FEATURE CALIFORNIA: NORTH & SOUTH
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Top Selling Tips...
• “Negotiating LA’s freeway network system is not for the faint-hearted and clients nervous of driving in one of the USA’s most congested cities will be better suited to a downtown LA hotel." GARY BARNETT, travel writer
Studios, not far from Universal. One way to see the attractions of central Los Angeles, including Hollywood tours is to sign up with Starline Tours (
www.starlinetours.com). The company runs tourists around the Hollywood Hills,to gaze at movie stars' homes and recently rolled out a new tour of Hollywood for CSI fanatics,which visits some of the most shocking and talked-about crime scenes in Los Angeles. It is led by an off-duty or retired Los Angeles Police Department person. Our next stop was Newport Beach,
one of the wealthiest communities in the country. Attractions include Balboa Island, where we walked past twee shops and restaurants on Main Street and charming harbour-facing cottages to
catch the ferry ($1) across to the Balboa Peninsula. ‘The Peninsula’ has one of the best urban beaches in the US and two scenic piers. After a three-mile walk between the two we arrived at Bluewater Grill (www.bluewatergrill. com), a great dockside restaurant serving seafood stew and pecan-crusted halibut, among many delights. Newport Harbour is one of the largest
small yacht harbours in the world and has been the home to stars and rogues like John Wayne, Al Capone and, more recently, Nicholas Cage. Visitors can explore its protected waterways by self-piloting an electric ‘duffy boat’, essentially a converted golf cart made seaworthy. It made its inventor a small fortune and provides a
• “Convince clients to brave the searing mid-summer heat in one of the Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities to take advantage of greatly reduced rates at hotels, golf courses and spas” STEVE HARTRIDGE, travel writer
• “When matching clients to accommodation consider Southern Cal’s many faces: there’s downtown LA, countless beach resorts and coastal communities like Newport Beach, relaxed San Diego, wine estates, and desert resorts” STEVE HARTRIDGE, travel writer
fun way to visit a harbour restaurant. For eco-conscious clients, point out
that the Newport Bay Ecological Reserve and Nature Preserve is one of the last remaining coastal wetlands in Southern California. A birding hot spot, visitors can also fish, kayak, hike or bike. We stayed at Pelican Hill (www.
pelicanhill.com), in a suite overlooking one of two championship golf courses and the Pacific Ocean beyond. The resort has a five-diamond wellness retreat and the fabulous Andrea’s restaurant, where risotto was rolled in parmesan cheese at our table and we were served pasta
Above: Torey Pines beach, near San Diego; Temecula Valley wine region
www.sellinglonghaul.com • October 2011 31
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