Hello All!
So much has been going on, on this end that I have had barely any time to write about properties and even my travels!
2 weeks ago, Labor Day Weekend, I went to LA with my usual travel crew, Steph and Tracy. None of us can stay in one place for too long. We are always moving and traveling wherever we can go and have the time. So after a month of not going anywhere (at least on my end) and having an extra weekend day over Labor Day, we decided to do a little trip to LA.
I wanted to find a hotel that would be fun for us and by the beach. Immediately, I looked into Santa Monica. From there I had to narrow hotels. This was especially difficult as, not only am I very indecisive, there were so many great hotels to choose from. Oceana Beach Hotel? The Huntley? Loews? Well, I went for none of those, I decided on the Viceroy Santa Monica.
As it turns out, I could not have picked a better option for us. It is perfectly located and has a trendy bar downstairs. Technically, if we did not want to go far at night and into West Hollywood, we could stay at our hotel and not have to worry about taking a $50 cab ride back (which we did one night and actually was not that bad)!
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| Viceroy City/Pool View Room |
As soon as we pulled up to the Viceroy, late at night, the hotel greeted us, took our luggage, and parked our car. It was quite busy in the lobby, as it was a Friday night. We had a long long night of traveling (all 3 of us had delayed flights) and didn't get in until 10:30 (we were supposed to be in at 8:30). LAX airport is a disaster, but eventually we made it to our car rental and onto the hotel. We got upstairs to our city/pool view room (entry level) and could not be more happy. They already had the extra bed made up, which was not anything like those crappy rollaways you get at some other hotels.
Steph and I decided to check out the hotel bar. The bar is a very cool atmosphere. It cleared out pretty quickly as we didn't realize how late it actually was, but we had a glass of wine and some very late dinner. We checked out the pool, which is surrounded by people at night and you can also rent out the cabanas for dinner.
The following day, we hit the beach! It is literally right across the street. We first ate brunch at Cora's Coffee Shoppe, which was on the way to the beach and it was delicious! (They had great grapefruit juice)!
Walking to the beach was one of the highlights of the trip. Living in Houston now, it always feels great to be on a nice beach, that is definitely not Galveston. In Santa Monica there are tons of people, but the beach is so large that you do not realize how many people there are. There is a surfing side and a swimming side. I will say the only reason why I like Miami beaches more than Cali beaches is because the water is so much warmer in the Atlantic. Everyone who was swimming were in wetsuites. That is not my kind of swimming atmosphere.
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| Our first wheatgrass shot.. Thank you, Steph.. |
After getting major ADD from just sitting on the beach, we decided to shop! Shocking, right? We decided on Melrose for the day. Melrose is slightly over rated, but we felt being in LA it was a must. We went into DASH, the Kardashian store, and yes this is slightly embarrassing, mostly because it was my idea.
STK was for dinner, and as always, was amazing. There was a group of 8 of us that included a few of my friends I went to college with (Go Wildcats!). We went out in West Hollywood, and shockingly, it was easy to find a cab to bring us back to Santa Monica. Keep in mind that it does cost around $50.
Sunday, we woke up way too late for our own good. Took our time to get ready and head out to brunch...or lunch...or even an early dinner by that time. We made our way to the Getty Museum. We thought we should get some culture in us as well. This was absolutely stunning! I would never imagine going to a museum while in LA, but it really did have great views and was something different. You could really spend a whole day there admiring the art and scenery. There are plenty of gardens to walk through, so wear semi-comfortable shoes. You can always relax on the grass or grab a couple (and by couple I mean a few) glasses of wine and people watch. Unfortunately, we got up there too late and were not able to explore as much as we would've. It gets chilly later in the afternoon!
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| View from Getty Museum |
I, myself, have never really loved LA. Everytime I visit, I wish I lived there. The weather is phenomenal, but what it boils down to is that the traffic is just AWFUL. We drove back from Beverly Hills area to Santa Monica around 5:30-6, and just to make a left turn took us 30 minutes. I'm a New Yorker, I'm used to traffic, but at least we have other transportation and aggressive drivers that can actually step on the gas to make the car go when the light turns green.
I really enjoyed my time in LA this time around. Yes, the traffic is horrible, and yes, you see a plastic surgeon office on every block, but it really has some beautiful surroundings (and great shopping). I loved staying at the Viceroy and being near the beach. I loved the food (I finally felt healthy for a change as Texas is not a healthy state) and I loved being able to park the car and walk around the area without worrying about the humidity + 100 degree weather.
Depending on what you plan on doing in LA, I highly recommend staying in Santa Monica. It had the beach, shopping, great food, and it is easy to get anywhere from there (just leave yourself a lot of time). We went into Beverly Hills and West Hollywood every day and night for dinner, and didn't think anything of it. I will definitely go back to LA. Seeing old friends and the fact that it is just a short plane ride away, makes it very doable for a weekend.
What will I do when I am there next? I have a short list, 1 of them being a VIP behind the Scenes tour of Warner Brothers Studios! Until then..
Stay tuned for property of the week!
-Mar
Photos by: Maren Silberstein, Stephanie Schwartz, Tracy Glesby
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