My Snow White Moment at The Charlie Hotel
By: Jasmine Gokbilgin
Editor-in-Chief/TV Host Media Personality
As unpredictable life proves to be, it is full of surprises and just when you think you know your town, think again. Just when you think you experienced the most beautiful moment, you can be moments away from experiencing another one, it’s just a matter of being open and inviting to what Life has to bring your way. This being said it would be on a Wednesday afternoon that I welcomed a spontaneous moment into my life with a request to explore and write about the one and only Charlie Hotel. But did I really know what and where the Charlie Hotel was at? No but I loved the sound of the name and wondered for a minute how the name of Hotel Charlie came to be?
An hour later, I was quick to start the quest that began with a knock on an old renovated cottage like wooden door, and an exhilarating feeling inside that anticipated what was about to come NEXT.
What NEXT meant, was a true teletransportation into a fairy tale like land otherwise known as the Charlie Hotel and once on the other side of that Wooden Door, all sense of orientation vanished, because I had just entered into an enchanting world where I would soon unravel the stories that came with it.
Walking in I knew right away this place was one of those hidden jewels similar to the Houdini Estate you always hear exists but is only accessible should the right person point you in that direction. The kind of place you want to escape to for an eternity if that was possible. Concededly the kind of place Hollywood Legends like Marylin Monroe, Charlie Chaplan, Marlene Dietrich, Gloria Swanson lived in for years, which now is the kind of place todays’ Hollywood Elite resides in but under very low profile parameters.
And here I am, standing in the midst of a courtyard surrounded by the most charming, 17 quaintest British Bungalows that could come from a modern version of Snow White and only for the appreciative connoisseurs of the Ultimate Luxury Lifestyle to enjoy.
When I earlier described that exhilarating feeling inside, I referred to the feeling that magnified by the second as I continued to interact with the Charlie location and its colorful oasis of magical branches, enchanting wells, cob stone rocks, tweeting birds, flying hummingbirds and oh yes a wondering human or two.
As Mr. Menachem Treivush the owner welcomed me, he very hospitably walked me up the stairs of one of quaintest yet hippest 2 story apartments also known as the Valentino that I learned had been occupied by the one and only Liv Tyler recently, and that was just the beginning of the list of residents that brought great energy to the pad. This particular unit like many of the others were the type where one would plan for a one night stay but ended up making a 2 year residence. With an abundance of privacy as nature weaved itself so beautifully around each of the homes leaving each one its deserved privacy, it gave you a feeling of living in the most enchanting Getaway 24/7.
And what blew this apartment away was not only the fact that it was impeccably decorated but that the balcony terrace, which was attached to it cannot simply be described in words because this would do it no justice. Without fluffing the truth, this terrace attached to the Valentino Apartment blows any villa’s terrace in the south of France out of the water, even without the Mediterranean view. With its magical carpet of greens and blooms every element in it that made it feel cozy and inviting; between the Retro Orangina Bistro table where one could breakfast with an Expresso and a chocolate croissant to the lounge chairs where you could comfortably tan on a typical sunny Los Angelian afternoon to the wooden table where you could find yourself with a notepad or your macbook writing away the script you had put off writing for years. It would also be here where you would find yourself on an evening with a wine bottle, some tappas and some nice company lounging in the chairs, while dazing into the star filled sky pondering and questioning the meaning of life.
The craziest part is even though I spent two evenings, I felt like I had been on vacation for weeks. I can’t believe that in these two days, I was able to be so in tuned with my senses. It was like an unleash of stress that I left behind that wooden door. I invited to this apartment only good energy who embraced the moment as I did and could live and breathe the amazing energy that was floating in the air.
I highly advise any one who has the curiosity for such pleasure to find the Charlie Hotel. Once behind that wooden door, you will not want to leave. I had my Snow White moment now the question is what will your experience be?
Go to www.thecharliehotel.com or call for a private tour at (323) 988-9000 to see what I mean