The historic Roosevelt Hotel is home to the newest "It" spot, the Tropicana Bar. In its original heyday in the 20s and 30s, the hotel epitomized classic Hollywood glamour and today is considered a national landmark. Now its own Tropicana has come to symbolize the latest in celebrity-adored hangouts.
The Tropicana, which has been around since the 40s, has undergone a stylistic overhaul with extensive remodeling, making it the hot spot for the social elite that it is today. Promoter extraordinaire Amanda Scheer-Demme and designer Dodd Mitchell, responsible for celeb-endorsed restaurants Dolce and Chi, married the old-time Spanish-style look of the pool and bar with a modern feel. Chaise lounges, private bungalows and the requisite palm trees trim the edge of the spa and Olympic-sized pool, which showcases a mural from artist David Hockey on the bottom.
The bar is great for a laid-back afternoon of poolside lounging and swimming (you can buy lunch and drinks at the bar, too), but the glamour gets turned up at night. The Tropicana is now infamous for hosting elaborate private parties and maintaining an elite guest list.
Gossip blog Defamer.com has posted a series of articles known as "Tales from the Trop" about the exclusivity of the bar and the happenings amongst celebrity patrons. Even hotel guests have complained of being denied a highly coveted spot at the pool.
Indeed, you might find it difficult not to run into a celebrity or two, should
you actually make it as far as the pool courtyard. Regulars include young stars
such as Paris and Nicky Hilton (surprise!), Jessica Simpson, Rachel Bilson, Eva
Mendes and Tobey Maguire. When hes not busy touring, Maroon 5 singer Adam
Levine hosts parties at the Tropicana on Tuesday nights.
It only makes sense that with such an extensive list of celebrity clientele, the
Tropicana has been host to a fair number of scandals. Its been widely reported
that a friend of Lindsay Lohan took a risky leap from the balcony of her hotel
room into the pool, and its the site of Courtney Loves recent "probation
violation" (after which she was rushed to a nearby hospital). Scheer-Demme
was cuffed and escorted out by police for a less interesting noise violation,
thanks to rowdy customers at the bar.
So, why not let a scandal entice you into seeing what all the fuss is about at the Tropicana? If that bouncer thinks youre cute and lets you in the door, and Kirsten Dunst is willing to give up her throne er, lounge chair by the pool, you could be in for a pretty sweet day under the sun.
Bar hours: 9 a.m.-2 a.m. for hotel guests, 7 p.m.-2 a.m. for non-hotel guests. For more information, call (323) 466-7000 or check out the hotels soon-to-be launched Web site at www.hollywoodroosevelt.com.