Hotel review: The Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and the American Girl Experience

A big thank you to the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills for hosting our stay so we could write this detailed review of our experience.

We recently returned home from an epic Thanksgiving trip to Fiji and Australia. After two weeks in multiple hotels and planes, I was looking forward to just being home for a while. But when we were invited for a weekend staycation at the luxurious Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and to check out their exclusive American Girl personal shopping experience, we just couldn’t turn the opportunity down. Especially since it was such a wonderful experience for our five-year-old daughter, who’d had a rough few months with a broken arm and a hospitalization due to pneumonia. So, we packed up our bags again and headed to Beverly Hills! Here’s what it was like:

1. Arrival

When we pulled up to the hotel, our car was surrounded by bellmen, eagerly offering to grab our bags and valet our car. I quipped to my wife that our car was nowhere near as nice as all the cars in the driveway … a convertible yellow Ferrari, a green Rolls Royce Phantom and some other flashy, shiny, colorful sports car.

2. Check-in and Hilton Gold benefits

Check-in was quick and the agent went over my benefits as a Hilton Gold member: a $25 a day food credit for each person (up to two people) or 1,000 points. I opted for the former since I have little kids who are always hungry. Unfortunately, it doesn’t count towards the in-room mini-bar so that was off limits, as usual.

According to the welcome letter I received, the exact complimentary benefits are:

-$25 nightly food and beverage credit per person for up to two guests per night.
-Redeemable through In Room Dining, The Rooftop Beverly Hills or Espelette restaurants or additional 1,000 points for your stay.
-Credit does not apply for minibar consumption.
-One-level room upgrade upon arrival, when available. Certain room categories may not be eligible for upgrades.
-Early Check-In, upon availability.
-Late Check-Out, upon availability.
-Waldorf Astoria bottled water in your room.
-In-Room Wi-Fi: Last name & Room number.

3. Friendly and attentive staff

The staff were great and I chatted with many of them for a while, including the doorman and a housekeeper. The front desk agent escorted us to the elevator and showed us where to put the keycard so we could access the room floors. It was a little tricky.

Before we even checked in, I received an email from one of the hotel’s concierges, which read:

“I am delighted to welcome you to Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills on 13 December, 2024. My name is Richard XXXXX, and I am happy to do all I can to ensure your stay is memorable, as well as flawless from beginning to end.  For your convenience, you may contact me directly at +1 310-XXX-XXXX, or simply reply to this message. If you have questions about the hotel, or I can personalize your upcoming stay in any way, it would be my pleasure to assist. Feel free to let me know about practical considerations, such as your arrival time, any dietary restrictions or room preferences. You are also welcome to provide additional details, such as if you are celebrating a special occasion or the types of activities you are hoping to enjoy while on property. We recommend making activity, dining, and spa reservations in advance. It would be my pleasure to arrange any activities to ensure your trip to Beverly Hills is unique! Please click on the banner below to start planning your stay. The Personal Concierge team and I look forward to assisting you throughout your stay at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.”

4. Hallways

There’s something about really wide hallways that makes a hotel feel welcoming and grand. And the hallways at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills are very nice. They’re beautifully designed and the rooms have shiny, varnished wood doors. Also, on each floor next to the elevators is a phone. I assume it’s so if you ever get locked out of your room or there’s an emergency, you don’t need to go all the way downstairs to the front desk, something that’s happened to me countless times.

5. Rooms

The beautiful design carried throughout the rooms. We were in a regular room (1112) with two queen beds. It had a gorgeous custom built-in bookshelf, tastefully arranged with colorful design and travel books. The walls look like they’re stitched in leather and the crown molding and wainscoting elevate the look all around. The beds and bedding were all extremely comfortable and there’s a large Smart TV that you can watch Netflix on.

The best part, for the kids, was the little tent set up in the corner of the room, which of course the kids spent lots of time in.

Our room had great views of Los Angeles and the patio doors are nice and thick so you can’t hear the noise of Wilshire Boulevard in your room once they’re closed.

6. Bathrooms

Not surprisingly, the bathrooms were swank too, with a deep soaking tub that was quick to fill, a separate shower and a private toilet.

The bathrooms also come equipped with a Dyson hair dryer. My wife had brought her own but if you’re wondering whether they’re worth the investment, it’s nice to be able to give it a try.

7. Alexa in the rooms

We discovered Alexa by accident but once we knew she was there, we all appreciated having her in the room to play music and answer questions since we use ours at home a lot. But what everyone liked the most was having her open and shut the curtains and turn the lights on and off. Our housekeeper said she uses it too as it makes turndown service faster and easier. There’s a list of basic voice commands you can use to get the most out of the Alexa in your room.

8. Turndown service

While most hotels are cutting back on daily housekeeping, the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills still offers it twice a day, including turndown service. Here, they leave bottles of water and tasty chocolates (milk and dark), a nice touch that feels extra luxurious in an age of constant cutbacks.

There are also slippers and robes for both adults and kids. The kids’ slippers and robes are too cute and of course, delighted our little ones.

9. American Girl Experience at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills

But the robe and slippers aren’t just for the human guests. On one of the beds were slippers, a robe …

… and a doll-sized bed. Our daughter didn’t know what they were for as we’d kept the American Girl aspect of our stay a surprise. But it all became clear the next morning.

At 11am the following day, the hotel’s house car (SUV) picked us up out front and drove us to the Westfield Century City mall, about a half mile away, for Olivia’s American Girl personal shopping experience.

We were greeted at American Girl by a personal shopper who gave us a tour of the store and all of the different doll collections.

As this was Olivia’s first real introduction to American Girl, I didn’t know a lot about the dolls beforehand but I was surprised to see just how many different dolls there were and learn all about the historical collections.

Olivia was particularly smitten with the Bitty Baby collection of dolls.

Olivia got to take home some treats (accessories for her doll) …

… and got a sneak peek at all the other cool American Girl experiences like the Hair Salon and the Cafe. Something tells me we will be back again soon!

The full American Girl Experience at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills includes:
-Overnight accommodations in a Deluxe Guest Room or Suite
-Special Welcome Amenity
-Complimentary round-trip transportation to and from American Girl Flagship at Westfield Century City Mall in the hotel’s signature house-car (based on availability)
-Guided shopping experience at the American Girl Flagship store
-American Girl Doll Bed, Robe and Slippers takeaway gift, set up in-room upon arrival (one gift per child ages 12yo and below, per reservation; up to two children permitted per reservation)
Promotional Code: AGEX * Book here

10. Dinner

The first night of our stay, we dined at the hotel’s popular Rooftop Beverly Hills. The views are awesome and definitely one of the highlights. We watched the sun set, while the many heat lamps kept us warm and we enjoyed delicious food.

A few months ago, I was watching ESPN and one of the baseball analysts was talking about how Aaron Boone, the New York Yankees manager, and Yankees GM Brian Cashman, had had dinner here one beautiful and warm December night and they talked about how they weren’t going to be able to entice Shohei Ohtani to sign with them because New York can’t compete with this kind of atmosphere. They’re not wrong.

For dinner, I had beef tacos in a lettuce wrap and ramen for my main. My wife had the Pad Thai, which she said was delicious and we split the apple pie. The kids menu had the usual suspects: Mac and cheese, sliders, chicken fingers with fries, etc.

11. Breakfast

We used our food credit to get takeout from Espelette. Instead of paying room service and delivery fees, I just went downstairs with my daughter each morning and ordered.

The first day, we got a basket of pastries ($22), tea ($9) and milk ($8) for the kids cereal we’d brought.

The second day, I swapped the pastries out for pancakes, which came with fruit and real maple syrup and were delicious.

12. Pool

It was a chilly (65F) December day so we didn’t use the rooftop pool but we visited it and it was beautiful and warm. The two pool attendants were attentive and told me that although it’s cold out, the pool is heated to 82F. There’s also a hot tub, which had a couple in it so I didn’t get a photo. I can imagine this place being extremely popular in the summer.

They also provide sunscreen, either 15 SPF or 30 SPF, which is always a welcome amenity.

Overall, our weekend staycation at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills was delightful. A luxurious getaway for the whole family and especially for our daughter, who will never forget her very first American Girl experience. Book your stay here.

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