California Road-Trip
The SkyCouch on Air New Zealand was the best invention ever! Three seats that turned into a bed in economy, oh my god this was an amazing idea! Worth every penny! The cuddle strap that allows you to sleep on a made up bed with fluffy pillows and light duvet and not have to sit up through turbulence!
Car hire companies are not at the airport and require a courtesy coach which can take up to 40 minutes due to the traffic through the airport. I upgraded and paid for a Mustang, what a dream that was! Worth every penny. Whilst in California you must rent a Mustang! The dream!
The hotels were great and hosts amazing. We were met in the Loews Hollywood that surprised me but everywhere else the hosts were fantastic and honestly couldn't do anymore. They made sure we had their contact details and that they would look after our guests if we emailed or called ahead. My favourite in Hollywood was W hotel - worth every penny. I didn't realise how close the Walk of Fame, Chinese theatre/Kodak was!
Our roof down and away we went to Santa Barbara - a stunning place with a great hotel, Harbour View on the beach. We stayed a couple of nights here and we tried out the bars/restaurants/discos and more! We also hired bikes which was the highlight of those two nights - great fun!
We travelled to Santa Monica and stopped off at Paradise Cove in Malibu for a few selfies, a great celeb house-hunting opportunity.
I absolutely loved Santa Monica where we stayed at the Le Meridian Delfim and wish it was longer - one night was too short! This is where the real California is and it lived up to its dreams. We did a site inspection of The Loews and it was excellent in so many ways. I have clients that stay in Shutters on the Beach and took a nosey in there and it was amazing - a great 5* hotel on the beach.
The hotels here were amazing and in a great location. Also they now have a Metro that you can link up with Hollywood so you can stay here longer and have a day trip.
Santa Monica is where I got to get my photo in the same bar as a programme I watched – Goliath, and I was in my element. I just wish more people knew as I am sure they must have thought I had gone mad!
En route to Palm Springs we diverted and I took my Mustang top down and went to Rodeo Drive for a couple of hours to take in retail therapy and the famous Cupcake ATM. If I am honest Palm Springs was a lot bigger than I expected, with great hotels/resorts and good golf facilities. Lots of lovely restaurants and shopping. They have a great mountain range which overlooks the whole city with impressive views.
Los Angeles airport is very busy and I do recommend you check in at least 3-4 hours before as the security at this airport is especially keen.
California Dreamin!