While every other hotel group has been scrambling to launch twee eco sub-brands, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, in conjunction with L.A. nightlife hotshots SBE, has been plotting in the direction of megaluxe. And so, this winter, Beverly Hills will see the launch of the SLS Hotel -- the first of a new lineup of ultra-chic lairs. With interiors by Philippe Starck, the SLS will be awash in boutique-y hotel trappings (sleek furnishings, designer minibars and a futuristic gym), but with 297 distinctly posh sleeping quarters, it will more likely be luring guests away from the Peninsula than from hipster magnets like the Standard.

The SLS is arguably more about contemporary elegance than theatricality, but still features plenty of over-the-top places to see and be seen. D.C.’s superstar Spanish chef José Andrés will oversee the hotel’s decadent culinary piazza, which will offer a patisserie and a sexy tapas bar; there will also be an on-site Moss design shop. And in a neat little twist, the original Starck interiors of new-generation L.A. hotel the Mondrian have just been given a post-millennium makeover by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz. Unlike the recent stylistic massacre that went down at the Royalton, Ortiz instead imbues Starck’s minimal palette with a few doses of playful color: blues and purples in the lobby, orange in the bar and striking red accents in the sleeping quarters. Rooms also get sustainable bamboo floors and grandiose framed mirrors. The Penthouse Suite goes for baroque, with a palette of antique gold and bronze and flamboyant crystal chandeliers. And as for the Skybar, well ... you probably still can’t get in.