What will $25 million buy you? Check out the W hotel’s new look and see

In a town known for makeovers, the W Los Angeles-West Beverly Hills has (mostly) completed a $25-million redo. All the suites in the all-suite hotel have been revamped, as have the entrance and the lobby.

Next month, the STK steakhouse is to open just off the lobby.

Andrea Dawson Sheehan, chief executive and art director of Dawson Design Associates, said the underlying constant in the W‘s new look is illusion versus reality.

“The water nymph is one representation of this used throughout the hotel, as she ethereally swims (or drowns) in her beautiful couture gowns,” Dawson said in an email. “Open to interpretation, is she celebrating or drowning in the intoxicating glamour of fashion, celebrity and lights?”

Water, ironically for the rain-starved Southland, plays a role in the new look. As you approach the redesigned entrance, you hear a gentle ripple of water flowing underneath the stairs as you walk up.

Then there’s the Oasis, a 12-foot water wall, which Dawson Sheehan said was inspired by the concept of spring. The wall “acts as a dynamic movie screen with a constant projection of haute couture models, parading out of the water walking directly toward the guests,” she said.

There’s also a social aspect to the design. Guests can hang out in the Living Room and the Living Room Bar. The bar is placid by day but livelier at might, when it pulsates to the beat of a DJ with alternating colored lights.

When it is time to rest, the suites are done in grays, blues and whites with pops of green. The names of those suites are not quite as subtle as the color scheme: the Wonderful, Fabulous, Mega, Wow and Extreme Wow. Wonderful rates begin at $399 a night.

Info: The W Los Angeles-West Beverly Hills

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