Guys,

I am travelling to the US at the end of August to get married and for a holiday and would be really grateful for some hotel advice as I am unsure of where are the best areas to stay.

This is my plan:

Arrive -
Friday 8/27 - Hotel 4*

Saturday 8/28 - Hotel 4*
Beverly Hill's (am)
Hollywood (am)
Rodeo Drive - Lunch & Shopping (pm)
Night - Sunset Boulevard

Need a good hotel in a nice area, central to Rodeo etc that allows me to get to the above places with minimal driving / hassle.

Sunday 8/29 Venetian
Drive to Vegas

Monday 8/30 Venetian
Las Vegas

Tuesday 8/31 Venetian
Las Vegas - Wedding

Wednesday 9/1 Venetian
Las Vegas

Thursday 2/9 Hotel? (Yosemite Valley)
Drive to Yosemite (9hrs

Friday 3/9 Hotel? (Yosemite Valley)
Yosemite - Horses & Tour

Need a good hotel or lodge right in the middle of the park, not bothered if its a hotel or a small lodge / log cabin.

Saturday 9/5 Hotel 4* (Fisherman's Wharf or North Beach)
Drive to San Francisco
Union Sq
Night - Pier 39

Just need a nice hotel and a good fish restaurant and a good chinese restaurant

Sunday 9/5 Hotel 4* (Fisherman's Wharf or North Beach)
Alcatraz
Golden Gate
Coit Tower
Chinatown

Monday 9/6 Hotel ?? (Somewhere on Highway 1 between SF and LA)

Somewhere pretty and romantic with a good restaurant overlooking the ocean

Tuesday 9/7 Hotel 4* (Santa Monica - On beach with pool)
Arrive Santa Monica
Night - ? need ideas!

Wednesday 9/8 Hotel 4* (Santa Monica - On beach with pool)
Universal Studios (am)
Venice Beach (pm)
Night - ? need ideas!

Thursday 9/9 Hotel 4* (Santa Monica - On beach with pool)
Drive (am) - Santa Monica - Mullholland - Malibu (lunch) and beach
Shopping (pm) - Santa Monica
Night - Pack & last minute stuff

Friday 9/10
bye bye USA


Hope thats enough information! I have booked the flights and the Venetian in Vegas already but everything else still needs to be booked.

How much should we expect to pay for a fully insured convertible for 2 weeks?

Will it be easy for us to get a 'free' room upgrade if we are getting married? Should be slip them a $50 tip to help the process

Thanks in for advance for any help, can't wait

 

I'm afraid I can't help with the details, as I live on the East coast, but I can tell you that we got upgrades in every hotel without even asking when we were on our honeymoon.
I was all prepared to ask for an upgrade, but every time we checked they just told us they were giving us an upgraded room.

The Pan Pacific in Vancouver gave us a beautiful harbor view room, and the Westin Grand gave us a suite.
The Chateau Lake Louise gave us a nice lake view room.
The Rimrock in Banff gave us a free suite.

So basically, save your money. I tipped the concierge $20 for getting us a nice discount on some day trips in Vancouver and Victoria Island, but that was about it.

When renting a car, make sure you can drive it out of the state in which you rented it, if you plan on doing that. Some companies will limit you to California if that's where you rent the car (such as www.enterprise.com).
www.hertz.com lists a Mustang convertible for $360 a week, assuming you're flying into LAX.

Also, note that if you rent with Gold/Platinum credit cards, you may have all the insurance coverage you need.
Make sure you get unlimited mileage - you don't want any surprises.

Most convertible rentals are either 4-cylinder Mustangs or Chrysler Sebrings. I rented a Sebring in Texas and found it pretty nice.

Try this forum for more vacation info: http://www.virtualtourist.com/f/4fd/

Good luck!
Dave

 

Thanks for the info, most appreciated

Come on you west coast lot, I know theres loads of you out there

 

You can post this in the So Cal forum and Frisco forum. That would be the best way to get info expecially since those are the 2 main areas.

Have you decided where youre getting married at in Vegas? Sounds like a nice vacation:thumbsup: Lucky woman!!

 

Can't help you out with LA or Vegas, but I did do Northern Cal. last year... We got an upgrade to a mustang convertible and the trunk is TINY. We had to put one piece of luggage in the trunk and smashed the other in the back seat. It was a huge pain in the ass.

Buy your Alcatraz tickets ahead of time: http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/html/alcat...ng_service.html If you wait to purchase them at the dock, you will likely find out they are sold out for the day and perhaps even the next day.

There are lots of homeless / beggars in downtown SF especially where the tourists like to walk. You may bump into 2 or 3 per block in the Union Square and Fisherman's wharf area. Not a big deal, just be prepared.

If you want to ride the cable cars, do it early or late. The lines down at Fisherman's Wharf can be insanely long.

The Golden Gate is pretty cool - consider going across the bridge and up into the Marin Headlands for a better view. Most of photos you see of the Golden Gate are taken from there. It is a zoo on weekends though, especially since there is limited parking.

Dave

 

I'll post for help in teh SF forum and So Cal forums for you linking them here

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Quik S2K
You can post this in the So Cal forum and Frisco forum.

 

First off... Congratulations!

When my wife and I stay in the city (S.F.) for a weekend getaway, we usually stay at the Hyatt Fishermans Wharf.http://fishermanswharf.hyatt.com/property/index.jhtml

It's within walking distance to the Cannery, Ghirardelli square, North Beach, Fishermans Wharf, Pier 39, and the Hyde st/ Powell st cable car. This cable car will take you to Union Square.

On the main floor of the hotel is Knuckles Historical Sports Bar. Good food, Great service, lots of beer!

Check it out, we like it.

 

Hi
i am an english girl with an S2K living in SF so bring this to you from the perspective of an Old Blightarian.
the hotels in Fishermans wharf /North Beach arent really swanky 4 star stylee.

If i were you I might try the W hotel in SF downtown (only 10 mins in a cab from anywhere central in SF, inc Fishermans Wharf)
Its a chain hotel but the boutique variety- but its really cool/modern/classy and it has a couple of cool bars too. the furniture is modern and trendy, and the beds have the most amazing sheets and pillows.
I suggest it because you dont get W's in Europe - but I think they should expand out there.
They are young, funky, stylish and fun.

Remember - SF is only 7x7 miles big, so its quick to get anywhere in the city, esp if you are going to the areas mainly for tourists - which are mostly in a 4x4 mile area.
the only touristy places 7 miles away are ocean beach and golden gate park which you prob wont want to visit on such a short trip

For seafood - if you want fancy you could try Farallon which has amazing jelly fish lamps hanging from the ceiling and excellent food, or Ozumo for good sushi. there are literally so many good restauants in SF so...

check out www.Zagat.com san francisco in order to do more research into local restauraunts.
you can search there according to food type and or area and other criteria.

the person who said you have to book in advance for alcatraz was right - so make sure you dont forget or you will be disappointed.


As for between SF and LA - i havent been there but always wanted to go to this fancy place:
http://bacararesort.com/
its just north of Santa Barbara which is a nice place to stop at,
this is the place JLo and that Affleck geezer were at one point rumoured to be getting married at


hope that helps:

sam