The Langham Huntington, in Pasadena
Back in January, and shortly before flying to Indonesia, I hopped in the car for a final road-trip to Los Angeles. Normally, I’d couch surf, but this time decided to combo the trip with writing a review of the Pasadena’s palatial Langham Huntington hotel. I last time I was in Pasadena was for the Tournament of Roses parade back in 2006 or 2007, when my then-client, the unstoppable eco-entrepreneur Gerald Prolman (now spearheading a fascinating carbon credit / conservation initiative at Wildlife Works), was trying to ramp up awareness of the eco-floral industry by creating the world’s first parade float made exclusively with organically-grown roses. Anyway, one incredibly warm morning, as I wandered (shirtless, getting a tan) past mansions replete with faux-marble columns, perfectly manicured lawns and gated driveways protecting late model Porches and Mercedes, I was musing what would happen in this incredibly pretentious community if a homeless person had the bad fortune of accidentally stumbling into this Twilight Zone. At that precise moment, some badass in a new BWM convertible drives by and, with a voice rich with disdain and contempt, screams at me: “Hey, put a shirt on!” As for the hotel – with a parking lot filled with black Rolls Royces and serving as the set for Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 – not really my taste, but they are making sincere efforts to ‘green’, led by Steve, their chief engineering, a down-to-earth guy working hard to make a difference.
