bb993tt

The BH Peninsula will make you a hero. I guarantee it.

zschicago

+1 on the Beverly Wilshire. Sit outside and enjoy the view. The lunch is one the best Ive ever had. If you like Chardonnay get the Franks family. Cut is one of the best restaurants in LA with plenty of celebrities (if you enjoy that kind of thing). Walk up and down Rodeo. It a great central location. Santa Monica is only 20 minutes.

TheBen

How about the (famous) Beverly Hills Hotel? I go there for breakfast quite a bit at the weekends at the coffeeshop downstairs too.

http://www.beverlyhillshotel.com/

jes999

We stay at the Montage Beverly Hills. Service is great, walking distance to everything and getting driven around in one of the Maybach "House Cars" is pretty fun.

The Peninsula and Beverly Wilshire are also good choices. Beverly Hills Hotel is nice but is not really walking distance to anything.

This is a pretty good agency to use for BH stays. They offer some nice upgrades. Look at teh website and give them a call (no affiliation, etc.).

Magellan Travel Agency

TargaMatt

You guys are awesome; a sincere thanks so much!! I took my son away to a swim meet this weekend, and hadn't looked back at this thread until this morning, and there are two pages of great suggestions!! Think I've narrowed it to the Peninsula or Wilshire, going to call this am (have to see if they have any deals on for Canadians )

When I was there for my conference, I had a rented car, and did the drive a few of you suggested out Sunset to Santa Monica, etc, and it was wonderful. I wasn't sure if we were going to bother with a car or not, but it sounds like that will be a key part of the trip. I'm thinking it should be a convertible . . . have to find someone that rents convertibles other than Sebrings and Mustangs!! It's funny, when I was there last, we were walking along Sunset and there was an 'exotic' car rental . . . sitting front and center was an Arctic Silver 993 Targa, just like mine, I had to laugh! Would Friday or Saturday be better to do the drive around? I'm guessing Saturday would be better for traffic.

Thanks again guys, muchly appreciated. If anyone EVER needs advice for my stomping grounds (see pics), I'm more than happy to help!

Nice view!



The runs are steep



Your kids will like it too!



But it will be nice to get away from this for a few days...

Vorsicht

+1 on the Beverly Wilshire. I stayed there a while back. Not cheap but centrally located. Also, +1 on the Getty Museum if you like that kind of thing. The best museum, IMHO, Is the Getty's little brother: The Getty Villa - lots of ancient greek and roman artifacts, statues, etc.. The building itself is beautiful:

17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Agoura Hills-Malibu, CA (310) 440-7300

Make sure you make an advance reservation. Entry to the museum is free for all but you pay for parking ($15) and must have a reservation to get in. If the day you plan to go is sold out you can go online _the morning of the day you want to go_ and check again (they release tickets everyday).

Have fun. Link below for tickets:

http://tickets.getty.edu/loader.asp?....asp?shcode=15

dcdude

This place is known for nice cars. Right at the airport: http://www.bhrentacar.com/lax-airport.htm

A few parting shots of Terranea, just to complicate your decision. The bad news is that it's not Beverly Hills. The good news is that it's not Beverly Hills: That's Catalina Island in the background of the second shot. An excellent day trip.

TargaMatt

Chuck - I just checked out that rental agency you listed. It looks great, thanks!! I CAN'T believe they have a rental Veyron . . . I think I'll have to pass on that one. The $25,000/day is a little rich for me... Lots of great exotics/ sports/ convertibles to pick from though, will be fun.

I looked at Terranea, looks amazing . . . think that will be first on our list for our next trip. We'll definitely do some coastal cruising, though. Maybe the Jag 'vert . . . will be comfortable

simoncpj

The Getty Villa is a must do. We go there a few times a year and our way is to make a reservation for 1130-12, show up and do lunch on the patio of their cafe with a bottle of Prosecco (pretty good food and an amazing view). You can then peruse the current show they have there and see what you want to focus on.

Another place worth a visit if you want quiet and to see an amazing garden and some books you cannot see anywhere else (Guttenburg Bible, first folios of Shakespeare, original printing of Canterbury Tales) is the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena. If you eat in Pasadena afterward, The Raymond is great and Parkway Grill does a very cool whole catfish.

I live in Pasadena and these are my two favorite "tourist" things in LA. Most of the other stuff is annoying to me (I don't like lots of people around). Would definitely agree to do the beach or up here to stay unless you want to look at a bunch of faux starlets running around with small dogs in purses.