benvoliet

I'm looking for ideas of a city 3-day weekend get-away with 3-6 single and married females for my 30th birthday in October.
-I live in DC and would be planning with friends from Boston as well.
-I'd like to go to a place with a vibrant night life as well as some culture/walkable daytime activities (can include anything from music/shows, historic downtown, or beach, wineries, etc) to have fun at night, take it easy during the day with laid-back exploring.
-Budget of ~$500/per guest (I may try to foot the housing bill separately for the group if feasible, possibly find a house/apt to rent?).
-Have enjoyed New Orleans, Vegas, NYC, Austin in the past (all are still on the list-though don't know if Vegas is worth a repeat?). Considering Miami, Napa, CA and Charlottesville,VA (the last two for the wineries, not so sure about their nightlife).

Any other suggestions? Comments on my current list?

Thank you so much for any suggestions/comments! Trip planning is half the fun!

tomfuller

How about San Francisco for the nightlife with a bus tour to Napa or Sonoma? http://www.allsanfranciscotours.com/...ge=TourDetails
Enjoy yourselves wherever you choose to go!

cmcfong

I just did a similar trip with friends to Portland, Oregon. We do these trips annually and one thing I have learned is that the Kimpton chain is ideally suited to this purpose. They have properties in Santa Barbara, San Diego, Seattle, Miami and LaJolla (and many more cities), all of which fit your criteria. Take a look at their website.

jamie99

Santa Barbara is great that time of year, and there are many wineries nearby in the Santa Ynez Valley, has beaches, good dining and plenty of places to see plays, etc. Closest airport with good prices would be LAX (Santa Barbara has an airport, but flights are limited and expensive). Hopefully you will have a rental car. Also near Santa Barbara is Solvang, a Danish village.

jent103

Chicago would fit your criteria, I think, though not as warm as the other destinations. cmcfong's comment about Kimpton properties made me think of it - I did a girls' trip there last Labor Day, and we got the Hotel Monaco on Hotwire.

benvoliet

Thanks so much for the suggestions! Great ideas, now for some more research.
I did just visit family in Santa Barbara, and will be heading to Chicago this summer for a conference-very excited to combine it with visiting a friend. jent103 - any particular favorites there?

jent103

Oh, great! I've been several times and really like it. I usually use Hotwire for hotels, though your work might be taking care of that. In no particular order, my favorites so far have been the Art Institute, Second City and the Second City walking tour of Old Town, the CAF architecture cruise, Lou Malnati's, Xoco, Bobby's Bike Hikes, and obviously Garrett's popcorn. There are tons of threads here about Chicago for inspiration!