USA Today - Weekend | November 9, 2001

CLASSIC CLIFT HOTEL REGISTERS WITH STARS

By Kelly Carter

SAN FRANCISCO - Corbin Bernsen and his wife, actress Amanda Pays, recently walked through the great arched doorway at the Clift Hotel with their four children, checked out what would be their surroundings for the next few days and had the same fleeting thought.

"It was rocking," says the former LA. Law star. "We thought for a moment, 'Oh, no, what did we bring the kids for?'"

Hotel king 's latest venture has turned into a magnet for visiting celebs and notable San Franciscans since reopening after a $40 million renovation in July. The draw is not just the venerable hotel, but its restaurant, Asia de Cuba, and upscale lounge, the Redwood Room.

Spotted in the bar: Sean Penn, Alicia Keys, Jason Biggs, Russell Crowe and band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, Ron Reagan Jr. and Elliot Gould. During Madonna's stop in the Bay Area on her Drowned World tour, her backup singer Nikki Harris and dancers cut loose in the room.

Stars who have picked up room keys include Edward Furlong, Woody Allen, Smash Mouth, Goran Visnijic and Vendela. Don and Kelly Johnson, Naomi Campbell and Danny Glover have dined at the hotel's restaurant, which opens onto the Redwood Room.

In an initial burst of star power, the opening party drew Elizabeth Hurley, Rosanna Arquette, Kyle MacLachlan and locals Rita Moreno and Danielle Steel.

"We try to do edgy, original and sophisticated things, and that appeals to a certain kind of sensibility," Schrager says in explaining why his property attracts stars.

The hotel, located in the theater district, has been around since 1913 and used to be the spot. Now it's hip again.

"People want to have nighttime entertainment that is more cerebral and more talkative and more civilized and not so mindless the way it was in the'70s when I was in another nightclub business," says Schrager, who owned New York's famous Studio 54 and Palladium discos. "It's a different time, and the Clift is perfect to have this balanced interaction between a glamorous eating place plus a bar. It becomes this new, modern, glamorous version of a supper club."

Those who frequented Studio 54, such as Bernsen, are pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face: Former bouncer Mark Benecke now manages the Redwood Room.

Bernsen also used to stay at the Clift back before the renovation. When he walked into the hotel last month, he says, he "was blown away. It's like a classic great hotel with great service. (The Redwood Room) was hopping."

The legendary Redwood Room, which dates to 1933, now features a glass bar and flat screen televisions with ever-changing digital art mounted around the room. But it still has its trademark redwood walls.

Count Campbell among fans of the art deco bar, with its rich reddish brown tones.

"I love the warm, cozy feeling," the supermodel says.