rjw_lbg,tell me about the FS Newport Beach!
 

I'm back... finally a contact has come through and offered me a 2 bedroom suite in the Four Seasons Newport Beach. I'm not crazy, so I will forget about the free b'fast at the Summerfield Torrance and cancel the -holding- reservation at the Residence Inn Redondo Beach.
I just want you to tell me if this is a great hotel!

Well, you're gonna be in Newport Beach, practically at the entrance to Fashion Island (in Newport Center, an upscale business park-- it's nicer than it sounds!), so the location is good. It's high up enough that some rooms will have great ocean views. It's a Four Seasons, so the rooms will be nicely-appointed and the beds will be comfy. It has a day spa, a pool, and all the niceties of an urban resort. I think you'll like it a lot, actually.

Watch out for that Neiman-Marcus ("Needless Markup"), you know!!

I believe rjw_lbg lives in Long Beach. I think a Newport Beach resident could tell you more.

The service and the food at the 4seasons is excellent. It is an excellent area for taking walks and close enough to walk to Balboa Island.

Yes, but rjw_lbg knows sooooooooooooo much about Southern Ca! Always excellent advice!
Anyhoo, that trip has come and gone. I stayed at the Residence Inn Redondo. Yuck. Never again. But the 3 teenagers didn't care and we did have a full kitchen and a decent free b'fast.
Cheers everyone! SFO is next!

TxTravelPro knew/knows that I'm not an NB native-- but we'd been corresponding on other southern California travel she'd been doing (I'm sure she's a "she") and she just posted the question. We didn't have a lot of NB locals posting on these boards for some reason-- maybe cuz NB is so nice locals don't HAVE to travel...? :)

Your observations are very helpful to anyone planning a stay there, absolutely. Most NB natives wouldn't have stayed there, would they...?

xnyxny...unless the system is faulty, it appears you are relatively new to this board.Why do you think a NB resident would know more?I live in 90068 yet I consider myself a "local" meaning an Angelino which IMHO includes many of the surrounding communities....rjw is a complete authority, a varitible plethora of information....just because he doesn't LIVE in SouthBeach doesn't mean he can't tell you all about it,does it??Read some of posts...maybe he oughta have his own reality TV Travel Show??

Let's not gang up on xnyxny-- he/she wasn't WRONG, after all.

I'm blushing.... Unfortunately my reality travel show would be damn dull for 97%, and scandalous and untelevisable for roughly 3%!! Either way, my family would be appalled.

You kill me, rjw...
Will you tell me your profession?
I work in the travel industry and I am considered an expert in my field but man, oh, man I wish I had your destination knowledge (and writing skills, for that matter).
It just seems that you have to be close to this industry, too...
Why are you so good at this?

TxTravelPro....There was a thread a month or so ago....like, "What Do You Do for a Living?" or somethin like that...he is a Certified Financial Wizard.....go figure......

Yeah, I work in Finance. But like so many travel lovers, I have had wanderlust since I was a child. We moved around a lot, which on one level was traumatic (children like having a consistent house and group of friends) and on another level fantastic (hey, home is where your loved ones are, and in a few places we lived I was GLAD to dump the loser "friends" I had made). If I have a good eye for my surroundings, it may be due to approaching everywhere I go as a fascinated outsider. What treasure will I find today?

I know this is beginning to sound New Age-ish and stupid, but hey, when you're in a good place in your life, you can sound stupid and not care. I hope that everyone can find some little gem in their day today that they can cherish. Look for it now.

Are you looking yet...? :)