Hotel & Resort Construction Four Seasons beginning final stages of renovation

Luxury Beverly Hills hotel gets a major upgrade from hospitality construction firm, R.D. Olson

By Greg Aragon

R.D. Olson Construction of Irvine has surpassed the 60% completion mark on the massive renovation of the famed Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.

The 22-year-old property spent $20 million on its latest renovation (Photo Courtesy Greg Aragon).

“It is always a compliment when we are chosen to remodel such a historically prestigious venue,” says Lofton Moore, president of R.D. Olson. “A large part of our job is to make the renovation seem transparent so guests may continue visiting the hotel.”

The cost of the renovation is not being disclosed, but estimates put the work at more than $20 million.

The 15-story hotel opened in 1987. The current project will revitalize 285 of the 395 guest rooms, as well as the hotel’s bar and lounge, café patio, ballroom and the pool and surrounding deck. And all of the work is being done while the hotel remains fully operational.

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“There is a lot of work and scheduling going on, so the biggest challenge has been keeping our standard as a luxury hotel without interrupting any of our guests with noise or water or power shutoffs,” says Daniel Farahat, director of purchasing and project manager for the hotel.

He says steady communication with the project team as well the hotel’s front desk and reservations department is key to keeping everything running smoothly. The rooms are being updated with new lighting at the entry, bath and vanity area and cabling for better access to the Internet and other high-tech amenities. The living spaces are also getting new plumbing fixtures, millwork and shelving, a vanity, closet and minibar as well as new wood flooring at the entry.

In the lounge, wall coverings will be updated with new warm and enriching brown casings, with green- and cream-colored wall fabric, and the current lighting will be replaced with overhead recessed lighting. The ceiling will be painted a metallic green to bring the entire space together.

The hotel’s bar will be fully revamped. Its granite top will be replaced with exotic colored glass, adorned with etchings and sand-blasted colors.

The current incandescent lighting that illuminates the bar area will give way to natural light as R.D. Olson renovates the window system. To allow more light to enter the area, the multipaned wood and glass window system will be replaced with single-pane glass and glazing.

R.D. Olson demolished the old pool at the property and built the new one in eight weeks (Photo courtesy of Four Seasons).

Recently completed work includes the removal of a whirlpool and replacing it with outdoor cabanas, the installation of a new pool deck of patterned colored stone that skirts the cabanas and its surrounding area and the construction of a new pool.

“The pool renovation has been the highlight of the project to date,” says Chris Cunningham, R.D. Olson project manager. “The existing pool was demolished and a new pool was constructed in eight weeks.

” The project, which broke ground in March 2008, is scheduled to complete at end of this year. Clinger Spina Associates Architects of Los Angeles is the project architect and Los Angeles-based Anthony Mason Associates Inc. is serving as project manager.

The hotel’s original architect is Gin Wong Associates, with interior design provided by Intradesign (guest rooms and public areas).

The property is located along a quiet palm-lined residential neighbourhood near world-renowned Rodeo Drive and Robertson Boulevard shops, with views of the Hollywood Hills.