It would be difficult to overestimate the historical importance of this hotel, which was completed in 1912: The city of Beverly Hills was literally built around it.

Howard Hughes lived here for 30 years, sometimes reserving 25 rooms at a time. Elizabeth Taylor spent a lot of time here as a child while her father ran an art gallery in the lobby. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard used to rendezvous in the bungalows before his divorce and their subsequent marriage. It is the Hotel California, pictured on The Eagles' album cover. After a brief Depression-era closure in the '30s, the hotel reopened to its original grandeur and quickly became an even bigger hangout for celebrities, who continue to hole up here today. Two tennis courts, an Olympic-sized pool, The Polo Lounge, the fabulously retro Fountain Coffee Shop and a spa are all on the premises. Rooms range from relatively simple guest rooms to bungalow suites, which have been designed as individual residences (the presidential bungalow has its own pool and whirlpool). Everything from the lobby to the most minute detail in the bathrooms is pure elegance. A good rule of thumb: Don't show up in a hole-riddled T-shirt, unless it's a trendy, deconstructed hole-riddled T-shirt and you've sold millions of records. —Lonny Pugh