The Hotel California (1976) album cover, designed by John Kosh and photographed by David Alexander, features a dusky shot of the once-iconic Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard.
LA, Sans the Polo Lounge
On April 9, 2026, an angel of Hollywood was seen walking across Sunset Boulevard. Dressed in all-white, dewey-faced, she was, in a word, luminous.
And then...wait, was she starting her morning walk from The Beverly Hills Hotel? She’s too kind. Too down-to-earth. Perhaps it was her handlers who made the mistake of booking her room there. Maybe the company she’s currently collab-ing with booked it, and she didn't want to offend.
What’s more offensive than Sharia law!
Now, this fantastic writer-actor-icon, whom we all love and adore, may have simply been on a Sunset Boulevard walkabout and just happened to be crossing the street in front of the BH Hotel when she was spotted. Zero proof that’s where she was actually staying.
Still, our most-loved fashion designers and celebrities who condone the Beverly Hills Hotel’s cruel practices, by way of attendance, can light a fire in your brain.
Still, our most-loved fashion designers and celebrities who condone the Beverly Hills Hotel’s cruel practices, by way of attendance, can light a fire in your brain.
And if you don’t know, you don’t know. But that’s why we’re detailing the story here:
In 1987, the Beverly Hills Hotel was sold to the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah (who also owns LA’s Hotel Bel-Air). Later, in 2014, the Sultan implemented strict Sharia law in his home country, which includes atrocious rules and deadly practices for women and members of the LGBTQ+ Community.
The Dorchester Collection, the luxury hotel’s parent, first retorted to liberal Hollywood’s outcries with “No comment.” And only after significant financial losses, thanks in part to boycotts, en masse, the company finally loosened the reins (a teeny, tiny bit), in hopes of trying to calm all of the fury.
Fast-forward to 2024, Out Magazine’s James Duke Mason published an update to the story:
After years of our efforts, in 2019, a significant milestone was achieved when Brunei announced a moratorium on implementing Sharia law. While this was not the full repeal we sought, it was undeniably a massive victory. The barbaric punishments we feared would not be enforced. This shift indicated that our boycott had not been in vain and influenced change at the international level.
We’ll continue to update this panel, too, but for now. it’s absolutely No Polo Lounge for us. There are a plethora of spectacular kind lovely fabulous ethical good companies in Los Angeles, so why give your money to the ones that promote evil.
Above: Shot from a cherry picker to achieve a “sinister,” high-angle view, the picture symbolizes the decay of the American Dream in California. Fifty years later, consider this photo alongside the current owners and their take on humanity.
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