I’ve stayed in many, many hotels in the last 15 years but the novelty still hasn’t worn off. Well, maybe not including the Premier Inn, but generally I love staying in hotels.
One of the great things about our recent holiday was the variety of different hotels we stayed in. When we landed in LA we stayed the Hotel Wilshire.
Not the famous one, but a new Kimpton hotel on Wilshire Boulevard. The hotel had a lovely rooftop pool, where you could have breakfast or cocktails. It was also next door to a fun sports bar (cheaper cocktails) and in walking distance the The Grove (good shopping). I definitely noticed that there were more people walking in LA than any other time I’ve been there, and more cabs on the street, so it seems like people are looking for other ways to get around the city than just driving.
We came back to the Hotel Wilshire for one night before flying back home at the end of the holiday – I’d definitely recommend it, though the wifi wasn’t free, which was a pain.
At Laguna Beach we stayed at a completely different style of hotel. We were in the Casa del Camino for a one night flying visit. It was OK, but the rooms were dark and the property was a bit tired. Nice rooftop bar again, but the biggest advantage was location – Laguna Beach is lovely and the hotel is right on the beach and not far from nice restaurants. I suspect there are nicer places to stay in the area for the same money, but it was fine for one night.
La Valencia in La Jolla came next.
The hotel is pretty in pink and is the grand old lady of La Jolla, occupying prime position on the seafront. Our room was amazing. We’d booked the sea view deluxe room and it didn’t let us down on either count. Overlooking the pool and facing the ocean, the room was huge, one of the nicest rooms I’ve ever stayed in. Breakfast was fab, wifi was included and the location was perfect, right in the middle of La Jolla with its fantastic shops and restaurants. Special mention to The Crab Catcher, for great food and one of the best cocktails of the holiday!
La Jolla is teeming with wildlife, we saw lots of different birds, and loads of sea lions on the rocks and in the water. The top spot was a shoal (?) of dolphins cavorting in the bay, and apparently we had missed two grey whales by a couple of hours. I’d love to have seen those.
I’d definitely recommend La Jolla for a few days. We stayed three nights and loved it all.
After a sedate drive through the desert we arrived in Las Vegas and checked into New York New York. Oh dear! What a dreadful hotel. We’d booked a suite, which was dark, dingy and tired. It had no wardrobes, a bathroom that appeared to be as old as the hotel and the choice of restaurants was abysmal. From our room we could see the pool, and even that looked dire. It was a massive let down after La Valencia. We’d booked the room because the rates are very reasonable (ie, cheap), thinking we wouldn’t be spending much time in it, but after one night we decided to check out and move the the hotel across the road, The Aria.
What a difference! The Aria is amazing. New, modern and sleek. The rooms feel like boutique done at scale. The Lobby Bar (our favourite) had great service and the best Old Fashioned in the hotel. There were 4 pools, 7 restaurants and lots of bars to choose from. The food was good everywhere and it didn’t feel like a rip off at any point. Free wifi, free valet parking and free drinks while playing the machines meant you really felt like you’d got value for money. It’s not cheap, but neither is it the most expensive, but for us it was perfect for us. I didn’t want to leave – so much so we stayed for an extra night than we’d planned to!
I can’t speak highly enough of The Aria. It was everything a hotel should be, and more. And the bonus was we even won on the slot machines!
After tearing ourselves away from Vegas we only had one night left before heading back to LA, so we took a lovely, scenic drive through the Mojave Desert to Palm Springs. The Rendezvous in Palm Springs was the perfect place to spend the penultimate night, before heading back to Los Angeles. Old school hollywood glamour, apparently Marilyn Monroe stayed here in the ’50’s, mixed with great hospitality (especially happy hour) and the best breakfast of the holiday. The hotel is low-rise and all the rooms are based around the pool. Each room was themed, we were in the ‘TV Shows’ room, which was lovely.
I’d like to have spent more time in every location, but all too soon the two weeks were up and we were back at The Wilshire getting ready to fly home. Can’t wait to go back!
Photos: all images are from the hotel websites.