The Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in Brentwood has been offering residents in the 90049 ZIP code an unusual, stress-free voting day experience for nearly ten years. While the hotel has been a polling place for decades, the owner, Efrem Harkham, expanded its election day experience in 2008. What does this mean? For one thing, there's no line—instead, lingering voters are offered al fresco yoga and meditation sessions, all set to "the gentle strum of live sitar players," a press release announced. Does your polling place have a press release? Didn't think so.
On top of yoga and enlightenment, there are the very L.A. features of a step and repeat (who needs a ballot selfie?) and valet parking. But the big payoff is in the hors d'oeuvres and refreshments section of the courtyard. We're told this year's menu included pastries, "lite bites," a takeout Mediterranean chicken salad, and a variety of other dishes with "a Mediterranean flare." And while you were washing down this horrific election season with some old coffee in a church basement, these guys were savoring unlimited berry and cucumber-infused water.
But you deserve a Moment of Zen, too, and these guys really delivered—click play on this strange tableau:
This year's election day programming purposefully had a relaxation theme, a rep for the hotel told us, "Every election season is different but, this year clearly it's been a very stressful election season and as a way of giving back to the neighbors, the hotel wanted to create a relaxing environment for the community to escape the noise and enjoy doing their civic duty."
Please pocket some mini quiches for the rest of us, precincts 9001354A and 9001364A, and check out the hellscape that is voting in NYC as you sip on your cucumber water.
