An Easy Turn-Down
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When it comes to saying nighty-night to their treasured guests, local hotels fall into two bitterly divided camps: anti and pro-chocolate. Here’s what’s being set out on pillows and night stands around town.
Anti-Chocolate
Shutters on the Beach
Pocket booklet of bedtime stories
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Ritz-Carlton Huntington
“We try to do something that is a little against the tradition of hotel amenities. It’s a talking point.”
--Klaus Mennekes, general manager
* Beverly Hills Hotel
Home-baked cookies, “Pink Palace Memories” (note cards featuring historical anecdotes), Evian and, for youngsters, a stuffed bear wearing a hotel T-shirt.
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“It has been a custom in the industry to put chocolates for so many years. We know that in the morning, most chocolates go back.”
--Alberto del Hoyo, general manager
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Hotel Sofitel Los Angeles
Long-stemmed red rose, Evian, card with weather forecast
“[The rose] is one of the French touches of our hotel company in North America. Chocolate is not healthy, and it’s pretty boring.”--Eric Buitenhuis, manager
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Peninsula Beverly Hills
Evian
“Sixty to 70% of the body consists of water. Everyone loves water . . . You can’t go wrong with water. No one’s diet excludes water.”--Ali Kasikci, general manager
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Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel
Absolutely nothing
“We do not put a mint or chocolate on the pillow because the chairman of the company [Isadore Sharp] thinks the worst thing you can do is give a person a chocolate before bedtime, for health and teeth reasons.”
--Peter O’Colmain, general manager
Pro-Chocolate
Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa
Milk chocolate squares, historical cards (featuring an aspect of hotel history)
“It’s a wonderful milk chocolate, quite tasty . . . I don’t eat too, too many because if I did, I’d be 400 pounds.”
--Ralph Grippo, general manager
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Disneyland Hotel
Mickey Mouse milk chocolate coins
“I think when people come to the Disneyland
Hotel, they have an expectation that they will have a Disney experience. We are further enhancing the Disney brand essence.”
--Rod Schinnerer, general manager
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Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
Ghiradelli chocolate squares
“Some people use Godiva. We think Ghiradelli tastes very good. It’s sweeter than others.”
--Michael Slosser, managing director
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Malibu Beach Inn
Chocolate-covered mint sticks
“We find ourselves a unique hotel on the beach, and we wanted to find a unique mint to reflect the uniqueness of our hotel.”
--Brent Smith, assistant general manager
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Westin Bonaventure Hotel
Godiva chocolates
