Jumping Down The Rabbit Hole

Even after living in West Hollywood for over four years, just a few blocks away, I had somehow never been to the unpredictable, unprecedented, uncanny Petit Ermitage.


Upon entering the lobby, past a bird cage and an old working gramophone, I was greeted with a plate of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. Distracted, I half-noticed a fabulous painting, which turned out to be a hand-signed Dalí original, alongside a pair of Erté drawings. While checking in I was informed that the Petit Ermitage is home to hundreds of artworks by the likes of Rauschenberg, Miró, De Kooning, and a resident artist who is constantly adding his own work to the hotel’s walls.

After settling into my room I began to explore the hotel. Each of the 80 suites comes with more than just the customary king bed — they’ve got ancient Turkish carpets, walls of hand-troweled Venetian plaster, railings form India, tiles from Morocco and pillow shams hand-crafted in the Old City of Jerusalem. The resident artist had extended the lines of the hallway carpets onto the walls, the staircase was its own chalk-art masterpiece, and I even found hand-painted eyes coming out of the walls in the ATM booth. And after I thought I had seen it all, I came to a stairway leading up to the roof deck.

Many hotels in Los Angeles have roof decks, but none quite like this. It’s divided into four areas: an elegant pool deck, a comfy day-bed section, a large fireplace patio and my favorite part, the garden terrace.

From the Butterfly Bar, named for the design that’s painted on the antique barn doors hanging behind the bar, a large open doorway leads you into a bright space that seems unreal at first glance. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing: a hand-laid brick path led me into a long, narrow garden terrace with private dining nooks tucked into corners, surrounded by wild plants, tiled fountains and ivy-covered trellises. A hummingbird landed on a vine next to my table while I was sipping my first “Respitini” (as in respite-tini) — the roof terrace is a sanctuary, recognized by the National Wildlife Federation, where butterflies and hummingbirds come and go freely.

As the sun set on a fabulous view of the Hollywood Hills, the candles throughout the garden began to glow, and a rare Los Angeles silence set in, beneath the tranquil music and the bubbling of the fountain. Dinner was a story unfolding in chapters: foie gras and duck confit, an octopus tagine, Scottish salmon, Moroccan tuna and filet mignon carpaccio. It was enough to make me weak in the knees.

After it was all over, as we walked through the Butterfly Bar back towards the elevator, I spotted the resident artist working on his current masterpiece, in the new rooftop bathroom. I paused to snap a picture of his work and a man named Grant appeared and introduced himself: “I’m the Liaison to Happiness, and we do hope you had a wonderful and delightful time.”

As the elevator doors closed, I had to check with my fiancée. “He did say he was the Liaison to Happiness, right?” A quick nod and a smile and I was sold. I couldn’t wait to get back to the outside world, and tell everyone I knew about this magical place. Take my advice, I’m your new Liaison to Happiness.

Click here to view more on the Petit Ermitage.

From November 11 through December 30, book the Shop Hollywood! package and receive a welcome glass of Champagne, “Petit Dejeuner” for two, complimentary valet parking and WIFI as well as 20% off at boutiques like Alberta Ferretti, M Cohen, Anya Hindmarch, Paige Denim, John Varvatos, and Ports 1961.