Beverly Wilshire, Plaza In Facelift Faceoff

BEVERLY WILSHIRE Managed by Four Seasons and opened in 1928.

Renovations: The victors get spoiled, as the Beverly Wilshire poured much of its renovation budget into its two top rooms -- the penthouse and presidential suite. The latter, on the eighth floor of the original Wilshire wing, has two bedrooms, a living room, a library, 4,000 square feet of office space, deep-soaking tub, steam showers for two and a dining room with a granite-countertopped kitchen area. Its $20,000-a-night price tag includes five hours of spa, personal training, stylist or makeup time a week, a refrigerator stocked weekly and a dedicated personal concierge. With all that, it's still not the best room in the house.

Room to rent: The penthouse, with its 5,000-square-feet of space on the private, key-accessed 14th floor of the Beverly wing, has great views of downtown and the Hollywood hills. However, it earns its $25,000-a-night cost (expensive, but still not close to the $65,000-a-night Royal Penthouse Suite at the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva) with Swarovski crystal chandeliers and marble mosaic tile floors in its entryway, motorized drapery in the living room, a 160-square-foot walk-in closet in the bedroom, a steam and rain shower with its own light and music system in the bathroom and a 55-inch screen in the living room. By the way, the six-figure Porsche Panamera down in the garage is yours for the length of your stay.

--Written by Jason Notte in Boston.

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