The Peninsula Beverly Hills

Soundtracked by the strokes of a live classical harpist and set amongst the plush sofas, twin fireplaces and crystal chandelier of The Peninsula Beverly Hills’ Victorian-inspired Living Room, Afternoon Tea is a regal affair not to be missed. Sip your tea of choice from a daintily decorated teacup while tiered trays of gold are served with delectable pastries, scones, and finger sandwiches. Indulge in elegance with the Imperial Tea menu, which also includes a glass of champagne, savory caviar cake, and a passion fruit mousse-filled Peninsula Page Boy Cap Cake, wrapped for you to take home to prolong your royal treatment.

With sweeping city views, lounge chairs as comfortable as beds, technology-equipped private cabanas, a Jacuzzi and 60-foot pool, The Peninsula Beverly Hills’ spacious rooftop retreat is a versatile destination to do more than just get your feet wet; although you should definitely get your feet (or more) wet as the pool is perfectly heated to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. While Hollywood’s entertainment elite wheel-and-deal in the next cabana over, you can indulge in a poolside pampering menu from the Spa, enjoy a signature cocktail, fresh juice, and healthy fare from the Naturally Peninsula menu, or simply soak up the constant California sun. With anything you need readily available, it’s no wonder people spend their entire day, relaxing and/or working, at the pool.

Afternoon tea may not be as common a daily ritual in Los Angeles as it is across the pond, but perhaps the British saying, “keep calm and carry on” is. It’s more likely to find an Angeleno drinking coffee behind the wheel than sipping tea in front of finger foods before dinner, and even so, the benefits of the latter are obvious. Shake off the day’s worries and turn away from traffic with a traditional afternoon tea at the Peninsula Beverly Hills. Surrounded by the quiet gardens of this upscale hideaway, the Peninsula’s living room is a dreamlike setting to do what will only seem like a faraway luxury at first. But sink into a soft couch as a waiter in a white jacket says hello, and the comfort of the coming feast will be immediate. Glimpse the many ornate details of this butter-hued room with a glass of champagne in hand. A harpist will be playing nearby – a detail that won’t be lost on you – and the melody will make the arrival of a three-tiered display feel all the more indulgent. Cucumber and house-smoked salmon finger sandwiches, a white sesame macaroon and a lychee tart, and classic and currant scones are just a few of the foods accompanying seasonal preserves made on the property. Place some on a dainty floral plate as your tea cools, like the signature Belvedere or fragrant jasmine teas, and enjoy. Once the Peninsula Beverly Hills shows you the height of afternoon tea, this may be the beginning of a new, relaxing ritual.

When you’re in L.A., you’re constantly working to make time move on your side. While things like parking limits and commute suggestions require finesse, the Peninsula Beverly Hills has figured out how to maximize the one thing time isn’t so hard on here: summer. Set on the property’s rooftop, surrounded by the buildings of Century City on one end and the distant skyline of downtown on the other, the Peninsula’s poolside cabanas suspend the best of the season in shades of calming blue. You can rent one – without being a guest at the hotel – as part of an “Endless Summer” package until the end of the year. The dozen azure-hued cabanas may be most appreciated for their shade, but they also create entertaining spaces that can be as private as you need. Matching teal towels color two lounge chairs at the cabana’s entrance, and inside, a table for three sits between a serving bar and a third lounge chair. You could watch TV on a flat-screen, make use of the complimentary WiFi, or listen to music from a docking station as breeze softly billows in, but there’s also a 60-foot pool steps away that glistens in the sunlight. After a dip, ask your waiter for a menu. You may blissfully keep your eyes from a clock as you rotate from a swim to a siesta all day, but your stomach won’t keep you from enjoying a five-star meal.

Time seems to move slowly under the poolside cabanas at the Peninsula Hotel. White curtains layered under a dark-blue canvas move steadily with cool air, and sunlight creates patterns of shade and warmth on the surrounding lounge chairs. While you’re welcome to spend the day letting the melting ice in your serving bar’s bucket move faster than you, expect to be a little faster at lunch. You won’t want to waste any time tasting the fresh ingredients of Executive Chef David Codney’s menu. As part of the “Endless Summer” package at the cabanas, you can enjoy two seasonal bites from the hotel’s restaurant, the Roof Garden, in the peace of your own space. The menu is distinctly Californian – with items like fish tacos topped with mango pico de gallo and a lobster B.L.T. curved around sweet potato fries – and some of its flavor is cut from the property’s garden. Start with the watermelon salad, which is tossed with bright heirloom tomatoes, feta, fennel, and lemon, or save it until after you’ve finished the main course. Since a lunch hour at your cabana can happen when you’re ready, you can mold the routine.

Although there is no set schedule at the poolside cabanas of the Peninsula Beverly Hills – in fact, it feels strange to even look at a watch – there is a rhythm to secluded relaxation. The surrounding buildings of Century City and the teal-covered lounge chairs edging the pool drift in and out of shadows as the sun moves, and plates of colorful food appear and disappear according to lunchtime appetites. After a couple of hours spent swimming and reclining, you’ll notice what’s missing from the so-called agenda: a good drink. The “Endless Summer” package features your choice of two specialty cocktails, which can be sipped under a deep-blue canopy or an oversized umbrella of the same shade. Ask to taste the hotel’s selection of sipping rums, which includes four bottles from Facundo of the Bacardi label. The collection starts with the clearest and youngest rum, Neo, which has been aged for less than seven years, followed by the decade-old Eximo, which has a more sun-kissed color. Sip those two in succession, and then try the ever-darker Exquisito, which mixes seven-year-old rum with 23-year-old rum. Finally, sniff and savor the eldest rum in the bunch, the Paraiso, which is aged for at least 23 years. Once you pick your rum of choice, a cocktail will be made with it in mind. If you’d rather relax without alcohol, your waiter can bring you a variety of fresh-pressed juices instead. When you can have happy hour whenever you want, you can also drink whatever you please.