The Fenix--for Swank and Suave

Timing really is everything.

All right, a bit of luck helps, too. OK, OK, it helps to know a few people, but really, what is luck and popularity without timing? Just a nice deal that’s not causing tremors. Rick Calamaro, a veteran on the Hollywood club circuit, hit Texas tea big time with his recent takeover of the Argyle Hotel’s Fenix room.

Calamaro isn’t new to the promotions game. With partner Josh Richman, Calamaro developed one of the hottest weekly clubs, Grand Ville, which he named after a car Charlie Sheen gave him. For years now, Grand Ville, which takes place on Thursdays at the 7969 club in West Hollywood, has dominated the nightclub scene with its mix of dancing and stripping.

Now, the Fenix Room--a swanky bar that went from a morgue to the “it” spot seemingly overnight--is the only place anyone in Hollywood wants to be on a Friday or Saturday night (although it’s open all week long).

If this all sounds like the stuff movies are made of, it is. As a kid, Calamaro spent his days among the privileged in the Playboy Mansion, living there while his mother--a friend of Hugh Hefner’s--plied her trade as a professional backgammon player. By the time he entered his 20s, he knew everyone and had been there and done that over and over and over and over again.

When he was somewhere around 28, Calamaro says, he ran out of cash and realized he’d better get a job. But there was only one thing he knew how to do and that was party. His pals suggested he give it a professional try, so party he did.

Grand Ville began as a place to invite friends and evolved into an uber-popular hang that’s seen celebrities come and go for years now. Calamaro says one day in May he took two friends to his own personal favorite L.A. spot, the Fenix, and one suggested, “You should throw a party here.” The idea seemed like a good one and he ran with it.

Here’s the part where timing comes in. The grunge scene had ended in Hollywood as club-goers began dressing up again, looking for swanky locales, especially on the Sunset Strip. The Sky Bar was too exclusive, the Derby too specific. So along came the Fenix, where spruced-up women and men could hit the town for a place with the look and feel of a real Hollywood party.

The hotel, an Art Deco landmark that’s been around since 1929, was renovated in the ‘80s--when it was known as the St. James Club--and was rechristened the Argyle three years ago. The Fenix was a quiet poolside restaurant with a stunning view of L.A., cherished by hotel guests but not well known until now. Over the summer, Calamaro transformed it into a “scene,” complete with thumping music and expensive cocktails.

In order to be a guest, one has to get on an advance list, hope for a call back and/or schmooze one’s way inside. You can also reserve a dinner table to ensure entry, but be ready to give it up as the night heats up. With everyone gussied up, the view around the pool looks like something from an old movie--the black-and-white images of such famous actresses as Greta Garbo and Veronica Lake enhance the setting.

While waiting in line for the bathroom, such young actresses as “Melrose Place’s” Kelly Rutherford are writing their own history. Thanks to guest deejays such as Richie Rich and Calamaro’s own ear, the music is a blend of modern-day soul, from Van Morrison to Earth, Wind & Fire, with a bit of Sinatra tossed in for good measure. Like all scenes in Hollywood, it may not be around long, but anyone who ventures there while it’s hot will remember it long after it’s gone.

BE THERE

Fenix at the Argyle Hotel, 8358 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-6609 or (323) 848-6677. 21 & over, no cover. Advance reservations are necessary.