At the Aman Resort in the Turks and Caicos Islands, guest villas with infinity pools and butlers come and serve you a private romantic dinner on the beach. In a remote Utah desert, Aman guests can “camp” in tent pavilions with swimming pools and king-size beds.
The Swiss company, owned by Russian real estate developer Vlad Doronin, was described by Forbes as “the world’s most prominent resort brand” and attracts particularly wealthy guests such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and George and Amal Clooney.
Launched in Indonesia, Aman is known for its small resorts in exotic tropics or historically significant properties such as a 16th-century palace in Venice.
Now, the celebrity-loved ultra-luxury hospitality brand is coming to Beverly Hills as part of a $ 2 billion garden-like residential complex called One Beverly Hills. Its developers revealed on Thursday that Aman will run the hotel, a private club and some Aman-branded homes in a lushly landscaped oasis next to the famous Beverly Hilton hotel, where stars gather for the annual Golden Globe Awards.
A rendering of the entrance to the Aman Hotel at One Beverly Hills, which will have 42 suites.
(Foster + partners)
Announced in 2020, One Beverly Hills has the city’s approval of a 42-room hotel – all suites – and 37 hotel-branded condos, where owners can choose to receive hotel amenities such as room service meals and housekeeping.
The 17.5-hectare estate in One Beverly Hills near the Boulevards Wilshire and Santa Monica, formerly occupied by a famous department store Robinsons-May, is considered one of the most sought after property development sites in the country, but has been abandoned for years as previous plans to develop it failed.
The primary vacant land was purchased for $ 445 million in 2018 by Alagem Capital Group, the locally based owner of Beverly Hilton, and partner Cain International from London. The partners came up with a new plan that combines the existing Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills with fresh development designed by Norman Foster, an English gentleman who is perhaps best known for designing a landmark lipstick-like skyscraper in London known as the Cucumber and hoop – formed Apple Inc. headquartered in Cupertino, California.
Foster’s plan requires up to 340 exclusive homes in two towers as high as 32 storeys. The buildings will be surrounded by 8 acres of native plant gardens and water features woven with paths, the majority of which will be open to the public. There should also be a 10-storey building to house Aman, its residences, the private Aman Club, a spa and restaurants.
Foster said in a 2020 interview that his plan dates back to a period in the 1930s when architects who came to Los Angeles “embraced the health aspects of the climate” by designing structures with balconies, patios and other features intended to integrate indoors and outdoors. One Beverly Hills will follow suit with a focus on the external environment.
The building architecture is an extension of the green, he said. “The main character is the landscape, the garden.”
A rendering of a garden at One Beverly Hills. The design requires 8 acres of native plant gardens and water features woven with trails.
(DBOX for Alagem Capital Group)
The 28- and 32-story condo towers would be “permeable” in terms of being visible, Foster said, and far enough apart to keep sight lines at bay. The hotel would be set back from Wilshire Boulevard, partly on land formerly occupied by a 76-fire petrol station acquired by the developers.
Cain and Alagem Capital merged in 2018 and received city rights to build One Beverly Hills in 2021. Beverly Hills City Council approved the project after objections from councilman and former mayor John Mirisch, who called the proposed development “elitist, exclusive and exclusive.”
“Without affordable housing, the project has become a castle fortress of exclusion,” Mirisch told the other four council members.
Construction is expected to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2027, said Jonathan Goldstein, CEO of Cain International.
Partners Cain and Alagem have hired executive Larry Green, former head of U.S. development for shopping center landlord Westfield, to oversee the development. Among the major projects Green has shaped was the $ 1 billion makeover of nearby Westfield Century City in 2017.
A rendering of One Beverly Hills, which will include a 10-story building to house Aman, its residences, the private Aman Club, a spa and restaurants.
(DBOX for Alagem Capital Group)
The addition of an ultra-luxury hotel should increase the attraction of One Beverly Hills to travelers who could choose between a Hilton, a Waldorf Astoria and an Aman, Goldstein said. “We believe we have covered all bases on the Site.”
Prices for Aman in Beverly Hills have not yet been set, but other Aman inns have reached some striking benchmarks.
A night at Amans Amangiri Desert Resort in Canyon Point, Utah, starts at about $ 4,000, according to the hotel’s website. A room booked for Monday night through Hotels.com would start at $ 430 at the Beverly Hilton and $ 1,195 at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.
The 40-room ultra-luxury Amangani Jackson Hole was recently sold for $ 79.5 million, or $ 1.99 million per. room. It was one of the highest prices paid per room in the last two years in the United States, said real estate consultant Alan Reay.
An Aman makes sense in Beverly Hills, Reay said. “They are as sophisticated a luxury hotel as I have ever seen.”
Aman operates 33 properties in 20 countries. The Beverly Hills Hotel will be the fifth in the United States after Aman opens inns in New York in August and in Miami in 2024.
“By remaining true to our DNA and the coveted Aman lifestyle,” Doronin said in a statement, “Aman Beverly Hills, nestled in its expansive botanical gardens, captures the heritage and heritage of Aman while connecting our guests with fascinating urban environments. “
