Montana's Flathead Lake Lodge

Hotel Monaco San Francisco for the Holidays

Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square San Francisco

Contributor Dana Rebmann recently stayed at Kimpton's Hotel Monaco San Francisco, and it was such a delightful holiday family travel experience that she couldn't wait to tell The Vacation Gals about it. Dana writes for the Ciao Bambino family travel website: [Read more]

Spa Day Getaway at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills

Spa Day Getaway at Ciel Spa SLS Hotel

The SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills is as hip as it gets. Luxury automobiles pull up to the curving driveway, young turks glide out, toss their keys to valets, and saunter in their chic suits and sunglasses into the hotel. Inside, the lobby gleams. The posh [Read more]

Tips to Avoid Traffic Jams in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Google Map Traffic Feature

One aspect of Los Angeles that tourists and locals have to contend with is the frequently miserable, road-rage inducing traffic. While some of the city's bad reputation is unjustified (there's plenty of culture here), there really is an unfortunate love affair [Read more]

Omni San Francisco Hotel Kids’ Fantasy Suite

Kids Fantasy Suite Omni San Francisco Hotel Room (Jennifer Miner)

Here at The Vacation Gals we primarily write about family travel, romantic trips and girlfriend getaways -- never business travel. Not our niche. But on a recent trip to San Francisco, I was given the opportunity to stay at the Omni Hotel -- a luxury class [Read more]

Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles

Downtown Los Angeles Ritz-Carlton Hotel (Adam Waldman)

It's kind of exciting news for the luxury travel market; a new Ritz-Carlton hotel opened in downtown Los Angeles. Downtown LA has undergone such a complete transformation from a few years ago that it's almost unrecognizable as being the same place. The Walt [Read more]

Los Angeles Facts and Myths

travel-blog-mob

Let's think about some Los Angeles facts and myths. Los Angeles has no culture. Los Angeles has no history. The traffic stinks in LA. Los Angeles has unbreathable air. There is no "there" there. Sound familiar? It should. There are lots of ugly stereotypes [Read more]

Daily Grill Restaurant in Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica Daily Grill Restaurant (dailygrill.com)

There's a fun little corridor on Colorado Boulevard in Santa Monica that has a bunch of Los Angeles branches of companies like MTV, Yahoo! and the like. It's a great place for hip companies for many reasons, not the least of which is because a couple miles [Read more]

Attractions in Downtown Los Angeles

downtown los angeles skyline (NSerrano)

I've lived in Los Angeles since 2003, but only now am I (somewhat shamefully) coming to fully appreciate all the many terrific attractions in downtown LA. This is largely because of the continuing emergence of a newly vibrant downtown; even 5 years ago, [Read more]

Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Convention Hotel in Century City

Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel Los Angeles (hyatt.com)

I've been to the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, Los Angeles plenty of times, and hold it in high regard for everything from small media luncheons to large conferences. There are quite a few large convention hotels in Los Angeles, but most of them [Read more]

Romantic Getaway Vacation in Napa Valley

food-&-wine-150x225

One of my favorite places in the US for a romantic getaway vacation is Napa Valley. The rolling hills, sweeping vistas, and -- of course -- incredible wineries with wine tasting tours -- make Napa Valley as close to Tuscany in the US as possible. Sure, Napa [Read more]