Fine Living: Drop $40,000 in LA

Downtown Los Angeles
VITAL INFORMATION Population 12,923,548
Languages spoken English
Currency USD
Average temperature Summer: 73F; winter: 58.3F
High season August to September


Everyone worth their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame loves Los
Angeles. While some holiday here between movie shoots, others make it
their permanent home. With so much surf, sand and sizzling sex appeal,
it’s easy to see why. The largest city in California, boasting a steady
all-year-round Mediterranean climate, LA has become synonymous with the
world’s filthy rich and famous.

The city’s main industry is
entertainment, meaning stars and wannabes alike gather on its stretches
of white, sandy beaches, slip under the velvet ropes at its bustling
nightspots, and lay their weary blond heads down in its many luxury
hotels and gated hillside residences. While New York is the city that
never sleeps, LA is the city that sleeps all day long -- mainly to
recover from the night before. It’s a city of relaxation, with an air
of summertime casual about it; the type of place you could live and die
in your trusty Havaiana flip-flops.

While the city does have
its poorer districts, there's also a great deal of visible wealth on
display -- just take a stroll down Rodeo Drive or Melrose Avenue.
Certainly, it’s not a difficult feat to blow your hard-earned cash in
the City of Angels, in fact, it’s almost too easy. So make like the Beckhams, and drop $40,000 in three gloriously gratuitous sun-soaked days.
Day 1: California love

Jet in to LAX airport and be met outside by a chauffeur from the Los Angeles Limousine Service Company, with your Tom Ford
sunglasses shielding your eyes from the California sunshine. Be driven
to LA’s Sunset Boulevard for $55 and arrive at The Beverly Hills Hotel
in true power-player style. Check-in to the prestigious
$4,000-per-night Presidential Bungalow -- Bungalow 5, to be precise --
and ease your jet lag with a refreshing glass of complimentary
champagne.

Make sure you’re wearing comfy shoes, and head
three blocks over to the exclusive shopping mecca of Rodeo Drive, which
was immortalized in Pretty Woman. Here you’ll find a range of suitably overpriced designer stores in which to give your Black Amex
a good grilling as you purchase everything from Armani to Gucci to
Valentino. Make an appointment to stop by 420 Rodeo Drive, where you’ll
find Bijan -- the most expensive shop in the world. Snap up a $15,000
suit before making a beeline for The Ivy restaurant on Robertson
Boulevard. Just a half-mile east of Rodeo Drive, along Wilshire, The
Ivy is known for it's celebrity clientele. With its white picket fence
and paparazzi-lined sidewalk, it’s a classic LA scene that you’ve seen
a dozen times before in countless movies. Expect to shell out no less
than $100 for a hearty American lunch; it's worth every dime if you
recognize a famous face sitting on the terrace.

Exhausted and weighed down with shopping bags, return to the Beverly
Hills Hotel for rest and relaxation at the in-house La Prairie spa.
Indulge in a $450 90-minute Tandem massage, before enjoying the
gentleman’s $180 deep-cleansing exfoliating facial. Finish up in the
hydrotherapy tub to loosen up those tense muscles before returning to
your room to change into your new suit for the glamorous night ahead.


Make your way over to Les Deux Cafe on Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood
for your first evening in LA. Favored by the likes of hard-partying
starlet Lindsay Lohan and man-about-town Leonardo DiCaprio,
you’ll certainly be in good company. Feast on a reasonably priced $22
plate of Linguine and Clams with white clam sauce, and wash it all down
with a $1,300 bottle of Grand Cuvee Magnum -- delish. Then move outside
to the European-style courtyard, and dance to the Buddha Bar-style
music that drifts from the open-air DJ booth. Don't forget to enjoy a
couple of expertly mixed cocktails while your there. Highly recommended
are the $12 Dirty Designer, made with Roberto Cavalli Vodka and olive
juice and the $12 ‘O’ Mojito, made with Oronoco Rum, mint, lime juice,
and sugar. No doubt flashing the cash will have gained you a few
friends by now, so drop $400 on a bottle of Belvedere vodka and party
with LA’s top movers and shakers until the wee hours.

Price tag: $21,531
Day 2: LA state of mind


Never one to stay in one place for too long, checkout of the Beverly
Hills Hotel and check-in to the Chateau Marmont further along Sunset
Boulevard. Arguably Hollywood’s most notorious hotel, the Chateau
Marmont is a must-visit for any LA tourist and has a selection of
lavish bungalows to blow your wad of cash on. Choose the
$3,500-per-night Penthouse Suite, which comes replete with two
bedrooms, king and queen-size beds, two bathrooms, dressing area, large
living room with a working fireplace, fully equipped kitchen, formal
dining room, and a 1,500-square-foot terrace overlooking Hollywood.
Nothing could possibly be more LA than this.

Spend your morning at a basketball game in downtown LA. Snag yourself some $2,200 courtside tickets to see the Los Angeles Lakers
at the Staples Center, and watch those slam dunks from up close. You’ll
want a hot dog and a soda at halftime, so fork out another $10 at one
of the arena’s overpriced food stands.

All that
adrenaline-pumping sports action will have made you hungry, so head
west of Hollywood Boulevard to Melrose Avenue. Have a well-deserved
break by lunching at Mauro’s Cafe & Ristorante inside the achingly
trendy Fred Segal store, now owned by Ron Herman. Despite what the Olsen twins
would have you believe, this ivy-covered bungalow is made up of a
number of designer boutiques, and is pleasantly unpretentious. Grab a
quick bite to eat -- possibly a $22 plate of angel hair pasta -- before
doing a little after-lunch shopping. Pick up something from LA’s hottest fashion labels
for that special someone in your life, such as a $250 pair of Chip
& Pepper jeans and a $170 C&C California sundress. After buying
a few items for her, you won’t feel so guilty about what you bought for
yourself on day one.

After an afternoon of shopping, you'll be
ready to refuel once again, so dine at the Japanese eatery Koi on the
corner of Melrose on La Cienega Boulevard. Order a starter of sushi --
preferably Californian rolls -- and cleanse your palette with a couple
of glasses of sake. Follow up with a main course of Kobe Filet Mignon
Toban-Yaki, and thank executive chef Stephane Chevet very, very much
for his culinary brilliance. Cough up $150 for your tab and say goodbye
to fellow diners George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez on the way out.


After a tiring day, make your way back to your hotel, and have a
nightcap at the Bar Marmont. The $15 Millionaire Cocktail should slip
down the gullet nicely asyou chat with the likes of Orlando Bloom and Scarlett Johansson
before turning in for the night. If you can’t sleep because of all the
noise, blame Lindsay Lohan. She digs this place and practically lives
in the penthouse across the hall.

Price tag: $6,317

Santa Monica beach, LA
Day 3: Sweet dreams my LAX

Escape from the city center on your last day in LA by hiring an $1,800-per-day Bentley Continental GT
from Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car and head to the coast. Check-in to the
Shutters Hotel On The Beach in the swanky manicured beach community of
Santa Monica, and make the valet green with envy as he parks the car he
thinks you own. Splurge $3,762.25 for a night in the 1,350-square-foot
Presidential Suite, with a panoramic ocean view, marble bathroom,
32-inch plasma TV, Jacuzzi tub, floor-to-ceiling windows, and the
all-important step-out balcony.

Before you do anything, press
the Hopes and Dreams button on your suite’s telephone. For a small fee,
the hotel will schedule a number of activities to fill up your morning,
from a ride on a beach cruiser to having your fortune read on Venice
Beach. After that, take a five-minute walk to Santa Monica Pier and
ride the Ferris wheel and carousel at Pacific Park. Before you leave,
pay a visit to the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. It may not make too much
of a dent in your budget at $5 a pop, but it’s a must-see attraction
nevertheless.

Travel a couple of miles -- on a pair of
$15-per-day rented inline skates from Perry’s, if you must -- to Venice
Beach. Spend the remainder of your afternoon sprawled across its
luscious white sands and crisp up with the best of them with the help
of Malibu suntan oil. Watch bleached LA babes and steroid-pumped Muscle
Marys frolic precociously in the surf as you have a $10 scampi lunch
and sip cocktails from Chez Jay -- a favorite watering hole of Drew Barrymore and Sean Penn.


Have your last supper (at least in LA) at The Lobster Fine Seafood
Restaurant. One of the only restaurants in Santa Monica to overlook the
Pacific Ocean, you’ll find -- unsurprisingly -- shellfish featured
heavily on the menu. Start with steamed mussels and Manila clams with
applewood smoked bacon and roasted tomatoes, and follow with the Maine
lobster with asparagus, roasted potatoes and drawn butter. Expect the
check to be a little under $200. Take a saunter along the promenade
back to your hotel and imagine you’re a character in the OC. It truly doesn’t get any better than this.

Price tag: $5,792.25

Total three-day price tag: $33,640.25
tips for the trip

• As
  is the norm for most American cities, it is customary to tip waiters,
  taxi drivers and hairdressers between 15% and 20%. Porters, bellboys
  and valets will expect between $1 and $2 tips per piece of luggage/car
  they aide you with.
  
• Try to avoid traveling on the freeway
  between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. as
  millions of commuters use the freeway to travel to and from work. You
  do not want to be stuck in an LA traffic jam.
  
• To really get a feel for LA, check out the local paper the Los Angeles TImes or the LA Weekly to discover all the local events and news to keep you up to date and in the know.
  

have fun in the sun


While burning cash in LA is hardly difficult, your $40,000 three-day
spending spree would have done even the worst credit card abusers
proud. From now on, every movie scene that features LA will remind you
of your time here, and now you’ve become a part of that. While some are
quick to label LA as materialistic, superficial and shallow, it is
undeniably gorgeous and something of a living, breathing icon. Indeed,
LA is one of the most photographed stars in the world today and is
always ready for its close-up.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org
www.thebeverlyhillshotel.com
www.seeing-stars.com
www.chateaumarmont.com
www.tripadvisor.com
www.koirestaurant.com
www.bhrentacar.com
www.shuttersonthebeach.com
www.thelobster.com