Life in Shangri-La - People

Pool & Spa News, Jan 10, 2003 by Tim Conway

Clad in his standard all-white shorts and Polo shirt, Svend Petersen stands near the pool entrance at the Beverly Hills Hotel and welcomes two guests as if they were Hollywood's hottest stars.

"Sun or shade?" the 71-year-old Petersen asks with the same smile he's used for 43 years as manager of the Pool and Cabana Club at the swanky California hotel.

Petersen has reason to smile. He's seen practically everyone who's anyone in show business come through the pool area at one time or another, from Barbra Streisand to Katherine Hepburn. He taught Faye Dunaway how to swim for her Academy Award-winning role in "Mommy Dearest." And he was at the competition-size pool when the Beatles took a private dip after adorning full disguises and sneaking into the hotel via the back pool entrance.

While Petersen's mental scrapbook is overflowing with stories--most he wouldn't dare repeat--he has a visual reminder of his time at the hotel: A display case has been installed in the corridor, honoring Petersen for his service. The exhibit documents his years at the hotel and the changes in the pool area itself, which once included a beach area and diving boards.

"It's almost been like a fairy tale," Petersen says, sitting in one of the hotel's famous, peach-colored cabanas at poolside. Basking in the sun for four decades amid some of the world's most famous people is beyond what Petersen could have dreamed of as a boy swimming amid floating trash in the frigid harbors of his native Denmark.

Or is it? Petersen came to the United States with aspirations of becoming an actor--and he quickly tasted success. While working as a lifeguard at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Petersen landed a role in the Paul Newman film "The Prize." He also snagged several gigs in soap operas and commercials. The work, though, was inconsistent and the time came when the hotel made him choose between film or hotel work.

He's not disappointed with the way things turned out. His job allows him to combine both of his dreams: He's in the show biz capital of the world, and he spends his days in and around water.

Petersen may have spent decades at the same job, but he hasn't become complacent. He's constantly looking for new ways to make guests happier. A few years ago, he introduced the concept of frozen towels. On a sweltering summer day, guests love to unfold the crunchy towels like cardboard and cover their bodies for instant relief from the heat.

"Beverly Hills is something different," he says. "That's the real world out there. I always call this Shangri-La. You stay young forever here."

He just might be right. Judging from the ever-present gleam in his steely blue eyes, he has no intention of throwing in the towel just yet.