Los Angeles has no shortage of expensive hotels, restaurants and shops, but there’s more to a luxury trip here than spending a lot of money. You could spend the morning shopping in Beverly Hills, drive out to Malibu for lunch by the ocean, or leave the roads behind completely and see the city from a helicopter.
The size of LA gives you plenty of options too. Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Marina del Rey and Malibu all offer very different experiences, although getting between them can take longer than the map suggests. If you’re planning several stops in one day, it helps to think about the route before setting off.
From a supercar drive along the Pacific Coast Highway to dinner at one of the best restaurants in California, there are some memorable ways to see the city. Here are eight luxury things to do in Los Angeles to add to your trip.
1. Go Shopping on Rodeo Drive
Let’s start in Beverly Hills. Rodeo Drive is probably the best-known luxury shopping street in Los Angeles, with fashion houses, jewellery brands and watchmakers packed into a relatively small part of the city.
You’ll find names like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dior and Saint Laurent here, but don’t stick to the main stretch. Two Rodeo Drive is just off the road and has its own collection of luxury stores along a cobbled pedestrian street. From there, you can carry on through the wider Beverly Hills Golden Triangle, where the shopping continues along Wilshire Boulevard and the surrounding streets.
If you want to make more of the experience, some Beverly Hills boutiques offer private appointments, personal shopping and made-to-measure services. You could arrange a couple of appointments in the morning, stop for lunch and then continue towards Bel Air, West Hollywood or the coast.
That wider itinerary is where having your own car becomes useful. Renting a luxury car in Los Angeles means Rodeo Drive doesn’t have to be the only plan for the day, especially when Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Malibu are all possible stops afterwards.
Give yourself a few hours rather than trying to fit Rodeo Drive into a quick visit. Shopping is much more enjoyable when you’re not watching the time.
2. Take a Helicopter Tour Over Los Angeles
You don’t really appreciate how spread out Los Angeles is until you see it from the air.
A helicopter tour gives you a completely different view of the city, with routes that can take in Downtown LA, Beverly Hills, the Hollywood Hills and sections of the coastline. Some flights also pass the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory, although the exact sights depend on the operator and route you book.
Several companies operate sightseeing flights around Los Angeles, including departures from Santa Monica and other airports around the city. Short flights are available if you mainly want to see Hollywood, while longer trips cover a much larger part of LA.
This is one experience where it’s worth checking the route before paying. A tour advertised around Hollywood will not necessarily take you over the coast, and a coastal flight may spend less time around Downtown.
If you have a choice of times, late afternoon can be particularly good on a clear day. You get the city in daylight while the light over the Pacific starts to soften.
And if sitting in LA traffic has already taken up more of your holiday than expected, spending part of the afternoon flying over it might be especially satisfying.
3. Charter a Yacht From Marina del Rey
Marina del Rey is one of the easiest places to get out on the water without travelling far from Los Angeles. It’s just south of Venice and only a short drive from Santa Monica, so you could easily combine a yacht trip with a day on the Westside.
There are plenty of public cruises here, but for a luxury day out, hire a private yacht instead. Charters range from smaller boats for a few people to large yachts with crews, catering and plenty of room to spend the afternoon on board.
What happens once you leave the marina depends on how long you book for. A shorter charter might simply cruise along the coast before returning, while longer bookings give you more time offshore. Sunset is an obvious option, particularly if you want drinks or dinner on board.
Discover Los Angeles even includes a private superyacht from Marina del Rey in its luxury LA itinerary, so you can take the idea as far as your budget allows.
You don’t need to fill the whole trip with activities either. Part of the point is being able to sit outside, have lunch and look back at the Southern California coast without sharing the deck with a boatload of tourists.
Once you’re back on land, Venice Beach and Santa Monica are nearby. Or stay around the marina for dinner rather than getting straight back into the traffic.
4. Drive a Supercar From Santa Monica to Malibu
If you’re going to rent a supercar in Los Angeles, give yourself somewhere worth driving it.
The Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica towards Malibu is an obvious choice. Head west and the city gradually gives way to the coast, with the Pacific on one side and the Santa Monica Mountains appearing on the other.
Malibu Pier makes an easy stop along the way. Surfrider Beach is right beside it, and there are plenty of places nearby for coffee or lunch. Keep driving west and you’ll eventually reach Zuma Beach, where the coastline feels much farther removed from central Los Angeles.
You could do the drive quite quickly, but there’s not much point. Leave Santa Monica in the morning, stop when something catches your eye and have lunch in Malibu before heading back later in the day.
There are several ways to choose the car. A Ferrari rental in Los Angeles keeps the trip firmly in supercar territory. If you need more passenger space, the Lamborghini rental fleet includes the five-seat Urus as well as two-seat Huracán and Aventador models. For a drive where the road itself is the main attraction, Starr’s Porsche rental options in Los Angeles include the 911 GT3, a rear-wheel-drive, track-focused sports car with a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six and 2+2 seating.
That gives you a more useful way to choose than simply picking the most expensive badge. Think about how many people are travelling, how much luggage you have and whether you want a low two-seat supercar or something with more everyday space.
Try to avoid the busiest weekend traffic if you can. The Pacific Coast Highway is much more enjoyable when you’re actually driving rather than staring at the car in front.
5. Book a Michelin-Starred Dinner
Los Angeles has become one of the best dining cities in the US, and there are plenty of restaurants worth making the main event of the evening.
Providence is one of the biggest names. The restaurant on Melrose Avenue is known for seafood and a long tasting menu, so don’t book it if you’re hoping for a quick meal before going somewhere else. Dinner here is the plan.
Somni in West Hollywood offers something different. The restaurant has a more intimate, theatrical setup, with a multi-course tasting menu served around an open kitchen. Both Providence and Somni reached three Michelin stars, putting them at the top end of dining in Los Angeles.
Reservations can be difficult, especially for popular dates, so this is one part of the trip worth organising early. You should also allow several hours for dinner. Tasting menus are not designed to be rushed.
Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to three-star restaurants. LA has excellent Japanese food, modern Mexican restaurants, steakhouses and plenty of Michelin-listed places where the evening is a little less formal.
If the evening includes a wine pairing or drinks afterwards, this is also a good time to swap self-driving for a chauffeur service in Los Angeles. Then nobody has to decide who is driving back to the hotel halfway through dinner.
6. Spend a Few Hours at a Luxury Hotel Spa
After a couple of busy days around Los Angeles, doing very little can start to sound like an excellent idea.
Some of the city’s best hotel spas are around Beverly Hills and Bel Air. Hotel Bel-Air is a good example. The property sits within 12 acres of gardens in the hills, away from the busier roads, and its spa has treatment rooms, steam facilities and treatments designed for both individuals and couples.
The Peninsula Beverly Hills is another option. Its spa offers massages, facials and beauty treatments, with seven treatment rooms and relaxation areas inside the hotel.
You don’t necessarily need to turn it into a full spa day. Book a long treatment in the morning, have lunch afterwards and leave the rest of the afternoon open. If you’ve been walking around Hollywood or sitting in traffic for the previous two days, that may be more appealing than adding another attraction to the itinerary.
Check what’s included before you book. Access to hotel pools and other facilities can vary depending on the treatment or package, and not every spa appointment gives you free use of the whole hotel.
If you’re staying elsewhere in LA, Bel Air and Beverly Hills are easy to combine with Rodeo Drive, West Hollywood or dinner later in the evening.
7. Book the VIP Experience at Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is one of the busiest attractions in Los Angeles, but there’s a very different way to visit if you don’t fancy spending half the day in queues.
The VIP Experience includes a guided visit with extra backlot access, along with a number of perks inside the park. Current packages include a VIP guide, lounge access, private dining, valet parking and unlimited Universal Express access for rides and attractions.
The backlot is the interesting part if you’re visiting because of Hollywood rather than roller coasters. Universal is a working film and television studio, and the Studio Tour passes sets, soundstages and locations used in productions over the years.
With the VIP tour, the experience is more in-depth than the standard tram ride. You’ll also have more time to enjoy the rest of the park because you can skip the regular lines on many attractions.
Allow most of the day for it. There’s little point paying for the upgraded experience and then rushing off after three hours because you booked lunch on the other side of Los Angeles.
Universal changes its attractions and VIP inclusions from time to time, so check the current package before booking.
It’s not the traditional idea of a luxury day out, but in a city built around film and television, better access to a working Hollywood studio feels far more appropriate than simply taking a photo on the Walk of Fame.
8. Watch a Concert From a Box at the Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is one of LA’s most famous live music venues, and if you’re visiting during the season, it’s worth checking the calendar before planning your evenings.
The open-air amphitheatre sits in the Hollywood Hills and hosts everything from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to film nights and major touring artists. Go early enough and you can settle in while there’s still some daylight before the concert begins.
For a more comfortable evening, look for Garden or Terrace box seats. These boxes have tables, and food can be ordered to your seats before the performance. The Hollywood Bowl currently offers full meals, smaller dishes, desserts and wine for box ticket holders who order in advance.
It makes for an easy evening. Arrive early, have dinner in the box and stay there for the performance rather than moving between a restaurant and the venue.
Parking is the part you may want to skip. Traffic around the Bowl after a big concert can be slow, which makes a chauffeur particularly useful here. Starr’s Mercedes chauffeur service in Los Angeles includes options such as the S-Class and Sprinter, so the vehicle can be chosen around passenger numbers and luggage requirements. The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class listed on the page accommodates three adults, two large suitcases and one carry-on.
The Rolls Royce chauffeur fleet includes the Ghost, Phantom and Cullinan. Starr lists the Ghost for four adults with two large suitcases and two carry-ons, while the Cullinan is the SUV option where easier access and additional luggage flexibility are useful.
For a couple heading straight to the Bowl, either service may provide suitable options. For a larger group or an itinerary involving more luggage, passenger capacity and vehicle configuration are much better reasons to choose between them than the occasion itself.
Either way, someone else gets to deal with the traffic when the concert ends.
Experience Los Angeles With STARR Luxury Cars
A luxury trip to Los Angeles could take you from Beverly Hills to Malibu, Hollywood, Marina del Rey and West Hollywood in the space of a few days. That variety is one of the reasons the city is so much fun to explore, but it also means you’ll spend a fair amount of time getting from place to place.
STARR Luxury Cars gives you both options. Drive yourself when the road is part of the experience, particularly if Malibu or the Pacific Coast Highway is on the plan. For restaurants, concerts and evenings where parking or drinks make driving less appealing, leave the journey to a chauffeur.
There’s no need to use the same approach for the whole trip. Los Angeles is exactly the sort of city where driving a supercar along the coast one day and leaving the keys behind for dinner the next makes perfect sense.
