underwent a re-do again in 2001, during which the venue’s tiered seating was removed and its decorative aesthetic shifted to match that of the rest of the hotel.

The Regency Room, which is largely unchanged from its 1950’s post-fire state, is much less opulent than its upstairs neighbor, as you can see below.

In fact, the only ornamentation the space really has is some decorative grillwork, which is leftover from its days as part of the Sala De Oro ballroom.

The ornate ceiling in the Regency Room’s foyer is also original to the Sala De Oro.

Today, the Regency Room boasts 17,000 square feet of space – and a set of famous bathrooms.

At the beginning of A Star Is Born, Ally (Lady Gaga) breaks up with her boyfriend via phone from a stall in the Regency Room women’s bathroom, which is said to be the restroom of the hotel kitchen where she works.

Though I did not see the women’s bathroom during my tour, I was shown the very similar-looking men’s room.

It was there that Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and his pals tied up and threatened Police Commissioner Jacobs (Pat McNamara) in the 1999 drama Fight Club.

Our tour guide highlighted the space not only because of its onscreen cameo, but also because of some damage that occurred during the shoot, which she figured I would be fascinated by. And I was! Apparently, while Pitt and McNamara were filming the fight scene, the base of one of the pedestal sinks was splintered. For whatever reason, the chip was never filled in and the sink currently remains in its post-Fight-Club state, a little piece of filming ephemera left behind for the ages.

You can see said chip in the images above and below, as well as what an intact sink base looks like directly next to it.

The Biltmore’s 25,000-square-foot basement kitchen, which I did not get to stalk during my tour, makes a couple of appearances as Ally’s workplace in A Star Is Born, as well.

That very same kitchen also appeared as the kitchen of a Radisson hotel in East Lansing, Michigan in the Season 4 episode of The West Wing titled “College Kids,” which aired in 2002.

It can also be seen in the Season 4 episode of Bosch titled “Rojo Profundo,” which aired in 2018. As I said in my recent post on the hotel’s South Galleria, every single area of the Biltmore has been utilized in multiple major productions!

The hotel’s loading dock, which leads directly down to the Biltmore Bowl and Regency Room, also pops up a couple of times in A Star Is Born – first in the scene in which Ally leaves work to head to her gig at Bleu Bleu and then later when she and Ramon (Anthony Ramos) get picked up by Jackson Maine’s (Bradley Cooper) driver to go to one of his shows.

The loading dock pops up in the “College Kids” episode of The West Wing, as well.

As I mentioned earlier, the Biltmore had ties to A Star Is Born long before the latest version was filmed. In the 1937 original, Vicki Lester (Janet Gaynor) and Norman Maine (Fredric March) attend an Academy Awards ceremony at what is said to be the Biltmore Bowl.

I am unsure if filming actually took place in the ballroom or on a studio-built set, though.

My hunch is that a set was utilized being that not much of what was shown onscreen matches early photographs of the Bowl. The wide shot of the room featured in the movie (pictured below) also looks to me like a matte painting of some sort.

I can say with certainty that the Biltmore Bowl was the site of the Grammy Awards in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born. You can see some behind-the-scenes photos of the segment being shot here.

Esther Hoffman (Barbra Streisand) and John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) even head up the escalators situated adjacent to the South Galleria in the scene. It is on the escalator landing that Howard punches a paparazzi.

The Biltmore Bowl is also the site of the Leadership in Journalism Awards gala in the Season 1 episode of The Morning Show titled “A Seat at the Table,” which aired in November 2019.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles, from A Star Is Born, is located at 506 South Grand Avenue in downtown L.A. You can visit the property’s official website here. The Regency Room and its bathrooms are situated underneath the Biltmore Bowl on the south side of the hotel and can be reached via the South Galleria. The kitchen from the film is also located in the basement of the hotel. Unfortunately, neither area is open to the public. The loading dock can be found just south of Coffee on Grand at 530 South Grand Avenue.

February 4, 2019February 3, 2019

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites from “True Lies”

There is no shortage of unique architecture in Southern California. The Bradbury Building, LADWP, and the 8500 apartment complex all immediately come to mind as highly individualistic spots. One structure stands heads and shoulders above the rest, though, as being extra extraordinary – The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles. If you’ve ever found yourself on the 110 Freeway, you are sure to have spotted its futuristic edifice gracing the skyline. It’s been called “the world’s largest cappuccino machine,” “a bronzed grain elevator,” and “Camelot in glass” (all per a 1976 Baltimore Sun article that is not available to link to online). Regardless of one’s feelings about the aesthetic of the massive towered building, its Hollywood allure can’t be argued. Location managers have flocked to it like a beacon since its inception. I happened to pop into the exceptional hotel last month and when my eyes landed upon the fountain Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) famously rode a horse through in True Lies, I realized that, although I wrote a brief post on the place back in 2008, it was definitely time for a redux.

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The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, originally known simply as the Los Angeles Bonaventure, was constructed from 1974 to 1976 at a cost of $110 million. Designed by architect John C. Portman Jr., at the time it was the most expensive lodging ever built and the city’s largest. It still holds that latter distinction today.

The 367-foot-tall Postmodern structure, which consists of 5 mirrored cylindrical towers flanked by 12 glass elevators, makes for a strikingly unique vision along the downtown horizon.

Housing 35 floors, the goliath hotel boasts a lobby with a 6-story atrium and a rambling indoor fountain so large it is often referred to as a “lake.”

The Bonaventure also features 1,358 rooms, 135 suites, an outdoor pool, a gym, 155,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and a plethora of restaurants and watering holes including the famed BonaVista Lounge, a revolving bar situated on the 34th floor.

There’s even a mall on the premises with more than 40 stores and a food court!

The Grim Cheaper and I have checked into the Bonaventure several times over the years and have always enjoyed our stay. The rooms are small, but well-appointed and modern . . .

. . . and boast views for days!

And days!

To say that the Bonaventure is unique would be an understatement.

With its cement-clad interior, the hotel is almost post-apocalyptic in its minimalism and starkness . . .

. . . and I mean that in the best way possible.

Though no longer the case, the Bonaventure formerly boasted a highly unusual open-air gym on its third floor with pod-like overhangs holding exercise machinery cantilevered over the lobby below . . .

. . . each of which branched off a small indoor track, as you can see in the images above and below that the GC and I snapped during a 2005 visit.

The exercise equipment has long since been removed and today the former gym area remains eerily vacant.

The place even has a few ties to true crime! On October 7th, 1979, a North Hollywood couple was shot, killed and dismembered in one of the Bonaventure’s rooms (their bodies were later removed via trash bags!) thanks to a drug deal gone wrong. And it was there that John DeLorean was videotaped agreeing to smuggle cocaine as part of an FBI sting operation on September 28th, 1982, which is rather ironic being that a few years prior the hotel was used as a futuristic backdrop in an ad for the businessman’s infamous DMC-12 car.

Though management likely doesn’t relish those moments in the hotel’s past, great pride is taken in its cinematic history. Not only is the hallway leading from the parking garage to the lobby lined with posters from the various productions lensed on the premises . . .

. . . but the elevators that have cameoed onscreen are outfitted with plaques denoting their respective résumés. (Oddly, the In the Line of Fire placard pictured below boasts some erroneous info. The action hit was released on July 8th, 1993, so there is no way that any filming of it took place on the Bonaventure grounds in September of that year, a full two months later!)

A poster noting the hotel’s use in Interstellar was even on display in the lobby the last time we checked in.

The Bonaventure has been featured in so many productions over the years, it would be impossible for me to chronicle them all here.

But I’ve corralled a list of some of my favorites.

As I mentioned earlier, the Bonaventure most famously figures in a climatic action sequence in the 1994 hit True Lies in which Harry Tasker, on horseback, chases a motorcycle-riding Salim Abu Aziz (Art Malik) through the hotel’s lobby . . .

. . . into one of its elevators . . .

. . . and onto the roof, which he subsequently almost falls from.

The BonaVista Lounge masked as the restaurant Above the Top in the 1980s sitcom It’s a Living. Though all actual filming took place on a soundstage, the hotel was featured regularly in establishing shots as well as in the weekly opening credits.

The BonaVista Lounge is also where David Addison Jr. (Bruce Willis) ambushed Maddie Hayes’ (Cybill Shepherd) date in the pilot episode of Moonlighting, which aired in 1985.

MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) lands on top of the Bonaventure via helicopter at the beginning of the Season 1 episode of MacGyver titled “Deathlock,” which aired in 1986. (The chopper apparently experienced dangerous “ground resonance” during the filming, as detailed here.)

Dr. Bruner (Gerald R. Molen) attempts to buy off Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) while walking around the Bonaventure’s pool in the 1988 drama Rain Man.

The following year, Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) got into a car crash in front of the hotel while chasing a suspect in Lethal Weapon 2.

Mason Storm (Steven Seagal) is ambushed at the Bonaventure in 1990’s Hard to Kill.

It is at the hotel that Mitch Leary (John Malkovich) sets up his plot to assassinate the President (Jim Curley) in 1993’s In the Line of Fire.

Many areas of the property appeared in the thriller, but I am unsure if the California Ballroom is where the actual assassination attempt took place as has been asserted on a few websites. That particular venue looks considerably smaller than the one featured, as you can see in these photos as compared to the screen captures below.

The Bonaventure also prominently appears in the 1995 thriller Nick of Time as the spot where accountant Gene Watson (Johnny Depp) is sent to kill Governor Eleanor S. Grant (Marsha Mason).

Dr. Eugene Sands (David Duchovny) visits the Bonaventure to perform surgery on a gunshot victim in the 1997 thriller Playing God.

Usher made great use of the place in his 2002 “U Don’t Have to Call” music video.

In 2005, the outside of the Bonaventure was utilized in exterior shots of the hotel where Roberts (Michael Kenneth Williams) met with Carter (Paul Ben-Victor) in the Season 4 episode of Alias titled “Another Mister Sloane.” The property’s elevators also appeared in the episode, but all other interior filming took place at The L.A. Grand Hotel Downtown, which I blogged about here.

The hotel portrays a top secret NASA facility in the 2014 sci-fi drama Interstellar.

That same year, the outside of the Bonaventure popped up as the Manhattan hotel where David Clarke (James Tupper) stayed in the Season 4 episode of Revenge titled “Repercussions.” As was the case with Alias, interiors were filmed at The L.A. Grand Hotel Downtown.

In the Season 4 episode of Bosch titled “Dreams of Bunker Hill,’” which aired in 2018, Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) and Honey Chandler (Mimi Rogers) visit Michael Harris (Keston John) who is sequestered at the Bonaventure.

The hotel is also said to have been featured in Forget Paris, but I scanned through the 1995 romance and didn’t see it anywhere.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites. from True Lies, is located at 404 South Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the property’s official website here.

January 28, 2019November 5, 2019

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel’s South Galleria from “The West Wing”

The Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles is a rare bird when it comes to filming locations in that virtually every square inch of it has appeared onscreen – and I’m talking in multiple major productions! This factoid fascinates me and I thought it would be fun to cover in an in-depth article, so a few years back I pitched the idea to my editor at Discover L.A. who told me to run with it. Though I chronicled ten areas of the vast hotel in the column, which was published in 2016, due to length concerns there were a few spots I had to leave out including the South Galleria, an ornate hallway that was most famously featured in Pretty in Pink. I had planned on writing about the beautiful space on my own site as a follow-up to the article shortly thereafter, but never got around to it. Then, last week, while watching an early episode of The West Wing (which the Grim Cheaper and I just started binging and are absolutely obsessed with!), I spotted the Galleria and decided it was high time I finally dedicate a post to it.

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The South Galleria, which is situated along the southwest edge of the Biltmore, connects the hotel’s South Grand Street entrance to its Main Galleria and provides access to the Heinsbergen Room, the Regency Room, and the Biltmore Bowl.

The gilded hallway, inspired by the opulent Roman villas of ancient Pompeii, boasts an intricate Beaux Arts-style vaulted ceiling featuring bucolic frescoes hand-painted by muralist Giovanni Smeraldi.

The dramatic space is also flanked by elaborate friezes, carved columns, and sweeping archways.

The gilded gates situated on its south side . . .

. . . lead to an equally grand stairwell that heads down to the Biltmore Bowl and the Regency Room.

Being that the South Galleria is situated in a tucked away area on the side of the hotel, it would, sadly, be quite easy for visitors and guests to spend ample time at the Biltmore and not even realize the impressive space exists. If you happen to find yourself on the premises, do not make that mistake. The striking hallway is not to be missed!

In the Season 1 episode of The West Wing titled “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet,” which aired in 2000, the South Galleria portrays Washington D.C.’s Old Executive Office Building (now known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building), where President Jed Bartlet’s (Martin Sheen) speech to the United Organization of Trout Fishermen is moved at the last minute due to some unforeseen rain.

Producers cheated a bit with the locale in the scene by shooting from both ends of the Galleria in order to make it appear as two different hallways that the President has to walk down on the way to deliver his speech. The West Wing does love a good lengthy walk-and-talk segment!

John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) gets into a fight with the paparazzi during the Grammy Awards at the top of the staircase/escalator leading down to the Biltmore Bowl in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born.

In the 1986 classic Pretty in Pink, Andie (Molly Ringwald) trepidatiously ventures alone down the South Galleria on her way to her Senior Prom (which was held in the Biltmore’s famed Crystal Ballroom) . . .

. . . only to find her BFF Duckie (Jon Cryer) waiting for her at the other end.

Though Richard Alleman asserts in his book New York: The Movie Lover’s Guide that “James Caan, as the novelist in Steven King’s Misery (1990), celebrated his latest best seller” at Tavern on the Green, I discovered that information was incorrect while doing research for my June 2018 post about the famed NYC eatery. In actuality, at the end of the film, Caan’s character, Paul Sheldon, shares a celebratory lunch with his agent, Marcia Sindell (Lauren Bacall), at none other than the South Galleria, which was dressed to look like an upscale Big Apple restaurant.

The South Galleria also posed as a restaurant in Atlas Shrugged: Part I. In the 2011 drama, it served as the spot where Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) confronted Francisco D’Anconia (Jsu Garcia) about his shady copper mine investments.

But the South Galleria’s noted onscreen appearances don’t end there! The space also pops up as a Beirut hotel hallway in the Season 7 episode of The Mentalist titled “Orange Blossom Ice Cream,” which aired in 2014.

And Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) and Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) have a terse conversation in the South Galleria during an awards ceremony in the Season 1 episode of The Morning Show titled “A Seat at the Table,” which aired in November 2019.

Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) is also shown walking down the Biltmore Bowl staircase on her way to the ceremony in that same episode.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles is located at 506 South Grand Avenue in downtown L.A. You can visit the property’s official website here. The South Galleria, from the “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet” episode of The West Wing, can be reached via the hotel entrance situated just north of and adjacent to Coffee on Grand at 530 South Grand Avenue.

November 16, 2018November 16, 2018

Loews Hollywood Hotel from Britney Spears’ “Everytime” Music Video

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I hate change, especially when it comes to filming locations. So I was devastated when the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, one of my favorite Tinseltown lodgings and frequent film star, was sold a couple of years ago, rebranded as a Loews, and extensively remodeled. Though I have yet to visit the place post-facelift, one look at the property’s website shows that it looks nothing like its former self, which is a shame considering its many onscreen appearances. I stalked and very briefly blogged about the Renaissance back in July 2008 and then re-stalked it again in early 2012, but never wrote a subsequent post. While going through my backlog of photos recently, I came across the 2012 pics and felt a pang of sadness knowing I’d never see the hotel in that state again. So I figured it was high time I shared the images and do a more thorough write-up on the place.

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Loews Hollywood Hotel, as it is now known, originally opened in 1970 as the Holiday Inn-Hollywood. At the time, the 23-story building boasted 462 rooms, a pool, free parking, a penthouse chapel that offered weekly Sunday church services, and a revolving rooftop restaurant/nightclub with two stages named Oscar’s. You can see what it looked like during its early years here.

In 2001, the Holiday Inn underwent a major overhaul in conjunction with the opening of the neighboring Hollywood & Highland Center. Not only was the property completely revamped and rebranded as the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, but an entire second tower was constructed bringing the total number of rooms to 637. As part of the rehab, the revolving rooftop restaurant, then known as Windows on Hollywood, was transformed into the massive 3,594-square-foot Panorama Suite. The plush space, which is pictured below – it’s that round disc-like structure situated on the top floor of the building – boasts 270-degree views of the city, a baby grand piano, a wet bar, a Jacuzzi bathtub, a dining area with seating for ten, and one to four bedrooms depending upon the chosen configuration. You can check out some photos of its interior here and here.

The modernized 560,000-square-foot site also featured 1950s-inspired décor, a restaurant, a pool, a spa, a fitness center, an enormous amount of meeting and event space, Metro Line access, and a spacious lobby with a grand stairwell, a lounge and brightly colored furnishings.

In June 2012, the property was purchased by the Loews Hotels & Resorts chain, renovated to the tune of $26 million, and turned into the Loews Hollywood Hotel. Sadly, it now looks completely different than it did during the Renaissance days, though the Panorama Suite appears to have been left untouched.

The hotel has proven a production favorite in all of its incarnations, which should come as no surprise considering its convenient location right in the heart of Hollywood, sheer size, colorful aesthetic, and that unique rooftop suite.

Its most notable appearance (well, in my mind, at least) was as a Las Vegas lodging in Britney Spears’ 2004 “Everytime” music video, which you can watch here. Many areas of the property were featured in the production, including the front driveway . . .

. . . the entrance leading from the parking garage to the back of the lobby (my photo below shows the doors visible behind the paparazzi from a different angle) . . .

. . . the lobby’s rear hallway, where a newspaper stand was set up for the shoot . . .

. . . and the Panorama Suite.

Kenny Crandell (Keith Coogan) and his stoner buddies partied on the hotel’s rooftop back when it was the Holiday Inn at the beginning of the 1991 comedy Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.

Adam (Brendan Fraser) checks into the Holiday Inn-Hollywood upon leaving his father’s bomb shelter in the 1999 comedy Blast from the Past. The hotel’s exterior . . .

. . . one of its rooms . . .

. . . and the lobby were all utilized in the film.

As you can see, the place looked considerably different during its time as the Holiday Inn than it did as the Renaissance.

Sylvester Clark (Angelo Tiffe) called the Panorama Suite home in the 2004 drama Collateral, though the room’s view was faked for the shoot to make it appear as if it overlooked downtown Los Angeles.

The Renaissance’s lobby masked as the lobby of the supposed Miami-area Lux Atlantic where Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) and Cynthia (Jayma Mays) worked in Red Eye.

The 2005 thriller provides a fabulous glimpse of what the interior of the hotel looked like during the time it operated as the Renaissance.

In the 2008 comedy Yes Man, Carl (Jim Carrey) attends a Yes! Is the New No! conference at the Renaissance. Both the exterior of the hotel . . .

. . . and its enormous 25,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom appear in the film.

The Panorama Suite popped up as the location of a rather grizzly murder in the first episode of American Horror Story: Hotel titled “Checking In,” which aired in 2015. (I blacked out a portion of the top screen capture below as it was a bit NSFW in its original form.)

The lobby also appeared in the episode. By that time, the hotel was operating as Loews and bearing its newly renovated look.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Loews Hollywood Hotel, from Britney Spears’ “Everytime” music video, is located at 1755 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood. You can visit the lodging’s official website here.

August 8, 2018August 6, 2018

The Pierre Hotel’s Grand Ballroom from “Trainwreck”

I know I am in the minority when I say that I don’t think Amy Schumer is funny. And it’s not for lack of trying on my part. I first learned of the comedian when she appeared on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette and found her schtick to be a bit annoying. Despite that, I have since seen all of her movies, including 2015’s Trainwreck, 2017’s Snatched and 2018’s I Feel Pretty. The latter is the only one I remotely liked, though I thought it could have been so much better – and a little shorter. I guess I just don’t get Amy’s humor. I was still thrilled to learn while touring The Pierre’s Cotillion Ballroom during my April 2016 trip to NYC, that the hotel’s Grand Ballroom was utilized in a prominent scene in Trainwreck, and ran right over to the space to snap some pics. Since returning home, I’ve come across a couple of the venue’s other onscreen cameos and figured it was high time I blog about it.

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I covered The Pierre’s history in my recent post on the Cotillion Ballroom, but figured a brief recap is in order here. The extravagant hotel was designed by the Schultze & Weaver architecture firm in 1930 for restaurateur Charles Pierre. The opulent property has defined luxury lodging in New York ever since. Known for its lavish décor and large public spaces, The Pierre is one of the city’s most popular event venues, thanks in large part to its Grand Ballroom.

Per The Pierre’s official website, the 86-by-86-foot space is the “largest pillarless ballroom amongst all five-star properties in NYC and offers uninhibited views.” The 7,500-square-foot venue also boasts 20-foot ceilings and a 1,500-person capacity. In 2005, the hotel underwent a four-year, $100-million renovation, during which The Grand Ballroom was overhauled by interior designer Alexandra Champalimaud. The result of her efforts is a sprawling room with a bowed ceiling, richly-colored draperies, gilded mirrors, and sparkling chandeliers hung from chains designed to resemble bows, which I was completely enamored with.

Even the stairs and hallway leading to The Grand Ballroom are stunning.

I mean, check out that ceiling!

In Trainwreck, Amy (Amy Schumer) attends an awards luncheon in The Grand Ballroom in which her new boyfriend, Dr. Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), is honored.

During Aaron’s acceptance speech, Amy takes a work call and winds up having to leave the venue – a huge no-no. Did she not learn anything from Mr. Big in Sex and the City’s “The Chicken Dance” episode?

The hallway leading to The Grand Ballroom is featured in the scene, as well.

As is the hotel’s Regency Room . . .

. . . which we also got to check out during our April 2016 tour.

The Grand Ballroom is also the spot where Ramona Singer and friends (well, all friends except for Kelly Killoren Bensimon) attend a fundraiser in the Season 4 episode of The Real Housewives of New York City titled “March Madness,” which aired in 2011.

In the Season 2 episode of Jessica Jones titled “AKA Start at the Beginning,” which aired earlier this year, Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor) and Griffin Sinclair (Hal Ozsan) are shown walking down the steps leading to The Grand Ballroom after attending a literacy fundraiser.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Pierre is located at 2 East 61st Street on New York’s Upper East Side. You can visit the hotel’s official website here. The Grand Ballroom can be found at the rear of the property, east of the Rotunda, on the 2nd floor.

July 2, 2018July 1, 2018

The Pierre Hotel’s Cotillion Ballroom from “Scent of a Woman”

“No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That’s what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, if you get all tangled up, you just tango on.” So advises Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Al Pacino) in the iconic tango scene from the 1992 drama Scent of a Woman. Though the segment is widely regarded as one of the most famous in moviedom, conflicting rumors have raged online for years as to where it was shot. At the very least I knew filming had occurred in New York, so prior to my April 2016 trip to the Big Apple, I decided to take a flamethrower to all the misinformation floating around. The various reports I came across online and in stalking books stated that the bit was lensed everywhere from a Plaza Hotel ballroom to the Grand Ballroom at The Pierre to a Waldorf Astoria venue, but none of the spaces seemed to match what was shown onscreen. While perusing the internet for other possibilities, I finally came across an ad for The Pierre in a 1994 issue of New York magazine which mentioned that Scent of a Woman’s famed tango sequence had been shot in the property’s Cotillion Ballroom. One look at images of the site showed me that, although it had changed a bit since filming took place over 25 years ago, it was without a doubt the right spot. So I promptly contacted The Pierre’s marketing department to ask if I could tour the venue during my trip and was thrilled when a very friendly executive sent back an almost immediate response saying she’d be pleased to show me the space. Hoo-ah!

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Overlooking Central Park on New York’s Upper East Side, The Pierre was designed by the Schultze & Weaver architectural firm, who also gave us The Spring Street Tower, the Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles, and the landmark Waldorf Astoria. Commissioned by Sicilian-born restauranteur Charles Pierre, the opulent 714-room lodging opened its doors to the public in October 1930, delighting guests with its Georgian-style detailing, large suites, and multilevel public spaces, including the Cotillion Ballroom which originally served as a supper club. (While The Pierre is a noted New York landmark and has played host to countless filmings over the years, for this post I thought it best to solely cover the Cotillion Ballroom. I will be blogging about the hotel itself soon.)

The stunning 91×45-foot ballroom boasts 19-foot recessed ceilings, gilded mirrors, a sunken main floor, two massive crystal chandeliers, Central Park views, tiered draperies, marble railings, relief wall sculptings, and a 500-patron capacity.

In Scent of a Woman, Frank and his young chaperone, Charlie Simms (Chris O’Donnell), pop into the Cotillion Ballroom for cocktails. While there, Frank, who is blind, takes note of a woman named Donna (Gabrielle Anwar) sitting nearby thanks to Ogleby Sisters Soap that permeates her skin and winds up inviting her for a spontaneous tango.

The ballroom was transformed into an luxe restaurant for the scene, with seating, tables, and a buffet set-up added to space.

Pillars, additional marble balustrades and a large bar were also installed for the shoot.

Though the Cotillion Ballroom has been altered over the years, certain elements, such as the ornamental mirrors that line the room and the railings that edge the two raised landings, remain untouched.

Thanks to those details, the Cotillion Ballroom is amazingly still recognizable from its onscreen appearance despite the passage of more than two decades.

Per the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, Scent of a Woman’s ten-minute tango scene took four days to shoot. For the dance itself, which lasted about two and a half minutes, Pacino and Anwar underwent three and half weeks of training with choreographers Jerry Mitchell and Paul Pellicoro.

According to an Entertainment Weekly interview with Anwar, she and Pacino never rehearsed the piece together as the actor “wanted to keep a spontaneity and a freshness to the dance.” His methodology worked because the duo’s performance is effortless, flawless and completely engaging. It is easily one of the best few minutes ever recorded on film.

You can watch the Scent of a Woman tango scene by clicking below. I viewed the clip numerous times while writing this post and could not stop smiling from ear to ear. It just makes me so gleeful. I swear I’ve never been happier writing a post than I was while penning this one!

A couple of other productions have made use of the Cotillion Ballroom, as well.

In the Season 3 episode of The Real Housewives of New York City titled “Rebuked, Reunited, Renewed,” which aired in 2010, Ramona Singer tours the Cotillion Ballroom . . .

. . . and winds up hosting the reception for her vow renewal there.

In the Season 2 episode of Jessica Jones titled “AKA Start at the Beginning,” which aired earlier this year, Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) receives a Women in Law award in the Cotillion Ballroom.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Pierre, from Scent of a Woman, is located at 2 East 61st Street on New York’s Upper East Side. The Cotillion Ballroom, where Frank and Donna tangoed in the film, can be found on the hotel’s second floor, just off the Rotunda.

May 23, 2018May 22, 2018

Hotel Normandie from “Vanderpump Rules”

Vanderpump Rules is like a fine wine – it just keeps getting better with age. Six seasons in and the show still hasn’t peaked! Well, in my opinion, at least. Not only do the storylines continually get more and more compelling (and ridiculous – “My boyfriend can hang a TV in under seven minutes. I timed him!”), but the series consistently provides great stalking locations. I recently visited one of its earlier locales, Hotel Normandie, which was the site of a brief, but notable moment during Season 4. I originally learned about the historic lodging back in July 2015 thanks to a Cupcakes and Cashmere blog post that featured the property. Completely taken by the gorgeous detailing visible in the background, I promptly included the place on my To-Stalk List and the Grim Cheaper and I headed out there shortly thereafter. At the time, I did not think the hotel had appeared onscreen, so I did not snap any photos and was shocked to see it pop up just a few weeks later on VR. Though I instantly re-added the site to my To-Stalk List, it was not until last week that I finally made it back out there.

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Hotel Normandie, named for its location on the corner of 6th Street and Normandie Avenue in Koreatown, was originally constructed by architects Albert R. Walker and Percy A. Eisen in 1926.

A newspaper ad from that year described the locale as “a delightful hotel for permanent and semi-permanent guests.”

Decidedly Renaissance Revival in style on the outside . . .

. . . Walker and Eisen gave the interior a Spanish Colonial Revival feel.

Hotel Normandie was popular from the start, becoming especially well-known for its $1 Sunday-night turkey dinners, homemade by culinary supervisor Mrs. H.F. Bruner.

Several notables lived on the premises during the hotel’s early days, including author Malcolm Lowry who penned portions of his 1947 novel Under the Volcano onsite. The work has since been called one of the most influential books of the 20th Century.

In 1964, the property was purchased by hoteliers Paul and Adelaide Stockhammer who completely overhauled the site with a $250,000 modernization.

Sadly, much of the hotel’s original detailing was covered over as a result of the project.

It was not long before the place fell into disrepair. In the ‘80s, the building was transformed into low-income housing and then it later had a short stint as a “pot-tel,” aka a pot-friendly hotel (whatever that is).

Thankfully, in 2011 Jingbo Lou stepped in. The Pasadena-based architect/preservationist was initially introduced to the aging hotel by a realtor relative who brought him in to advise a potential buyer on a possible renovation. The buyer was turned off by the costly rehab estimate Lou provided and stepped away from the deal, at which point Lou turned around and made an offer himself. As a 2015 article in the Commercial Observer notes, the purchase was a labor of love. Reporter Michael Kaplan states, “Why else would an ordinarily rational architect from Pasadena, Calif., buy a 1926 Renaissance-style hotel loaded with drug addicts and prostitutes and situated on a dodgy stretch of downtown Los Angeles’s pre-gentrified Koreatown? The property, after all, had been hanging in foreclosure and was ultimately bailed on by the previous owner.” As Lou explains, though, “When I first walked in and saw the ceiling height, the chandeliers, the columns, a wood-burning fireplace in the lobby, the grandness of it all, I knew it could be something special.” With Jingbo’s guidance, that is exactly what it became.

Embarking upon a massive restoration, which took 3 years to complete at a cost of $5 million, Lou saw to it that the unsightly drywall and carpeting that covered much of the building’s original design elements were removed, the myriad broken windows were replaced, and the original Mansard roof, which had been dismantled in the 1950s, was re-constructed. Stucco that had long since marred the hotel’s exterior brickwork was also extracted – well, for the most part. According to the Los Angeles Conservancy website, the southeast lower-level corner of the structure (visible on the bottom left of my photo below) was left ensconced “as a nod” to the property’s “long history of alterations.”

The reinvigorated space opened to the public in February 2014.

The 4-story property, which is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1013, boasts 91 sleek but comfortable rooms, a large ballroom, meeting space, a gym, and countless retro details throughout.

#barcartgoals, amirite?

Hotel Normandie is also home to four onsite restaurants and lounges, including The Walker Inn, le comptoir, The Normandie Club, and Cassell’s Hamburgers.

The later is an L.A. institution that was originally established by Alvin Cassell in 1948. (Special thanks to my friend Katie for providing the photo below!)

After a change in ownership in the ‘90s, the eatery saw a decline in quality and, subsequently, patronage. The site was eventually shuttered in 2012.

Figuring the Normandie would be the perfect spot to re-establish the historic burger joint, Jingbo partnered with chef Christian Page and opened a re-invigorated version of Cassell’s on the ground floor of the hotel in December 2014.

To ensure the restaurant would be on par with the Cassell’s of Alvin’s day, Jingbo brought in many of the original furnishings, including vintage signage and Al’s former Hobart grinder. He also reverted back to the menu used during the eatery’s early years which featured homemade mayonnaise, fresh produce, and absolutely no French fries because, as Cassell explained to Oui Magazine in 1972, “The more things you do, the less chance there is of reaching perfection.”

Cassell’s Hamburgers was the site of James Kennedy and Lala Kent’s first – and last – date in the Season 4 episode of Vanderpump Rules titled “Cock of the Walk.” Both the outside of Hotel Normandie . . .

. . . and the inside of the restaurant were shown in the episode. During their early evening meal, the duo discuss James’ ex-girlfriend, Kristen Doute, and toast to “making music and babies.” (Insert major eye roll emoji here!) Though the date goes well, Lala calls it quits the very next episode after discovering that James has slept with one of her friends. (He’s such a catch!)

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Hotel Normandie, from the “Cock of the Walk” episode of Vanderpump Rules, is located at 605 Normandie Avenue in Koreatown. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

March 7, 2018March 6, 2018

Hilton Pasadena from “The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training”

I always love it when a filming location sneaks up on me. This past weekend, the Grim Cheaper and I headed to Pasadena to attend the closing party for my favorite store, Lula Mae. (Yes, you read that right – Lula Mae, my happy place, is, sadly, shuttering later this month. While I am devastated over the closure and will miss the shop and its owner, Marci, more than words can say, I couldn’t be happier for Marc as she embarks upon a new adventure in the Pacific Northwest.) After checking in to the Hilton Pasadena upon arriving in Crown City, I decided to do some Googling to see if anything had been filmed on the premises and was thrilled to come across a Wikipedia mention of the hotel’s appearance in the 1977 comedy The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training. Some further digging revealed that the property had played host to a couple of other productions, as well, throughout the years. While I typically try to only book lodgings that have been featured onscreen for all of my travels, in this case, staying at a filming location was a happy accident! So I decided I just had to blog about the place.

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The Hilton Pasadena originally opened its doors in December 1970.

Since that time, the 13-story property has undergone numerous renovations, the most recent of which was completed in fall 2017.

So it goes without saying that the site looks quite a bit different today than it did in its early years, when it boasted 264 rooms, a 26,000-square-foot shopping arcade, a top-floor restaurant, a two-story lobby, and a dark wood and deep red color palate.

Currently the lodging features 296 rooms and suites, 28,494 square feet of meeting space (including downtown Pasadena’s largest ballroom!), an outdoor pool and hot tub, a health club, a business center, a pantry market, and a bright, open lobby.

The hotel also boasts an onsite restaurant, The Corner Craft Kitchen + Bar.

Hilton Pasadena is a gorgeous property and the GC and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

In The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, the site masquerades as The Houston Hilton, where the Bears are put up while in town to play a charity game at the Astrodome. The exterior of the property is only shown once in the movie and very briefly at that.

I am fairly certain that one of the hotel’s actual hallways and a couple of the rooms were also utilized in the film.

Thanks to the Remington Steele Shrine website, I discovered that the Hilton masks as the Brinkley Hotel, where Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) spies on her sister’s husband in order to determine if he’s having an affair during a dental convention, in the Season 2 episode of Remington Steele titled “Steele Sweet on You,” which aired in 1984. Both the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the site are used extensively in the episode.

Watching it, you really get a sense of how different the property looked during its early days.

It looks so different, in fact, that at first I wasn’t sure if Remington Steele had made use of the Hilton’s interior for the shoot or if the production had utilized another hotel. Thankfully though, after scrutinizing the episode, I am able to say with certainty that it was, indeed, filmed inside the property. As you can see below, in one scene, Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan) walks by a lobby directory and a listing for “Harry Kamp Clothiers” is visible. Some Googling led me to this 2009 Pasadena Now article which states that the clothing boutique was initially located in the lobby of the Pasadena Hilton. Eureka!

The rooms . . .

. . . and hallway that appeared in the episode were not actual parts of the Hilton, but sets built at CBS Studio Center where the series was lensed.

Thanks to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, I learned that in the Season 8 episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia titled “Frank’s Back in Business,” which aired in 2012, a Pasadena Hilton meeting room is the site of the Atwater Capital shareholders’ meeting. Though the hotel’s ballrooms have since been remodeled, you can check out an old photograph of one of the event spaces in which the carpet matches what appeared in the episode here.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Hilton Pasadena, from The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, is located at 168 South Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.