Just in time to celebrate its fiftieth birthday in 2025, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills undertook a major top and bottom renovation, reimagining and expanding its public spaces.
The property opened on a residential stretch of Burton Way in 1975, originally as an apartment building before a swift conversion to an all-suite five-star hotel. Its facelift began on the ground floor, which now has a bright new look courtesy of New York-based Champalimaud Design (responsible for revamping the original Raffles Hotel in Singapore and the rural Troutbeck resort in the Hudson Valley). The renovation of L’Ermitage’s vaunted rooftop pool deck will stretch into winter.
The ground level’s original 1970s dark-neutral palette, subdued look and low ceilings were swapped for zappy orange accents and a feeling of space — all without sacrificing the building’s Modernist style.
The new look begins at reception with a welcoming hip-level marble check-in desk, flanked by a beautiful abstract expressionist painting by Heather Day — its citrusy sunset coloring not so coincidentally matching the pops of orange in Costa Covo Osteria, the new restaurant to one side of the non-fussy open-plan ground floor.
Vibrant yet simple, Costa Covo easily morphs from cheery at breakfast to sexy at sunset, when the lighting softens and glints off the ceiling, which is finished with hand-applied silver leaf.
On the table is “coastal Italian cuisine,” translated by incoming executive chef Todd Matthews. “I’m not new to opening restaurants,” the Mondrian New York and Pendry West Hollywood alum tells The Hollywood Reporter. “But this hotel has already been around for a while. There are good points and bad points — I’m here to give attention to both.”
Born in Orange County and raised in North Carolina, Matthews is aware of nearby Italian cuisine competitions, including Funke, Dante and the iconic Spago. “I don’t see it as competition — it’s exciting to be among them,” says Matthews. “My focus is piecing together perfect technique with incredible ingredients.”
Matthews’ menu downplays meat in favor of locally caught fish. The chef has just added two new fall-inspired pasta dishes: a ricotta cavatelli with a black truffle puree seasoned with parmesan (“I call it an adult mac and cheese,” he says); and a chestnut casoncelli, a pasta native to Lombardy, this one stuffed with chestnuts and laced with maple syrup, brandy, and nutmeg. “They are both rich and inviting,” says the chef. “They’re crowd pleasers.”
Sweet stuff comes courtesy of pastry chef (and Food Network host) Stephanie Boswell. Matthews recommends her caramel apple spumoni as a fab fall delight, especially when enjoyed on his favorite spot: Costa Covo’s sleek terrace. “I adore the patio. It’s cozy and not cluttered, and you’re not surrounded by people,” he says of the linear space, which now boasts two fireplaces.
Inside, at the other side of the lobby is the Alcova lounge, also courtesy of Champalimaud Design, decked out in mossy sage and teal. Think of an ideal mid-century living room that meets a private club, where a roaming Negroni cart offers several variations of the popular cocktail, stirred up seat-side.
As announced earlier this year by THR, the hotel added celebrity skincare expert Joanna Czech to its roster of services; she took over one of the seventh-floor suites. On the strength of its subtly sumptuous guest rooms and superb service, L’Ermitage gained two keys on Michelin’s 2024 list.
Efforts now focus on completing the rooftop, where the revamped pool is to be joined by a new restaurant, Poza, and an expansive event space. “We hope to be completed this winter, definitely by the Oscars,” Lindsey Craig, the hotel’s marketing and communications director, confidently tells THR.
“There’s a lot of moving parts here, but I’m feeling comfortable and excited,” adds Matthews calmly, seemingly unfazed by awards season ballyhoo or catering to L’Ermitage’s famous clientele — the hotel doesn’t name names. “I treat every guest the same,” he says. “I find artists don’t want to be treated any different to anyone else.”
English (US) ·