June 26, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

Former Beverly Hills Hotel Hostess Shares Testimony, Reveals Then-General Manager’s Character

 

The hostess did not report to Human Resources for fear that she would not be believed. (Thinkstock)
The hostess did not report to Human Resources for fear that she would not be believed. (Thinkstock)

A former hostess at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge testified today that the renowned establishment’s then-general manager inappropriately touched her in the workplace numerous times, usually by walking up from behind and catching her off guard.

Wendy Giron told a Los Angeles Superior Court jury that she considered Alberto del Hoyo to have so much influence at the hotel that she never reported his alleged untoward behavior to management.

“I didn’t feel comfortable going to human resources,” Giron said. “He was the general manager and they wouldn’t believe me.”

Giron, along with one current and one former employee, sued the hotel and del Hoyo in June 2011, alleging a variety of employment violations. Del Hoyo, who retired in 2011, was the highest-ranking employee in the famed hotel, which is now owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Both the hotel and the Polo Lounge have long been famous destinations for celebrities and Hollywood power brokers.

According to Giron, she began working at the hotel’s gift shop in 2004 and within two months obtained her hostess job in the Polo Lounge. She said del Hoyo came into the Polo Lounge at various times of the day and preferred to be seated at a table once favored by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe.

Del Hoyo directed the Polo Lounge supervisor to require that hostesses wear uniforms and shoes he preferred and demanded that they also wear makeup, Giron said.

Giron said del Hoyo often approached her from behind while she was at the hostess work station and put his hands on her upper arms in a way that also caused them to brush against her upper chest. She said he also at times placed his hands on her lower back, causing them to touch her buttocks.

It wasn’t comfortable for me as a woman,” Giron said.

She said she eventually lost count of how many times del Hoyo touched her without her consent.

“It was constant throughout the time I worked there,” Giron testified. “It just got to a point where I didn’t want to think about it anymore.”

Giron said she found out that another Polo Lounge hostess, Kelly Morales, allegedly experienced the same type of touching by del Hoyo.

“We had a pact of trying to avoid him,” she said.

Asked by her lawyer, Rob Hennig, whether del Hoyo’s alleged touching reminded her of something in her past, Giron paused for nearly a minute before saying that someone had done something similar to her when she was 6 years old.

“It’s something I carry with me,” she said. “It’s not something I forget.”

Giron said her mother did not believe her account of what happened to her as a child.

Giron, a single parent of a young daughter, said she thought she would jeopardize her job if she reported del Hoyo.

“I always felt like if I complained, I could be replaced,” she said. “I had a child to support.”

Under cross-examination, Giron said she could not recall if she laughed and congratulated Morales outside the courtroom after Morales’ testimony last week. She also said she never told her former boyfriend, who also is her father’s daughter, during their 3 1/2-year cohabitation that del Hoyo was allegedly abusing her.

“We had a strained relationship from the beginning,” Giron said. “We were only together because of our child.”

Giron said she left the hotel in early 2010 and is now a full-time student.

The trial also deals with the employment claims of former director Tim Dupree and the Polo Lounge’s current sommelier, Nino O’Brien. Both allege discrimination.

Morales and the hotel settled her claims before trial.

Related Posts

Santa Monica Police Arrest Shooting Suspect After Officer Ambushed Near Downtown Mall

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Man Linked to Waymo Vehicle Gunfire Taken Into Custody Following Tense Manhunt The suspect wanted in connection with a shooting...

Brentwood Weekend Specials: $9 Wine & Street Tacos, Blush-Inspired Lattes & Beauty Swag

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Street Tacos and Wine Meets Self-Care in Brentwood and Santa Monica Brentwood Fine Wines will welcome back local culinary favorite...

Michelin Stars Shine Bright on LA: Somni West Hollywood and Providence Earn Top Honors

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Two Restaurants in Los Angeles Receive Three Stars as Michelin Guide Celebrates Bold Flavors The MICHELIN Guide California 2025 celebrated...

Cherished Culver City Ice Cream Vendor Abducted in Broad Daylight

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Ambrocio “Enrique” Lozano’s Disappearance Led To Grassroots Action Ambrocio Lozano, also known in the neighborhood as Enrique, was abducted around...

Brentwood Home by Landry Design Group Wins Top National Architecture Award

June 25, 2025

June 25, 2025

Landry Design Group Wins Gold Nugget Awards for Brentwood, Crestwood Projects Landry Design Group (LDG) earned two top honors at...

(Video) WISE & Healthy Aging Helps Loved Ones Boost Their Quality of Life

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

See How the Nonprofit’s Innovative Programs Advance the Dignity of Life for Older Adults See How the Nonprofit’s Innovative Programs...

Masked Federal Agents Detain Iranian Asylum Seeker and Wife in Westwood

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

31-Year-Old Woman was Hospitalized After Possible Medical Emergency On Tuesday, June 24, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., near the...

Los Angeles Leaders Push to Ban Masks for Federal Agents Amid Immigration Raids

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Concerns Grow Over Anonymous ICE and CBP Officers in Los Angeles   A growing coalition of California lawmakers and local leaders...

(Video) Food Fight: Chefs Join Forces to Raise Money to Protect Immigrant Families in Venice

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Estrano, Little Dynamite, Sunday Gravy, Kabob Senpai Answer the Call From Turk’s Pizza Party. Dave Turkel Put This Food Resistance...

Squatter-Plagued Beverly Grove Buildings Could Be Razed After Hazard Cleanup

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Demolition of Three Abandoned Apartments May Begin in Two Weeks Three abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove may soon be...

From Westwood to DTLA, Angelenos March Against Military Escalation in Iran

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Protestors Rally at the Westwood Federal Building This Weekend Following President Donald Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear-related...

LAPD Sergeant Killed Assisting Crash Victims on 405 Freeway in Brentwood

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Tragic Early-Morning Collision Claims Two Lives, Including Veteran Sergeant Two people, including an LAPD sergeant, were killed early Monday in...

Recent Homebuyer Down Payments Slip for First Time in Nearly Two Years

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

April’s Median Down Payment Fell as Buyers Lean Toward Lower-Cost Homes The median down payment made by U.S. homebuyers dropped...

Del Rey Affordable Housing Project to Rise on Former Charter School Site

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Community Corp., Local Faith Group Team Up to Build 122 New Apartments Plans are moving forward for a new residential...

Paris Hilton Buys Mark Wahlberg’s Beverly Park Mansion for $63.1M

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

The Heiress and Media Mogul Joins a Star-Studded Neighborhood Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum have purchased a high-profile estate...