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Los Angeles…Pre-Cruise Getaway at the Ritz Carlton, Marina del Rey

by Arie Boris, CruiseGourmet.com Editor-in-Chief

The City of Angeles always seems just an endless freeway and the last place anyone would want to spend time. But, thanks to an utterly lovely luxury hotel located outside the main crush and an incredibly indulgent private tour company, our pre-cruise stay in this sprawling traffic jam of a city was a delight!

The Los Angeles Cruise Terminal, located in San Pedro, is really closer to downtown Long Beach. In fact, if you can manage to fly into Long Beach Airport, with its limited air service, the cab ride is less than fifteen minutes to the pier. We flew into LAX and grabbed a cab for the short ride to the Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey. There are a number of luxury hotels in Los Angeles but none quite so close to the airport and located in such a lovely setting.

Less than five miles from the airport and only a mile from Venice Beach, this lovely waterfront hotel is in Marina del Rey; home to one of the largest seaside marinas in California. With hundreds of surrounding boat slips, the view from the Ritz Carlton encompasses a sea of leisure craft, private yachts and sea gulls. The sunsets are magnificent and the Ritz Carlton can even arrange a private boat outing. The hotel’s seaside location is an appealing option to LA’s city center, yet is only five miles from Santa Monica’s high-end stores and a mere 11 miles from the fashionable shops on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills.

The hotel is simply beautiful with plush public rooms and enormous guest rooms. The executive level, also know as the “Ritz-Carlton Club”, is located on the top floors. It has a huge, beautifully decorated lounge with internet terminals, fresh flowers and magnificent views of Marina del Rey. In addition, five different times during the day, exquisite food presentations are made available to patrons…we enjoyed the sunrise with fresh berries, great coffee and delicious smoked salmon for breakfast. The hosts/hostesses were so accommodating and the floral arrangements in the club and throughout the hotel are magnificent. The Ritz-Carlton Club is one of the best executive hotel facilities I have ever experienced.

We took long walks through the marina looking at all the yachts and spent several restful hours poolside. The pool area is beautifully designed. Filled with tall swaying palms and blooming flowers of all sorts, the balmy Southern California weather makes the pool and adjoining gardens a perfect spot for wedding ceremonies, let alone some relaxed sun bathing. A well run and nicely appointed fitness center/spa even makes the option of a workout appealing. We, however, opted for a burger and fries from Wave, the poolside restaurant.

Dining at this hotel’s premier restaurant, Jer-ne, is truly memorable. The restaurant’s climate-controlled, outdoor seating offers a view of the picturesque marina. White walls with rich hardwood floors complement the interior and the custom-designed furnishings made of leather, wood and glass…creating a chic, trendy, yet comfortable, dining space.

California regional cuisine highlights the menu developed by Chef de Cuisine, Drew Sayes. “I look forward to providing a menu with fresh local ingredients in a comfortable and memorable way. I want to keep the food delicious, fun and interesting for our guests” says Sayes.

Well, he certainly understates his expertise. Our meal was, in a word, spectacular! Jer-ne’s tasting menu is diverse, creative and a great value…eight courses for only $85 per person or $125 per person with wine pairings. Mouthwatering selections like skatewing with violet mustard emulsion accompanied by a Rombauer Chardonnay, or ale poached Berkshire pork served with a Chateau Ste. Michelle Merlot and blueberry carrot walnut cake for desert were just some of what the tasting menu had to offer. The cheese course alone had selections available from California, France, Italy, Spain or England, served with an award-winning Hungarian Tokaji desert wine. A stay at this hotel, just for dinner alone, is worth coming out a day before your cruise ship departs!

The Ritz Carlton-Marina del Rey is my idea of the perfect pre or post cruise experience….for more information log onto www.ritzcarlton.com

Elite Adventure Tours

We wanted a brief tour of Hollywood and the concierge at the Ritz Carlton Marina del Rey made a great recommendation. Elite Adventure Tours has a luxury fleet of customized private vans and they design personalized tours from three hours to all day adventures.

The owner, Tony Riccio, is charming, loves dogs and has created a fleet of the most comfortable vehicles for tooling around the freeways of Los Angeles. His philosophy is to show guests what they want to see and do it in the most comfortable, personalized way.

His drivers are well versed on all the local sights and even some juicy celebrity gossip. From the snack trays, cool drinks and chilled or hot towels, this operation is lux all the way. Limited to a max of just six guests, the vans are equipped with comfy Captain’s Chairs, onboard photo lab for immediate prints from the day’s adventure and a 22” LCD screen with DVD and CD player. They really are like having an upscale, mobile living room.

Popular tours include “LA in a Day”, a Celebrity Homes Tour, and an all day wine tasting tour to Santa Barbara County’s Wine Country of “Sideways” fame, just to name a few. You can even design your own tour visiting the sites and attractions that most appeal to your group. Tony and his staff can make suggestions and you can end up seeing Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Southern California unlike any one else!

They can even arrange to have you see Hollywood with a celebrity…their most popular program is a private tour with Alison Arngrim who played nasty Nellie Oleson on the hit television series Little House on the Prairie. She adds great incite and insider gossip to the inner workings of Hollywood! For more information log onto www.eliteadventuretours.com

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