Lush, beautiful gardens (with swans!) surround this elite hideaway, which opened as a hotel in 1946.

One of the most luxurious getaways in SoCal, if not the world, the Hotel Bel-Air has played home-away-from-home to princes, kings, queens, politicians, Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. The main mission-style building was originally built as offices for Alphonso Bell, the father of Bel-Air; in 1946 the Texan entrepreneur Joseph Drown purchased some of the land and began to create the elegant pastoral hotel hideaway that stands today. All 91 rooms and suites are individually decorated with custom-made fabrics, fireplaces and French doors; each one also has a private entrance to the gardens or fountain courtyards. Complimentary tea service is offered upon arrival, plus there is complimentary transportation to Beverly Hills, Century City, Brentwood and Westwood any day of the week. Antica Farmicista toiletries fill the bathrooms and 400-thread-count linens grace the beds. The restaurant is highly sought-after for romantic dinners and tony family celebrations. And if a woman says she's having her wedding at Hotel Bel-Air, well, you know she's money.