Highs at Loews

Only a big stretch of sand stands between you and the sea at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, where the mouth-dropping bi-level lobby extends beyond the scattering of conversational fire pits to the great outdoors. Inside, lanky palms reach toward the ceiling, while a huge poolside hot tub beckons year-round. Other benefits of the beauteous Loews include an ambitious staff, ocean-view rooms, a pet-friendly policy, and an alluring lobby-side restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows and its own fire pit for yet another unobstructed view of the majestic Pacific.

1700 Ocean Ave.
310-458-6700
www.loewshotels.com

A Nice Vice

With its 18-foot check-in desk, the reception area of the Viceroy Santa Monica demonstrates just how grand yet stylish this ultimate urban retreat directly across from the Pacific can be. The same is true of the dramatic lobby, which welcomes you to put up your feet on a white leather chaise, a row of which face each other for easy conversation. Outside, two plunge pools afford twice the opportunity to catch some rays, while several cabanas offer shade in the same scenic location. Other awesome amenities at this unique boutique hotel: luxurious in-room spa treatments (including a complete Red Carpet makeover) and the sizzling Cameo Bar, a mid-century modern fantasyland for fun libations and the chance to make the scene with local partiers, visiting celebrities, and your fellow hotel guests.

1819 Ocean Ave.
310-260-7500
www.viceroysantamonica.com

Come on Down!

A favorite of Price Is Right hopefuls, given that CBS Television City is right across the street (as is such other tourist favorites as Farmers Market and The Grove outdoor shopping mall), unconfirmed legend holds that the TV show’s longtime host Bob Barker was the one who built this hotel. The Beverly Center, a veritable Shangri-La for shoppers is also nearby, and the Farmer’s Daughter has recently undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation – growing from just a modest hideaway motel into a modern-day home-away-from-home with tongue-in-cheek rural details. Where else does one find a denim bedspread — and, yes, the price is right.
115 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles
800-334-1658
www.farmersdaughterhotel.com

Find Your Zen

It’s telling that downtown Los Angeles’s Japanese district is called “Little Tokyo,” for it is nearly as cramped and vertical as its namesake original. But there is an escape – really, an escape within an escape. The new, 21-story Kyoto Grand Hotel & Gardens boasts a “Garden in the Sky,” with cascading waterfalls, soothing ponds and scenic flora amid its bamboo-shaded alcoves. Situated on a third-story terrace, this eye-pleasing half-acre also features an on-site spa that provides shiatsu massage and facial treatments. The hotel itself offers business-friendly guestrooms with work desks, 3 multi-line phones, laptop-compatible safes, complimentary weekday newspapers and high-speed Internet access, for when you’re not in the garden.
120 South Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles
888-354-0831
www.kyotograndhotel.com

Eternal Beauty

Every grande dame can use a little touch-up, and the iconic Millenium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles is no exception. Over its 85 years, this Beaux-Arts wonderland has enjoyed many an overhaul, emerging each time as the showplace it is (listed as an Historical Cultural Landmark). The glam lobby is a great place to start. Formerly the hotel’s Music Room, this massive space — with its ornate marble fountain and intricate inlaid carpet — was the scene for fashionable tea dances in the 1930s. Fifty years later it served as the backdrop for the Ghostbusters movies. And today, this is still a great place for a good night’s rest.
506 South Grand Ave.
213-624-1011
www.millenniumhotels.com

Golf and Gulf

Just add water, and play. Once a favorite desert hideaway for the likes of Bob Hope, and Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the luxurious Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa has, after a more than 60-year history, added a pair of 100-ft. waterslides, pool and sandy beach, a lazy river, and tot-sized fountains and sprinklers – and calls those two acres Splashtopia. Still available to the adults while the kids get wet: the spa, as well as golf and tennis.
41-000 Bob Hope Dr., Rancho Mirage
866-423-1195
www.rancholaspalmas.com

Pacific Package

With most of its 18 stories serving up views of Santa Monica harbor, The Huntley has it all: location, luxury lodging, spa and restaurant, to say nothing of a recent $18-million renovation, which also included the Presidential Suite (available for $1,800 a night). The New York Times calls this “a destination hot spot.” Rooms with a Pacific vista go for under $300, which includes spa access. (Among those who’ve accessed it: Sarah Jessica Parker.) Zingy cocktails are available in the Penthouse restaurant, which also offers four-star stargazing. The secret is to arrive early (say, 6-ish), when you won’t need a dinner reservation.
1111 2nd St., Santa Monica
310-394-5454
www.thehuntleyhotel.com

Hotel of the Stars

Nestled among the lights, cameras and action of Universal City, “hotel of the stars” Sheraton Universal offers accommodations as close to Hollywood as one can get without joining the Screen Actors Guild. The Sheraton is a frequent filming locale for TV’s Desperate Housewives, among other shows and movies, and don’t be surprised to find Tom Hanks or Dolly Parton using it as a work-week home base. In the works: a total hotel makeover, with deep discounts available in the meantime. Our favorite: the buy-two-nights-get-one-free offer through the hotel’s Web site (see below). There’s also a complimentary shuttle to the Universal Studios theme park.
333 Universal Hollywood Dr., Universal City
818-980-1212
www.sheratonuniversal.com

Counting Sheep

Little Bo Peep would feel right at home. Those facing layovers at LAX can get that cozy feeling at the nearby and new Custom Hotel, where the lobby offers sheep-shaped stools to rest yourself after a long flight. Equally out of the ordinary are the tube socks, neon-pink tape and model airplanes in the mini-bar. In addition to its hip quirks, this boutique hotel offers a good night’s sleep at affordable rates (starting at a $149-a-night Park & Fly special) with a sweet view of the L.A. skyline. Best of all, you and your flock baa-rely have to leave the airport. And it’s pet-friendly.

8639 Lincoln Blvd., Los Angeles
310-645-0400
www.customhotel.com