Los Angeles
A city of distances, where Beverly Hills, Bel Air, West Hollywood and Santa Monica each keep their own hotels and tables, and a driver is part of every plan. Studios, private collections and houses open by appointment, and the coast and the canyons are a short drive away.
32 recommendations in six sections and Happening.
Happening
What is on in Los Angeles in the coming weeks
The few events worth an evening this month, soonest first.
6 October, Tue Oct 6, 2026 8pmWalt Disney Concert Hall
Lang Lang
A solo recital by Lang Lang at Walt Disney Concert Hall, one night only, in the LA Phil's Colburn Celebrity Recital series.
17 October to 7 NovemberDorothy Chandler Pavilion
Carmen
LA Opera opens its 2026/27 season with a new production of Bizet's Carmen, conducted by its new Music Director Domingo Hindoyan.
Stay
The best hotel suites in Los Angeles
The room, not the hotel: in each hotel that matters, the suite to ask for.
The Beach House Suite at Shutters on the Beach
The largest suite at Shutters on the Beach, about 1,300 sq ft on the top floor of the Beach House, the hotel's building on the sand, with two fireplaces and balconies over the Pacific.
The Penthouse Suite at Sunset Tower Hotel
A top-floor apartment of about 2,000 sq ft in the 1929 Art Deco Sunset Tower, with wraparound planted terraces over the Hollywood Hills and downtown Los Angeles.
The Penthouse Suites at Hotel Casa del Mar
Three two-level suites of about 1,500 sq ft that take the whole top floor of Hotel Casa del Mar, a 1926 beach club on the sand in Santa Monica, facing the Pacific.
The Presidential Penthouse Suite at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
The largest suite in the hotel: 3,215 sq ft on the penthouse floor, with a 1,459 sq ft terrace, a dining room, a kitchen, a media room and its own spa treatment room.
The Presidential Suite at The Maybourne Beverly Hills
A rooftop suite of 2,025 sq ft at The Maybourne Beverly Hills, with a terrace the length of the suite, a baby grand piano, a dining room and a study.
Dine
Private dining rooms in Los Angeles
The table and the room: private rooms, chef's counters, and whom to ask.
The counter at Hayato
A seven-seat counter in ROW DTLA where Brandon Hayato Go serves a kaiseki dinner to one seating of seven a night.
The private cellar room at Somni
A private room for up to six beside the wine cellar at Somni in West Hollywood, serving the full tasting menu of more than 20 courses, with the room kept for one party all evening.
Kato
Jon Yao's Taiwanese tasting-menu restaurant at The Row in the Arts District, holding two Michelin stars, with a full menu in the dining room and a shorter one at the bar.
Mélisse
A 14-seat room at five tables with its own kitchen, serving one chef's tasting menu of 18 servings, behind Josiah Citrin's restaurant Citrin in Santa Monica.
Providence
Michael Cimarusti's seafood restaurant on Melrose Avenue, holding three Michelin stars, serving a classic and a chef's tasting menu at dinner, Tuesday to Saturday.
Arrive
Arriving in Los Angeles by private jet or commercial flight
Getting in and out without a queue: by private jet, on a commercial flight, by car or by helicopter.
The private jet terminal at Atlantic Aviation, LAX
Atlantic Aviation's private jet terminal on the field at Los Angeles International Airport, open 24 hours, where a jet from abroad clears U.S. Customs on the ramp.
The private jet terminal at Clay Lacy, Van Nuys
Clay Lacy's own terminal, lounges and ramp at Van Nuys Airport, open 24 hours, with U.S. Customs and private boarding and deplaning areas for a private jet.
The private jet terminal at Jet Aviation, Van Nuys
A 10,000 sq. ft. private jet terminal at Van Nuys Airport, open 24 hours, with an executive lounge and handling for domestic and international flights.
The private terminal at PS, LAX
A terminal of its own at LAX for passengers on airline flights, where members wait in a private suite and clear TSA screening and U.S. Customs in the building rather than in the public halls.
The Sikorsky S-76 at Helinet, Van Nuys
A twin-engine Sikorsky S-76 with a leather cabin for up to eight, chartered from Helinet in Van Nuys to airports, heliports and private landing sites across Southern California.
Access
What is not on the public calendar: before opening, after closing, by appointment.
An evening at the Magic Castle
Dinner and a night of magic in several theatres inside the Hollywood clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts, a 1909 mansion open only to members and the guests they invite.
The 100-inch telescope at Mount Wilson
A private half or full night for up to 20 at the eyepiece of the 100-inch telescope Edwin Hubble used, in its 1917 dome on a 5,710-foot peak above Pasadena.
The docent tour of the Weisman Art Foundation
A docent-led walk of about 1 hour 45 minutes, by appointment only, through the Holmby Hills villa, pavilion and gardens where Frederick R. Weisman hung his collection of 20th-century art.
The private interior tour of the Eames House
A 90-minute private tour for up to four inside the ground floor of Case Study House #8, the home Charles and Ray Eames built in 1949, with their working Studio included.
The private tour of the Gamble House
A pre-scheduled one-hour docent tour for your party alone, up to 12 guests, through the 1908 Pasadena house Charles and Henry Greene built for David and Mary Gamble.
Care
Private doctors and discreet services in Los Angeles
Discreet services on short notice.
Bespoke shirts at Anto
A bespoke shirtmaker on North Beverly Drive since 1955, cutting every pattern by hand and keeping it on file at its own factory in Sherman Oaks.
Bespoke suits at the House of Bijan
A bespoke suit, jacket or coat made by appointment at the Rodeo Drive house that has dressed six American presidents since it opened in 1976.
The Beverly Hills flagship at Sollis Health
A members' emergency and urgent-care center at 155 North San Vicente Boulevard, open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with ER-trained doctors, on-site imaging, an in-house lab and doctors who come to the house.
The in-store stylist at Maxfield
A stylist at Maxfield, the Melrose concept store Tommy Perse opened in 1969, pairing designer clothes with furniture, books and objects in period vitrines.
The nanny search at Westside Nannies
A Los Angeles childcare agency that recruits, vets and places career nannies, newborn-care specialists and private educators, and matches each family with candidates who have passed a screen fewer than 4% of applicants clear.
Around
A day outside the city: Malibu, Santa Barbara, the vineyards, the desert.
The docent-led tour at Casa del Herrero
A 90-minute docent-led tour, by reservation only, of the house George Washington Smith built in Montecito in 1925, its gardens and George Fox Steedman's workshop.
The docent-led tour at Lotusland
A two-hour, two-mile walk with a docent through Ganna Walska's 37-acre garden estate in Montecito, open only by advance reservation, Wednesday to Saturday.
The historic house tour at Sunnylands
A 90-minute guided walk for seven through the Annenbergs' 25,000-square-foot midcentury winter house in Rancho Mirage, where presidents and heads of state have met since 1966.
The Julia Morgan tour at Hearst Castle
A two-hour, semi-private tour of Hearst Castle led through the work of its architect, Julia Morgan, including rooms and a buried terrace the 70-minute tours leave out.
The private architecture tour at the Salk Institute
A one-hour walk with a docent, for your party alone, through the travertine courtyard and outdoor spaces of Louis Kahn's 1965 laboratories on the bluff at La Jolla.
