Roosevelt Rendezvous

ANOTHER HOLLYWOOD ICON GETS A FACE LIFT

A 178 years old, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel boasts a history as rich and fabulous as the luminaries who have stayed and played within its storied walls. The Spanish-Moorish gem— initially backed by high-powered investors Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Mary Pickford, and Louis B. Mayer—hosted the first Academy Awards, in 1929, housed a broke fledgling actor called David Niven, and entertained the likes of Salvador Dali and Ernest Hemingway. It is even said to be haunted by the ghost of former guest Marilyn Monroe. Famous dead people, however, do not a hot spot make. Enter the Thompson Hotel group, which assumed management of the property in 2004 and has since initiated a slew of renovations steered by the group's hotelier, Jason Pomeranc. "There is this resurgence now in Hollywood, and I think that the hotel will be the pivotal turning point in that," says Pomeranc, who has been working with designer Dodd Mitchell on revamping all the cabana rooms and the penthouse where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard got cozy. Under the eagle eye of nightlife impresario Amanda Demme, the hotel has also opened the poolside paradise Tropicana, is revitalizing its lobby bar, and will soon welcome V.I.P.'s to the exclusive enclave Teddy's, christened in honor of both the president for whom the Roosevelt was named and Amanda's late husband, director Ted Demme. "I wanted the ultimate mix," she explains. "A place you know you can go to any night and find incredibly interesting people." And then there's Dakota, the hotel's new restaurant, which, with the celebrated chef Tim Goodell, rounds out its sassy new style. The ghost of glamour past has a new lease on life. —EMILY POENISCH

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