The Best Hotels in Bilbao, Northern Spain's Cultural Capital
The airy lobby is dominated by the towering Fossil Cypress, an 85-foot column of rolled stone designed by Marisco that awkwardly soars up to the seventh (and top) floor. Speaking of the summit, it's The Artist's rooftop bar—imaginatively titled The Rooftop—that's perhaps most impressive here. While the view of the Guggenheim is obviously the star, the eye is also drawn to the lush hills and the distant hillside neighborhoods of Bilbao's extraordinary cityscape. Soak up the panorama with Idiazabal cheese, Iberico ham, and a glass of fruit-forward Rioja Crianza. Quality downstairs restaurant Olio and secret lobby cocktail bar Sixty One 61 form a fine gastronomic triumvirate.
The hotel boasts 145 rooms, most of which exude a warm palette with bright midcentury lounging chairs but are thankfully restrained on the art, which is left to the public spaces. The sublime 861-square-foot penthouse comes with its own private terrace facing the museum. And to unwind, the oak-wood Turkish bath and sauna are perfect escapes from an admittedly tourist-heavy corner of Bilbao.
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Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
The 10 best moments from Shakira's show at SoFi Stadium
After a tour postponement, a canceled festival appearance and a show called off at the last minute, Shakira finally made it to Inglewood's SoFi Stadium this week on a world tour behind 2024's 'Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran.' The album, which examines Shakira's breakup with the Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué, was the latest in a decades-long series of hits for the 48-year-old pop star from Colombia; here she played to two capacity crowds peppered with folks wearing fuzzy wolf ears inspired by her old song 'She Wolf.' My colleague Sergio Burstein covered Monday night's concert en español, but I ventured to SoFi for Shakira's second performance on Tuesday. Here are 10 highlights from the gig: 1. It's been a big summer for the walk-out video. Like Morgan Wallen and Drake before her, Shakira made opening the show a production unto itself, with a camera following her from behind the scenes, pro-boxer-style, as she snaked through the audience in futuristic shades and a silver jumpsuit to take her place onstage. 2. Flanked by the members of a co-ed dance crew, Shakira moved through plenty of choreography Tuesday night, none more memorably than the very convincing robot she did during a mash-up of 'Las de la Intuición' and 'Estoy Aquí.' 3. OK, one equally memorable bit of movement: using the arms, legs and backs of several male dancers as a living stationary bike in 'La Bicicleta.' 4. As singles from Shakira's 'Oral Fixation, Vol. 2' LP, 'Don't Bother' was easily overshadowed 20 years ago by the chart-topping juggernaut that was 'Hips Don't Lie.' At SoFi, though, I much preferred the former, which she sang while jabbing at a sparkly pink electric guitar and which sounded like Courtney Love fronting Josie and the Pussycats. 5. Shakira performed 2009's 'Men in This Town' for what appears to be the first time ever on Monday — the result of a fan campaign on social media that urged her to haul out the song about the sorry state of dating in L.A. ('I went to look / From the Skybar to the Standard / Nothing took,' goes one brutal lyric.) She did the song again Tuesday in a bedazzled Dodgers cap as a pair of video screens showed images of Matt Damon, whom she name-checks in the tune as one Angeleno not meant for her. 6. For a salsa-fied version of 'Chantaje,' cameras followed Shakira back to her dressing room, where she sang — live or prerecorded, it was hard to tell — through a costume change and a bit of hair zhuzhing before she reemerged onstage. It's a clever set piece, which might be why Lady Gaga has a similar one in the Mayhem Ball tour she brought to the Kia Forum last week. 7. Shakira's strongest vocal probably came in 'Última,' a stark piano ballad she's said will be the last song she ever writes about Piqué. (The song is 'a cyst,' she told the New York Times, that required removal from her body.) Here she sang it while standing in a glittering mermaid gown that seemed to make it impossible for her to move — some kind of metaphor for the gilded cage of a celebrity romance. 8. Fuzzy, jangly, lightly contemptuous: 'Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos' is truly one of the great '90s rock songs. 9. Before closing the show with 'Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,' her Latin Grammy-winning 2023 collaboration with the Argentine producer Bizarrap, Shakira reached back to start her encore with 'She Wolf,' which when you think about it is a pretty unlikely hit to have endured for a decade and a half: a creeping disco-rock thumper about lycanthropy — 'Darling, it is no joke / This is lycanthropy,' she sings — that's somehow become an anthem of self-empowerment. Indie sleaze lives. 10. Speaking of throwbacks, the Black Eyed Peas opened Tuesday's concert with a tidy run through some of their fondly remembered late-'00s stadium-rave jams, including 'I Gotta Feeling,' which introduced with a little speech about the band's love of L.A.'s Latino community. Said the guy known for his indefatigably cheerful music: 'F— ICE.'
Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
They snagged an L.A. dream rental with parking and nice neighbors — then made it better
When Natalie Babcock and Samuel Gibson found a listing for a sunny apartment in Beachwood Canyon five years ago, they immediately fell for the two bedroom's charming built-in bookshelves, faux fireplace, hardwood floors and formal dining room. Practical amenities such as an in-unit laundry and a garage, which are often elusive in Los Angeles rentals, didn't hurt. Today, however, the couple says they are most impressed by the sense of belonging they have found in the community just outside their 1928 Spanish fourplex. Here, where tourists and brides in wedding gowns often pose for photographs in the middle of the street in an effort to capture the Hollywood sign in the background, Babcock and Gibson have become part of a larger family. 'Everyone knows our dogs' names,' says Babcock, a 35-year-old educator working in the adolescent mental health field. 'There is a true community vibe in this neighborhood.' Adds Gibson, a 38-year-old screenwriter and Spanish professor and tutor from London: 'I've never lived in a place that felt like a neighborhood. We're in a message group with our neighbors. Sometimes our dog walks take forever because we stop every few minutes to say hello to someone.' The couple was living in a charming apartment in Los Feliz when Gibson had to return to England to care for his mother, who had pancreatic cancer. Compounding their distress, Babcock's father suffered a stroke, and Babcock moved in with her parents to help her sister, Eve, care for their father. 'It was the worst year of our lives,' Babcock recalls of that period. 'Sam's mother died, and my father had a catastrophic stroke.' Their Los Feliz apartment was filled with bad memories, and they were excited by the prospect of creating happier memories in a new apartment. After scouring countless rentals online, the couple found a listing for the Hollywood apartment on Zillow, only to encounter what they now describe as 'a feeding frenzy' when they arrived at the open house. The apartment, they say, was priced too low at $2,995 compared with similar units, and they were faced with fierce competition. So they decided to do what many people do when trying to persuade sellers to choose them to buy their house. They wrote a letter about themselves, included photos and sent it to their potential new landlord. 'Eve and I were in a panic because the apartment was so beautiful and we really wanted to live there,' says Babcock. 'The three of us were an unconventional group, though, and we hoped they might choose us.' When they moved into the apartment in February 2020, they were thrilled, not realizing they would end up isolating there together during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'The apartment was a welcome reset,' Babcock says, 'It gave us plenty of time to nest and decorate.' A year later, Eve moved out, and Gibson converted her bedroom into an art-filled office that now doubles as a guest room when family and friends visit. The key to a comfortable — and flexible — guest bed, they say, is a durable mattress topper from IKEA, which they store in the garage and carry into the apartment when they have overnight guests. 'Blow-up mattresses always deflate,' Babcock says of their choice. 'This is a better option.' The couple's taste is vibrant, and the colorful interiors reflect their sense of fun and love of design. They painted one wall in Samuel's office a dramatic Kelly green, which makes the white-trimmed windows and his extensive art collection pop. Behind their bed in their bedroom, they painted an accent wall a charcoal hue, which gives the bedroom a peaceful feel. 'Paint is your friend,' Babcock says. 'Be bold in your color choices, and when it comes to DIY and landlords, ask for forgiveness, not permission.' A glance around the apartment confirms not just their love of art but also the personal stories behind each piece: framed prints in the kitchen, black-and-white photographs in the dining room, large-scale oil paintings in the living room and hallway, and mixed-media pieces in the office, including works from local artists, EBay, Gibson's sister and even one found on the street. Mixed in with the artwork is an abundance of lush houseplants, including Monstera deliciosa, a rubber tree and a ponytail palm, that is thriving thanks to the surplus of bright, indirect light that filters in through the large picture windows overlooking bustling Beachwood Drive. 'Art is one thing that I am always happy to spend money on,' Gibson says. Last year, Gibson painted the kitchen walls blue and installed peel-and-stick floor tiles from WallPops over the dated yellow linoleum flooring, providing an inexpensive, albeit temporary, update. (One package of a dozen 6.2 x 6.2-inch sheets costs $17.99.) 'It wasn't the hardest project,' Gibson says, 'but you do have to measure each tile to the centimeter because the apartment has moved slightly over the years, presumably from earthquakes.' Throughout the 1,200-square-foot apartment, the couple has decorated with vintage Midcentury furniture and thrifted furnishings and accessories sourced from Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. 'There's something nice about scraping together designs,' says Gibson. 'It's like a puzzle where you have to patch different styles together.' In the living room, the couple has furnished the space with an L-shaped Bensen sofa, which they purchased at a warehouse sale mentioned on Craigslist, comfortable yellow swivel chairs they picked up from the back of someone's car in downtown L.A. and a pair of leather loungers they found on Facebook Marketplace. To accommodate their love of hosting formal dinner parties, they purchased a table that seats eight, which they found on Craigslist. 'We found it in a grungy flat in Hollywood,' Gibson says. Admitting her husband 'has become the primary household chef,' Babcock takes the lead when it comes to dinner parties and 'goes all out.' 'I grew up around the dining-room table,' says Babcock, a Los Angeles native who was raised in West Los Angeles. In the corner of their dining room, across from a thrifted wooden bar cart, they installed a stone cigar table inspired by their trip to Casa Luis Barragán in Mexico City. They purchased it from a designer who was living in a loft in downtown Los Angeles. Ultimately, some of their rental's decor, such as having washable sofa covers, is influenced by their dogs Chili, whom they rescued as a puppy in 2020, and Peaches, their 'foster fail,' whom they adopted in 2023 after a neighbor pulled her from a shelter the day she was scheduled to be euthanized. 'We've made great friends here,' says Gibson. 'From our apartment, we can walk the dogs in every direction. We can walk to the Hollywood Reservoir in the Hollywood Hills, to the caves in Bronson Canyon, to the Sunset Ranch stables at the top of Beachwood Drive, or to Griffith Park, which is a two-hour loop.' Do they ever dream of owning a home like other couples their age? 'Yes, of course,' Gibson says. 'But I think we would truly never leave this apartment unless we could buy a house with a yard. It's like London, in that, having a yard is a luxury.' Babcock agrees, admitting that small things such as an outdoor space for the dogs or a second bathroom would be nice. But it would be a shame 'to buy a house that's not as nice as this,' Gibson says. In the meantime, they are happy in their Hollywood Hills home, which reflects their love of art and their deep affection for their sweet-natured four-legged friends and their neighborhood. 'We joke that we will die here,' Babcock adds, laughing.
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Mario Lopez's former LA home lists for $5.59M
Mario Lopez may have moved on to a bigger home in La Cañada Flintridge, California, but the Spanish Revival estate he left behind is ready for another close-up. His historic 1929 property in Glendale, California, originally built by armored car inventor Peter Damm and affectionately dubbed 'Lorelei,' is back on the market asking $5.59 million — nearly two years after the 'Access Hollywood' heartthrob sold it for $4.55 million, The Post has learned. The 7,711-square-foot villa was the first home ever added to Glendale's historic registry. 14 Lopez bought the property in 2010 for $1.94 million. WireImage 14 Known as 'Lorelei,' the home occupies 7,711 square feet. Wayne Ford 14 The Spanish Revival estate was the first property added to Glendale's historic registry. Wayne Ford With eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, the home boasts wraparound views spanning from downtown LA to the Pacific Ocean. Lopez, best known for his role as A.C. Slater on 'Saved by the Bell,' purchased the property in 2010 for $1.94 million. 14 It offers sweeping views from downtown LA to the Pacific Ocean. Wayne Ford 14 Lopez sold it in 2023 for $4.55 million after renovating the interiors, and adding a resort-style pool and outdoor entertaining area. Wayne Ford 14 The estate features a wine cellar, a gym, a guesthouse and cabana with a chef's kitchen. Wayne Ford During his tenure, he reimagined the interiors, installed a resort-style pool and gave the outdoor entertaining areas a glow-up. Though he initially listed the home for $6.5 million, it ultimately sold below asking in 2023 to East Coast retail entrepreneurs Pam and Marc Salkovitz, according to public records. Now, the couple is hoping to flip the script. Perched at 330 Kempton Road, the compound is a study in Spanish grandeur: think terra-cotta tile, arched windows, wrought-iron gates and a gated courtyard anchored by hand-painted fountains. 14 The home is eligible for tax savings under the Mills Act. Wayne Ford 14 The kitchen. Wayne Ford 14 The breakfast nook. Wayne Ford 14 A living space. Wayne Ford Inside, the home unfolds with dark hardwood floors, exposed wood beams and curated gathering spaces, including a formal living room bathed in natural light, a dining room framed by intricate ironwork, and a chef's kitchen with dual islands and a breakfast nook. The primary suite offers panoramic city and mountain views, a dedicated office or nursery — and a spa bathroom with a soaking tub, an oversized rain shower and a walk-in closet. The real star, though, might be the tiered backyard. It's got a cabana with a full commercial-style kitchen, a beer tap and outdoor heaters, plus a zero-edge pool, a bocce court, secluded dining terraces and even a storybook-style playhouse. As an added bonus, the property qualifies for Mills Act tax incentives due to its historic designation. 14 One of eight bedrooms. Wayne Ford 14 One of 11 bathrooms. Wayne Ford 14 The outdoor loggia. Wayne Ford 14 Lopez lived in the home for 13 years before parting ways with it. Wayne Ford 'This property is a full lifestyle experience and design, where historic Spanish architecture meets modern luxury. Every detail has been thoughtfully curated to elevate everyday living,' Nancy Gerber of Compass, who is co-listing the property with Craig Strong, told The Post. Lopez now lives in a $9.3 million estate in nearby La Cañada — this one clocking in at over 9,200 square feet with a game room, a theater and another pool.
