What do you think for New Yorkers:
One night Santa Monica
Two nights LA (Beverly Hills, Hollywood vicinity)
Three nights Palm Springs?
Hotel and restaurant suggestions welcome too. Looking for romantic, relaxing, fun getaway. We like more unique, non-chain type places.
We are planning on visiting the Getty (I loved it on past visit), Huntington Gardens, and shopping, spa, cruising in convertible. Suggestions welcome.

ttt

I'd do two nights each area. PS is lovely, but if you're going to hop around, I wouldn't spend half the time there; unless you're planning on lots of golf and/or pool time, you can do PS in two days.

In Santa Monica, I'd choose either the Fairmont Miramar or Shutters. Both are lovely, romantic, with high levels of service. However, Shutters is quite pricey-- even more so than the Miramar.

In the BH/West Hollywood area, the Standard is fun and trendy, as is the Avalon (in a commercial/residential neighborhood called Beverlywood). I've heard Le Meridien is quite nice as well.

In PS, aw heck, stay at the Wyndham! It's quite nice, close to town, great pools! Good pools will be essential, as temperatures can hover into the 100s during the day (anytime after mid-May).

Wow, we are planning almost the exact same trip and are also from NY: two days in Santa MOnica, three in Palm Springs and two in W. Hollywood.. Can't wait!!

Just two comments:

1. I have never known the temperature in the BH/Hollywood area to regularly "hover around 100" and I've lived here for over 15 years. The Valley gets that hot and it CAN go over 100 on this side of the hill but it's hardly a regular thing.

2. I don't know if you've been to PS before. It's important to realize that one of the great things about PS is that there is virtually NOTHING to do. A classic day in PS involves getting up late, breakfasting by the pool, lying by the pool, going inside for a nap, then deciding where to go to dinner and going.

Extreme vacationers might add a round of golf and/or one trip to the Cabazon Outlet mall for shopping.

So if you're planning to "do" PS, you might be better off not going at all. But if you're looking for a couple of days of being a lizard, it is perfect.

(Oh, by the way, there is one amazing thing to do in PS that lots of people never do, which is to go out to the Indian Canyons. These are canyons in the hills next to PS which are owned by the local Indian tribes and which are beautiful, lush oases in the desert, full of palm trees and running water. They can be kind of a hike to get in or out of but they are well worth the trip.

When you visit the Huntington Library and Gardens, I recommend stopping by Old Town Pasadena or the new Paseo Colorado (both located on Colorado Blvd.) to grab a bite to eat and maybe shop. I love this Brazillian/Italian restaurant in Old Town. Can't recall the name but it's east of Fair Oaks on the North side of the street. If the menu isn't too your liking, there are many restaurants to choose from. There is also a spa Burke Williams located in the area. It's wonderful! www.burkewilliamsspa.com

If you are interested in Museums, definitely stop by the Norton Simon Museum (also on Colorado Blvd.) Great small museum with Van Gogh, Degas, Rodin..

Thanks for feedback!
busterla: how far out are those Indian Canyons? Sounds interesting.
Thinking that maybe 2 Santa Monica, 2 LA and 2 PS now.
Any word on St. Regis in LA? Seems to have best deal. Had been thinking of Avalon, but some of the posts put us off. Also any word on Sunset Marquis and Marmont?
raven, how far to Old Town Pasedena and how long would you suggest for Gardens? Could we do the Simon museum the same day?

busterla, just to defend my intelligence: I know temps in BH don't get over 100 often (well, ever).... Look carefully, I was referring to Palm Springs (abbreviation "PS")-- and I think I'm on pretty solid ground to say that temps CAN get into the 100s out there once in a while (say, during the day from late May to early September). Don't you agree...?

Rather than S. Monica for one night and LA for two, save time and money and stay in Malibu. Easy drive via PCH into LA e.g., using Sunset Blvd. or 10) - and you'll be by the beach. BTW, Fodors for LA is excellent!!!

I really think Malibu is not a particularly practical choice for a vacation if they want to see stuff in LA proper. One big accident on PCH and the day's plans are hosed. Plus, lodging choices are very limited and a bit pricey up there, aren't they? At least in the city itself. And it's not really a town set up for tourists-- beautiful, but pretty insulated. You pay a lot for the privacy that a Malibu address affords you.

Hi travelers,
The St. Regis used to be the Century Plaza Towers. It's located in Century City. It's where Pres. Reagan used to stay while he was Pres.. It's located in a fabulous area, next to the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa (they are hooked together by an underground walkway).

Having said that, Century City is about 10 to 12 minutes from Santa Monica, so I'm not sure you'd want to move from one hotel to another. Kind of like spending two days in mid-town Manhattan and two days in up-town Manhattan, if you know what I mean.

I don't know your budget, but if price wasn't a consideration, for non-chain I'd be thinking about the Hotel Bel Air, and I agree that Shutters would be a good place, or Hotel Oceana.

As for restaurants, what interests you, in atmosphere and price range? Type of crowd?

I wrote this big long response to you last night and apparently the computer ate it. Oh well,

The gist of it was as follows:

1. St. Regis is a great hotel. It's midway between Santa Monica and Hollywood, so you might consider spending all your LA time there, unless you really wanted to be next to the sea in Santa Monica.

2. Another thing you might consider is 3 nights at the St. Regis and then the last night in Pasadena at, say, the Ritz-Carlton Pasadena which is one of those great old early twentieth century grand hotels. This might make a day in Pasadena somewhat less frenetic.

3. In Pasadena, the Huntington and the Norton Simon don't open until noon, I think. "Olde Town" is a pleasant set of restored old stores (not far from the Norton Simon) but, while there is some character, there's also the standard The Gap, Restoration Hardware, Border's, etc. There are many fine restaurants, I particularly recommend Twin Palms (which is on a side street) or Clearwater Cafe.

The Huntington is technically in San Marino. It's a lovely neighborhood, but you want to have good directions, as it's easy to get lost in the winding streets.

Another thing worth looking at in Pasadena, especially if you love architecture, is the Gamble House. This was built by the architect brothers Greene & Greene, whose houses in Pasadena constitute one of the great existing groups of American Arts & Crafts architecture. The Gamble House (built for the Gamble of Proctor & Gamble as a winter house) is one of their best and is open to the public.

The Gamble House makes an interesting contrast to the house in the Huntington Gardens, which was built about the same time, but is as different as night and day.

You should leave at least 2 hours for the Huntington, more if you are a botany lover. There are vast gardens, along with a museum and the main house, full of art.

So, if you move to Pasadena in the morning and spend the afternoon touring, you're day may be less crazed and you're about 45 minutes closer to Palm Springs the next morning.

4. The Indian Canyons are not far, they are, I think, within the City of Palm Springs. There are brochures for the Indian Canyons in every hotel lobby, so it should be easy to find.

Basically, you drive down Palm Canyon Dr./Rte 110. As you get to the end of Palm Springs the road takes a major left turn. You don't. You stay on the smaller road continuing off Palm Canyon and in a couple of miles there should be signs directing you to the Indian Canyons. When you get to the reservation, someone takes your money at a tin hut, and then you drive several miles more before you get there.

sorry rjw, I didn't notice you were referring to PS

Thank you to all who replied. Very helpful. We are looking forward to our visit!