Business Travel Guide: Los Angeles, California

Casa Del Mar 1910 Ocean Way (Pico Blvd.) Santa Monica, CA 90405 310-581-5533, 800-898-6999  www.hotelcasadelmar.com

Santa Monica's landmark on the sand has become a pure jewel by the beach. Casa Del Mar has been lavishly restored to the opulent grandeur it exuded when it opened as Club Casa Del Mar in 1926, built for the then-incredible sum of $2 million. Reopened in the fall of 1999 after a $60-million renovation, the hotel features luxurious guest rooms, suites and penthouses, many of which offer private views of the beach. Freshly cut flowers, arrangements of seashells and gauzy curtains accent such lavish room amenities as state-of-the-art sound systems and white marble bathrooms complete with tubs featuring computer-programmed massaging water jets. Additionally, guests enjoy in-room chill bars, featuring bath and personal care products from Murad, sun block, gel masks, ZEN cards and more, all available for purchase. High-speed WiFi is offered in all accommodations, and ocean view suites come with iPods on request. Recreation and relaxation may be pursued in the fitness center or by the pool and garden terrace. Casa del Mar Spa is a space where life's stresses and worries melt away with the ministrations of trained aestheticians. Catch, aptly named for its menu of fresh seafood, offers fine dining and fabulous shoreline views. The bar, featuring lighter fare and the same beautiful beach scenery, is quite popular. Nine meeting facilities are available for impressive business and social events, including the dramatic Colonnade Ballroom with a beautiful loggia. Business and leisure travelers have made this place a real success story.

Four Seasons Hotel at Los Angeles, Beverly Hills 300 S. Doheny Dr. Los Angeles CA 90048 310-273-2222 www.fourseasons.com/losangeles

Located across the street from the Beverly Hills city limits, this hotel is one of the area's best, and an entertainment industry favorite. The hotel's 285 spacious rooms and suites are business-friendly without sacrificing elegance. Each features its own balcony, high-speed Internet access, a wireless-connect telephone system, videocassette and CD players, and TVs in the bedroom and bathroom. The Business Center offers state-of-the-art computer facilities, and there are a dozen event spaces to accommodate business and social functions, including a grand ballroom with Venetian crystal chandeliers and state-of-the-art technology. There is even a dedicated kosher kitchen. Guests can take advantage of the fourth-floor terrace with its outdoor pool (a prime spot to talk over a major deal), Jacuzzi spa, sundeck and tented exercise center. This is not Milwaukee, and a surprising amount of business takes place poolside, especially in the entertainment industry. In addition to 24-hour concierge service, an especially nice bonus is the complimentary limo service to Rodeo Drive.

JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles at L.A. Live 900 W. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90015 213-765-8600 www.lalivemarriott.com

Linked to the graceful tower of The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles, this is one of downtown's newest and largest hotels, with 805 rooms and 73 suites, located at the $2.5-billion L.A. Live (see Off the Clock below) mega-development. The two-tone glass-sheathed structure is a sleek tribute to modernism, and its seductive clean lines continue inside. The lobby has a soaring ceiling with massive contemporary chandeliers, while guest rooms are tastefully and fashionably appointed. All rooms—standard accommodations begin at 375 square feet but those with generous expense accounts may consider suites that exceed 1,500 square feet—are equipped with high-speed Internet access at a daily charge. A vast array of meeting rooms (40 spaces totaling more than 100,000 square feet) with wireless Internet service provides versatility for all sizes of meetings and conferences (the 25,000-square foot Diamond Ballroom accommodates more than 3,500). Meanwhile, the L.A. Convention Center and Staples Center are both steps from the hotel's front doors. A full menu of business services is offered, and this hotel bolsters L.A.'s cred as a top convention destination. Valet/dry cleaning services are provided, and for international travelers, a foreign currency exchange. The Nokia Theatre is next door, and a wide assortment of restaurants and nightclubs add to the excitement of being at L.A. Live, the epicenter of the city's downtown renaissance.

SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills 465 S. La Cienega Blvd. (San Vicente Blvd.) Los Angeles, CA 90048 310-247-0400   www.slshotels.com

The SLS at Beverly Hills is the first hotel venture of the SBE group, the folks that have already brought L.A. hot spots including Katsuya, Area, Hyde, S Bar and XIV. With Phillippe Starck once again at the design helm, they offer up the recently opened SLS, a centrally located hotel with 297 guest accommodations (both rooms and suites). With custom-designed furniture, Frette linens, high-speed Internet connectivity, MP3 sound systems, flat-screen televisions, 24-hour room service, and even 32 allergen-resistant "Pure" rooms, the SLS has considered your every need. They have even planned two lobbies, one a "Private Guest Lobby," where only those registered are allowed; the other, The Bazaar, is party central with its maze of bars, dining spaces and shopping areas, courtesy of celebrity Spanish chef José Andrés. There is dining poolside and in the seven private cabanas; and with its SBE connection, the SLS concierge will offer shuttle service the company's Los Angeles restaurants, lounges, and nightclubs. Business amenities include 24-hour business support services and more than a dozen meeting spaces from intimate board rooms to a grand ballroom. By booking here, you can take a business meeting in the afternoon and be rubbing shoulders with Lindsay and Paris at night. Hardly your staid business hotel, the SLS reflects a quintessentially L.A. sense of style that will impress your hip clients.

The Westin Los Angeles Airport 5400 W. Century Blvd. (Aviation Blvd.) Los Angeles, CA 90045 310-216-5858 www.westin.com

This corporate hotel sets standards for service and efficiency in the airport hotel genre. Enormous in size—740 rooms—and offering a generous selection of standard amenities just blocks from LAX, it's most popular with convention-goers, pilots and airline attendants crashing out until their next red-eye flight. The property features many amenities (e.g., a heated pool, a spa and a health club) usually reserved for luxury hotels far from the exhaust of taxiing 747s. Each guest room provides the signature Westin Heavenly Bed (every little bit of comfort helps this close to the runways) and high-speed Internet access. Another bonus for travelers: 24-hour room service, a business center, secretarial service and meeting facilities for up to 1,700 people.

The Getty Center
1200 Getty Center Dr.
Brentwood
310-440-7300
www.getty.edu

Far more than simply a museum, The Getty has not only become an L.A. icon but also defies the city's stereotypes. It is the kind of gathering spot rare in a city that made urban sprawl fashionable, and pulls it off in the context of world-class architecture—something more plentiful in L.A. than the city's East Coast detractors like to admit. Most importantly, the massive travertine-clad complex, designed by Richard Meier, boasts an endless collection of art that encompasses Impressionist masterpieces, Greek antiquities and a stunning collection of gilded furnishings from the height of the French monarchy. Friday and Saturday evenings, The Getty stays open into the evening, and a sunset dinner at the museum's exceptional full-service restaurant combines innovative contemporary American cuisine with awesome views of the metropolis.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-464-8111
www.chinesetheatres.com

Whether the name Chinese Theatre calls to mind the old newsreel clip of Marilyn Monroe putting her hands into wet cement amid popping flashbulbs, or the comic "I Love Lucy" sequence when Lucy gets her foot stuck in a hardening bucket of cement, chances are that you already have an image of this famous venue. Before you dismiss it as a cheesy choice of tourist attraction, consider its location adjacent to the recent-vintage Hollywood & Highland complex and the renaissance occurring throughout Hollywood.Take in a current feature in the 1,500-seat auditorium, a Hollywood relic as ornate and nostalgic as its legendary Pagoda-like façade. This stretch of Hollywood Boulevard, with its star-studded Walk of Fame and kitschy tourist attractions, is experiencing a major renaissance that’s bringing chic new clubs, hotels, restaurants and boutiques to the long-neglected neighborhood, which is now cleaner and safer than ever.

Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Gardens
1151 Oxford Rd.
San Marino
626-405-2100
www.huntington.org

The posh community of San Marino, just south of Pasadena, is home to the former estate of railroad tycoon Henry Huntington, which has become one of Southern California's most alluring attractions. Occupying 120 acres of perfectly manicured rolling hills are a series of botanical gardens featuring over 15,000 species of flora, such as the Desert Garden, Shakespeare Garden (the flavor of the English countryside), and tranquil Japanese Garden with koi-filled stream. In the midst of a three-acre rose garden is the charming Tea Room, which should be included in any Huntington experience. The Italiante estate has been converted into art galleries and a world-renowned library containing rare manuscripts and one of the earliest known Gutenberg Bibles. Gainsborough's The Blue Boy and Sir Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie are among the prized works of art lining the walls of Huntington's former mansion.b crawl. No need to book, just grab a schedule and turn up at the designated hour.

L.A. Live
800 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
www.lalive.com

Covering 27 acres in downtown Los Angeles, L.A. Live is a $2.5-billion entertainment complex dedicated to hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and sporting venues. Among its crown jewels are Staples Center — home of the L.A. Lakers and Clippers NBA teams — and the Nokia Theatre, one of the premier performing arts venues in the nation, with 7,100 seats enjoying state-of-the-art acoustics and unobstructed sightlines to the stage. Club Nokia and The Conga Room are among the nightclubs present, while Lucky Strike Lanes makes bowling totally hip. Regal Cinemas offers fourteen stadium-seating auditoriums for feature films. The Grammy Museum is dedicated to celebrating all styles of music, from hip hop to classical, and offers educational programs and performances. For dining, the constantly expanding roster of eateries includes Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, ROCKN'FISH, Katsuya, Rosa Mexicano, Flemings Prime Steakhouse, Yard House, Farm of Beverly Hills, and Trader Vic's. The 5.6 million-square foot L.A. Live is one of the largest urban developments in American history, and is the epicenter of the downtown L.A. renaissance. It makes a great starting point from which to explore the entire downtown area, which is one of the most underrated in the nation. The 2010 opening of two interconnected hotels, the JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton, provide extensive meeting facilities for business travelers.

Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Dr. & Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
www.rodeodrive-bh.com

One of the most famous streets in the world, Rodeo Drive captures the spirit of Beverly Hills past and present and is a quintessential part of the L.A. experience. Paved with cobblestones and surrounded by Italian arches and wrought iron streetlamps, Via Rodeo (the chicest section of Rodeo Drive) looks more like a film set than an authentic European village, but its world-famous boutiques—the rarefied names upon which the street's reputation was built—include Cartier, Tiffany and Valentino. While doing some shopping, or window-shopping, be sure to check out Frank Lloyd Wright's eccentric Anderton Court, a small cluster of shops designed by the renowned architect in the 1950s.

Santa Monica Pier
200 Santa Monica Pier (extension of Colorado Ave.)
Santa Monica
310-458-8901
www.santamonicapier.org

Few places capture the quintessential beach culture of L.A. like a visit to Santa Monica Pier. The beachfront surrounding the pier combines a laid-back SoCal lifestyle with an urban energy generated by the increasingly sophisticated city of Santa Monica, now filled with upscale boutiques and bistros. But while the community dips its toes in the 21st century, Santa Monica Pier offers a nostalgic look back in time. Built in 1909, it offers a small amusement park called Pacific Park, complete with games of chance and carnival rides, a small aquarium, and a vintage carousel featured in the "The Sting." Towering 130 feet and illuminated with eye-popping LED lighting, Pacific Park’s Ferris wheel is visible from up and down the coast. Now solar-powered, it has become a coastal landmark. A couple blocks off the pier is the newly renovated Santa Monica Place shopping center, whose dramatic improvements include a grand plaza with public art and open-air dining level with ocean views. And now integrated with Santa Monica Place is the Third Street Promenade, a popular pedestrian-only concourse of shops, casual eateries and movie theaters, where street performers keep visitors entertained. (Author: Roger Grody)

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