Los Angeles - February 13, 2006

Breaking Away

Local L.A. Vacation Spots

You know the warning sings: hoarding travel-size shampoo, observing Wiccan holidays, setting your screen saver to Ocean View. It may be only February, but somebody needs a minibreak. Here, a few places to go.

Desert Is Served
Once known as the barren place where tumbleweeds partied with coyotes and, well, golfers, the desert’s got a new oasis: Mod Resort. Opening Friday, all fourteen rooms at the former Desert Patch Inn have been restored with a ’60s spin. Swing by Eat at the Desert (sis of Eat on Sunset) at the Hotel Zoso or have a dinner of Tsar Nicoulai caviar and Spanish cheeses at new wine lounge Tastings.

We’ll Take Manhattan
It’s Amenities Gone Wild at Shade, Manhattan Beach’s first luxury boutique hotel. The sleek, spacious rooms are kitted out with Tempur-Pedic beds, chromotherapy lighting, Sanijet spa tubs, Lavasso espresso machines, and martini shakers. (Cyclone fireplaces and balconies optional.) When you do leave your room, hit Zinc Bar for tapas and the Skydeck for drinks. Leave the property for a meal of gemista and spanakorizo at Petros and get custom 501s and retro pumps at shoppers’ heaven Petros Vintage two doors down.

Scent Overseas
Ojai’s Lavender Inn, a 1874 schoolhouse-cum-boutique hotel, will make you feel like you flew eleven hours on Air France instead of just driving two, as will a massage in the Provence Cottage. The Ojai Culinary School calls the inn home, so feel free to take a class, but let chef Christian Shaffer whip up his magic (hot chocolate cake with marshmallow spoons) at the new Auberge.

You’ll be miles away from the office, feeling totally out of this world.