 The extensive gardens , covering 12 acres ( 4 @.@ 9 ha ) , were designed by landscape architect Wilbur David Cook . They contain bougainvillea , banana plants , hibiscus and other tropical flora . Svend Petersen , the Danish @-@ American pool manager at the hotel for forty @-@ two years , became a Hotel Ambassador in 2002 . He had notably opened up the pool after hours for The Beatles and taught Faye Dunaway to swim a 1940s freestyle crawl for her appearance in the film Mommie Dearest . 
