10 best fashion concept stores inside Californian hotels

By

Chenu Alexis

Published
August 28, 2023

A complex topic of hospital industry, the hotel shop became a challenge for hotels who want optimize their offering. Some hotels rely on the good ideas of their creative teams to develop their boutique merchandising with apparel and accessories like Ace Hotels. Others bet on the personality of their founders like superstar drag-queen Trixie Mattel who launched a fun Gift Shop in her Palm Springs Motel. Others, like Rosewood Hotel & Resorts teamed up with established multi-brand stores like The Webster. Luxury and jewelry are always a big hit in Beverly Hills hotels. And many hotels are working on collaborations with brands and young designers to keep their customer's attention.

Rosewood Miramar Beach X The Webster, Montecito: luxury and young designers

At the Rosewood Miramar Beach, multi-brand boutique The Webster invites visitors to discover the selection of Laure Hériard-Dubreuil, founder of The Webster. In a calm and chic atmosphere, with parquet flooring, arched alcoves and a jewel-like chandelier, the boutique features luxury labels such as Céline, Gucci, Loewe, Miu Miu and Chanel.

Since last June, The Webster, in partnership with Rosewood Hotel & Resorts, has also announced a series of pop-ups and activations, starting with the Nahmias summer collection in the Ambassador Ocean View Suite at Rosewood Miramar Beach. From September 27 to September 30, another pop-up will be launched in Dallas, Texas, at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, an entirely new market for The Webster as the retailer has only one location in Houston. Occupying one of the Mansion's Estate Suites, the pop-up will also offer a tailored selection of womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty and home goods. The partnership with The Webster will continue in 2024 with a celebration during Paris Fashion Week at Hôtel de Crillon, another Rosewood Hotel location.

Bijan and Wrist Aficionado at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, Los Angeles: luxury and watch collectors

Designed entirely by architect Pierre-Yves Rochon, the elegant Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills welcomes guests in an elegant lobby, with Art Deco and Mid Century Modern-style architecture, marble floors and a gigantic chandelier. Since 2017, the Waldorf has offered a selection from Bijan, the ultra-luxury men's fashion house whose flagship store is located on Rodeo Drive and which has been dressing U.S. presidents and businessmen from Jeff Bezos to Bill Gates. At the Waldorf, Bijan presents a condensed selection of his collection of jackets, shirts and ties.

A newcomer this summer, Wrist Aficionado replaces James Perse's former boutique. Founded in 2017 by Eddie Goziker and Vadim Yakubov as a digital destination for watch collectors, the company expanded into brick-and-mortar retail with shops at Fifth Avenue in New York, at Setai Hotel in Miami Beach and now at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. In their selection, luxury watches from Rolex, Patek Philippe, Richard Mille and Cartier.

Mercantile, Post Ranch Inn (Big Sur): luxury, outerwear and souvenirs 

In Big Sur, California, the Post Ranch Inn, opened in 1992 by co-founder Michael Freed, is one of the world's finest hotels. It features 40 hilltop rooms, perched in the trees or cocoons on the ground with Jacuzzis, three swimming pools, a restaurant, a spa, a vegetable garden, and a boutique called Mercantile.  
 
In its wood and metal structure, blending perfectly into the landscape, a fashion section features caps, overshirts and jackets bearing the hotel's logo, a selection of men's and women's ready-to-wear outerwear with Taylor Stitch among them, and the Lower Case collection of New York sunglasses. An extensive beauty section features Trudon’s and Salt & Stone candles, while another is dedicated to jewelry, interior design and stationery, and all in-room products, from organic textile bed sheets, slippers and soaps to bath products, can be purchased on site. In addition to the boutique, there's an art gallery hidden away near the kitchen garden, where to find a series of photographs by Ansel Adams and Kodiak Greenwood. 

Trixie Motel, Palm Springs: think pink

Opened just over a year ago, Trixie Motel is the motel imagined by drag-queen superstar Trixie Mattel. Decorated in her Barbie pink signature color, the building boasts seven psychedelic rooms entirely customized by Trixie and her team.

To take home a souvenir, head for the Trixie Motel Gift Shop. A naturally pink boutique, where you'll find a selection of apparel such as sweatshirts, polo shirts, crop tanks and hoodies bearing the hotel's logo. For a dip in the pool in Trixie's colors, the store adds board shorts, speedos or one-pieces in pink, as well as heart-shaped buoys, sunglasses and tote-bags. In case of make-up issues or forgotten false eyelashes, here you'll find the essentials for a beauty makeover, including lipsticks and make-up palettes from the best-selling Trixie Cosmetics collection.

Beverly Hills Wilshire, Los Angeles: all the finest jewelry

In this 1927 hotel, every celebrity from Elvis Presley to Steve McQueen and Elizabeth Taylor has passed through one day. Even the movie 'Pretty Woman' and Beyoncé's 7/11 video were shot here. A hotel that has become an institution of Beverly Hills, with three jewelry boutiques.

The first, as visitors enter, showcases New York jeweller David Webb's collections. An historic store since 1948, where jewels worn by Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy and Princess Grace of Monaco reveal sublime ornaments such as the Peace necklace in 18-carat gold, diamonds and black enamel. Occupying a large space of the hotel's first floor, Japanese brand Mikimoto presents its collections of necklaces, rings and earrings with fantastic pearls. And in the hotel corridors, Jason of Beverly Hills has been offering the diamond creations of designer Jason Arasheben for over 20 years with bracelets, necklaces, pendants and earrings.

Freehand Hotel x Paper8, Los Angeles

Last January, the Freehand Hotel in Los Angeles' Downtown district entrusted artist Matthew Warren with an entire boutique dedicated to his art. Influenced by cinema and American pop culture, Matthew's art explores "the manner in which Hollywood myths are entwined with our imagination, and through his use of Hollywood iconography he creates a hybrid of art and cinema."

On the racks of the Paper8 boutique, T-shirts, tote-bags and sweatshirts feature the drawings of stars with slogans and lyrics from cult scenes, such as Pamela Anderson in 'Barb Wire', Michelle Pfeiffer in 'Grease 2', Meryl Streep in 'The Devil Wears Prada' and Whoopi Goldberg in 'Sister Act'. At Paper8, every T-shirt bought comes in a popcorn box.

Hotel del Coronado, San Diego: surf culture and glamorous fashion

On Coronado Island in San Diego, The Del, as it's known, attracts celebrities and tourists from all over the world to its 78 villas and cottages. It was also here that 'Some Like It Hot' was filmed, with Marilyn Monroe as a guest star. In its luxury resort with a historic building whose reception looks like something out of the film The Grand Hotel Budapest, the hotel boasts no fewer than 10 boutiques dedicated to fashion and interior design.

Among the most noteworthy is S.R.F., where visitors will find everything they need for surfing; from floral shirts and O'Neill wetsuits, to a wide selection of Catch Surf surfboards and accessories for California life, including roller skates and bicycles. Monroe opened in 2022 with a selection dedicated exclusively to women inspired by the Hollywood icon including brands as Trina Turk, Camilla and Citrus Fashions. And Brady's for men has been offering a classic seaside wardrobe since 1974, with leading brands including Jack Victor, Bugatchi, Alberto Jeans and Robert Graham.

1 Hotel, The Goodthings store, Los Angeles: sustainable fashion

In West Hollywood, the 1 Hotel is at the top of sustainable hotels. From the tropical garden and wooden furniture to the recycled objects in the rooms and the restaurant's bio-sourced cuisine based on Californian ingredients, everything here is green.

At The Goodthings store, 1 Hotel offers merchandising products, accessories and products from the recently opened Bamford Wellness Spa, as well as a cutting-edge selection of sustainable brands ranging from Fair Harbor and Dezert Mango swimwear, dresses and tops by Los Angeles-based label Mara the Label, as well as ready-to-wear by Culver City-based Marina Leight Atelier, mini and maxi dresses by Rocking Gypsy and sweatpants and hoodies by MXT2510 from mother-daughter duo Melody and Taisa Stein.

The Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles: successful collaborations 

More than a century old, the 'Pink Lady', with its past legends, from Katharine Hepburn to Marlene Dietrich, its monumental swimming pool transformed throughout the summer in the colors of the Dior French fashion house and its famous Polo Lounge, has a boutique like no other.

Skilled in merchandising, the Gift Shop offers, in a luxury setting, a selection of items featuring the hotel's graphic codes: pink and palm leaves. Customers and collectors generally leave with a bathrobe, cap or even a dog cushion bearing the hotel's logo. Interesting collaborations with fashion brands range from Orlebar Brown shorts to bags and ready-to-wear from The SlL, an e-commerce site of exclusive offerings by independent fashion designers. There's also a collaboration on silk pyjamas and dresses with artist Alexandra Nechita and Shhh Siki, and a collection of small leather goods with shoe designer George Esquivel.

Ace Hotel Los Angeles: a pioneer

A pioneer in the art of merchandising, Ace Hotel uses Atelier Ace, its in-house creative studio, to imagine all the boutique's product developments. While the merchandising curated used to be more diverse at the beginning, here you can still find bathrobes and even the organic cotton bedding and comforters offered in the rooms, and also sweatshirts, T-shirts, hoodies, mugs and pins. 

Downtown Los Angeles Ace Hotel's shop also sells hotel bathroom products, and clean socks. The e-shop showcases a larger selection as a series of blanket with American brand Pendleton.