By Wendy Lemlin
Like every fascinating lady, she has a past. In her youth, she was loved by some of the hottest movie stars of the time. Such legends as Buster Keaton, Clark Gable, Ronald Regan, and even Joan Crawford, Judy Garland and Greta Garbo all sought her out. Many slept in her embrace, or even lived with her for a time. She was Charlie Chaplin’s for a while, who, legend has it, lost her to John Wayne for $1 in a poker game. Her iconic shape, her fun, yet sophisticated personality, her reputation as a gracious hostess, all kept her in high demand. But time marched on and, as so often happens to once-lovely ladies “of a certain age”, fresher faces took her place, until she found herself old, neglected and abandoned. In the 1990s, she briefly rallied, but ultimately failed to completely regain her faded glory.
That is, until 2007, when hotelier and fashion industry insider Maya Mallick took a liking to her, recognizing her beautiful “bones” and stately potential, and set about to make the Culver Hotel once again the popular beauty she had been. Today, after years of renovation and updating, the hotel not only thrives, but does so in the epicenter of a neighborhood which itself is seeing a renaissance as a creative hub and “cool” location. In fact, this year the Culver Hotel was
voted the #1 Most Romantic Boutique Hotel in California and Top Ten in the nation by the readers of USA TODAY.
Each of the 46 guestrooms is unique, personally designed by Maya Mallick, and decorated in an eclectic mix of heirloom furniture—often foraged from antique stores and Mallick’s own family collections—and modern accoutrements. The pillowtop beds are exceedingly comfortable, the high thread count cotton linens silky and welcoming. White subway tiles, Carrera marble and chrome fixtures accent the classic, 1920’s-inspired, yet thoroughly modern, bathrooms.
“My goal was to curate beautiful and timeless interiors worthy of the hotel’s history, and create an artful ambiance that reminded me of an elegant European manor,” explains Mallick, who was born in the U.S., but grew up in Switzerland. “It also needed to be a warm, inviting and fun place that would create a memorable experience for creatives, the local community and visitors from around the world.”
The Culver Hotel (originally named Hunt Hotel) was built in 1924 by Harry Culver, the founder of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Culver City, a movie-making Mecca and home to such iconic studios as MGM (now Sony Studios) and Culver Studios, right next door. Such major motion pictures as Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz were filmed in these studios, and many cast members –munchkins and stars alike— made the hotel their “home away from home”.
Today, movies and TV shows are still made in Culver City, and both the exterior and interior areas of the flat iron-shaped building have featured in numerous shoots, sometimes doubling as a street in London, an apartment in Barcelona or a café in Paris .
The fireplace in the Grand Lobby welcomes guests and locals alike who congregate and socialize there.
Step in the front door to the “Grand Lobby”, and you’ll find yourself in a welcoming lounge, more cocktail and dining space buzzing with energy and lively conversations than a traditional lobby. Locals and visitors alike gather nightly to listen to a live jazz band, to see and be seen, and possibly rub elbows with a celebrity or two.
The Culver Hotel is a popular dining destination as well, and guests are welcome to partake of their meals wherever they like—in the dining room lit by vintage crystal chandeliers, amid the hubbub and jazz notes in the Grand Lobby, or al fresco in the French Garden.
The Grand Lobby also serves as a vibrant dining area.
Mushroom and butternut vol au vent
High tea is served, with advance reservations, in the Grand Lobby. Ingredients are locally sourced whenever possible and the menu proudly lists some of the area farms that the kitchen supports. Dinner standouts include a richly satisfying starter of Wild Mushroom and Butternut Squash Vol-au-Vent (which could easily be a meal with an accompanying salad), Wild Isles Salmon served with glazed beets and their greens, and Pan-Roasted Duck
Wild Isles Salmon with glazed beets
Breast with sweet potato puree and roasted turnips. The flourless chocolate cake is beyond decadent and worth every calorie.
In the lobby bar or in the dining areas, the cocktail menu is inventive—try a flowery Lavender Collins or a fruity Prohibition Punch, for example—and the wine list is primarily California with a few French and Italian selections.
On the mezzanine, the Velvet Lounge’s 1920’s-speakeasy-meets-Parisian-boudoir ambience, with its tucked away gathering spots, attracts both the contemporary bottle-service crowd and those looking for a more intimate cocktail experience.
To showcase the thriving Culver City arts scene, voted among the 10 Best Art Districts in the U.S. this past year by USA Today, the architecturally significant landmark hotel launched an art gallery space in January 2016, in collaboration with the Bruce Lurie Gallery from the Culver City Arts District. Maya Mallick says of the gallery, “Showcasing art exhibits at the hotel was always part of my vision for reimagining this iconic property. The hotel has been at the center of the city’s imaginative soul—from its beginnings it was a gathering point for artists and creatives. This gallery is a reflection of its history and personality.”
The Art Gallery
Like a once-regal grande dame who has found renewed vitality and splendor with a young lover—and, of course, a damn good plastic surgeon—The Culver Hotel has been reborn as a present day hottie, while still maintaining all the class and stature of her illustrious past. Once again, she has become the popular hostess to whom the cognoscenti flock, admired for her warmth, good looks, and engaging spirit. Maya Mallick’s vision saw her potential, and transformed The Culver Hotel into a timeless beauty, melding the glories of a past age with a contemporary vivacity, and now she’s feeling the love!
The Culver Hotel 9400 Culver Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 310-558-9400