Julia Roberts, and Other Cupcakes

THE REGENT BEVERLY WILSHIRE is immortalized on film. In Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts plays a hooker with a heart of gold, stowed in a Regent suite by Richard Gere, a rich businessman whose ticker eventually melts over the fiery-haired starlet with the super-size mouth.

It’s conceivable a hotel guest might run into real-life Roberts or Gere during a visit. Celebrity sightings are nearly a guarantee. During a recent stay, I espy Larry King pedaling on a gym stationary bike—no doubt gearing up for his next CNN report. And leaving the spa/pool area, I bump into a white-robed Dick Van Patten—it’s early, but I guess 8 (a.m.) is enough for an appearance by the former TV dad.

So keep an eye out for Entertainment Tonight bait. But don’t try to book the suite where Roberts holes up in the movie, or to make reservations in the dining room where she launches her escargot. The film used only hotel exteriors; interiors were done on a set.

Interiors of The Beverly Wilshire—Four Seasons manages the hotel and is dropping “Regent”—recently underwent a $35 million makeover (more than Joan Rivers has spent collectively on makeovers). Rooms now have a tech feature that’s becoming de rigueur: iPod-friendly iHome clocks. They also have two 42-inch plasma televisions and a mini-model in a bathroom equipped with dimmer-switch lighting, to match any mood.

Just opened this year: a pool area with a new Pool Bar, and an 8,000-square-foot spa. One attractive spa option is a two-hour “Personalized Time” treatment. Rather than order something ahead of time, you and an aesthetician decide on the fly what avenues of indulgence you desire and/or require.

The hotel also has two new eateries. The Blvd (home of the $27 smoothie) is an elegant space that includes an outdoor patio allowing for people-watching along Rodeo Drive. The other restaurant is Wolfgang Puck’s first steakhouse—a stunningly attractive room called Cut. Designed by Richard Meier (he did the Getty Museum), this sharp, open-kitchen creation serves a variety—a variety!—of melt-in-your-mouth Kobe beef cuts. Only the side dish of Yukon Gold potato purée melts faster in your mouth than Cut’s Kobe sirloin.

AFTER A COMFY NIGHT’S SLEEP in a king-size bed (available for purchase at $3,798 plus tax), it’s time to stroll Rodeo Drive and environs. Across the street from Tiffany & Co.—surprise!—a film crew is working. The camera follows a blond waif in a black dress as she’s embraced by a tall actor in a striped shirt. Beverly Hills cliché, I muse, absent-mindedly wondering if Larry King and Dick Van Patten are still around.

I wander the streets. Hello, Versace. Hello, Jimmy Choo. Hellooo, Museum of Television & Radio? The museum is on North Beverly Drive, a short walk from the hotel. The entrance fee is a $10 donation. Pass through the pristine Danny Thomas Lobby and see an exhibition of Al Hirschfeld cartoons—black-and-white drawings of Jay Leno, Star Trek characters and the Beatles. (Did you know Hirschfeld hid his daughter’s name, Nina, in every one of his illustrations?)

The museum holds more than 70 computer terminals. Guests sit at monitors with lists of classic TV shows they can punch in. In less than an hour, I watch clips from Laverne & Shirley, the premieres of The Bob Newhart Show and Get Smart, the first episode of 20/20 (with Geraldo Rivera portraying a serious news reporter), Andy Kaufman’s wrestler appearance on Late Night with David Letterman and the Beatles’ first stint on The Ed Sullivan Show. At closing time, the Nixon-Kennedy debate is cuing up.

I hear about another seeming Beverly Hills anomaly: a farmers’ market. Will there be used Bentleys for sale? Actual farmers? Nope. The produce does skew a tad pricier than in less iconic neighborhoods. But I find a basket of organic strawberries that serves as a delicious breakfast dessert for just a few dollars.

Speaking of dessert, how can I avoid Sprinkles? It’s an “in” boutique on Little Santa Monica Boulevard that sells only cupcakes (Katie Holmes and Courtney Cox indulge). A sweet, buttery, lemon-flavored offering is the icing on the cake to my Beverly Hills visit.

Visitors will continue to flock here with a mindset to “shop ’til I drop.” Fine—be a Pretty Woman. But remember to let your inner child ask, “What’s for dessert?”

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