The Beverly Hills Hotel: Past and present

The Beverly Hills Hotel turns 100 years old on Saturday, May 12, 2012.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The hotel has been mythologized in the Eagles’ massive hit “Hotel California,” which captured the imperial and desperate air of celebrity.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The grounds are still covered in gardens as originally designed.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

General manager Edward Mady, left, and Beverly Hills Hotel historian Robert S. Anderson, the great-grandson of the hotel’s original owner, Margaret Anderson, is releasing a book titled “The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows: The First 100 Years.”  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Five panels in the lobby tell the history of the hotel and Beverly Hills.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The banana leaf wallpaper is a registered trademark of the hotel.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The hotel has been home to countless Hollywood film icons including Marilyn Monroe and Howard Hughes.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The $18,000-a-night Presidential Suite has it own prvate pool and three bedrooms.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Marilyn Monroe lived in bungalow 7A for several years.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The Beverly Hill Hotel outdoor pool.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)