It’s not often that we discover an incredible gem in our own backyard, but such is the case with the Four Seasons Westlake Village and the adjoining California Health and Longevity Institute (CHLI)… just 40 minutes from my home in L.A.

How is it that I’ve traveled all over the world, yet had never experienced a self-drive trip up and down the stunning California coast until this weekend? All I can say is better late than never. It’s a trip I’ll be doing many times again. Breaking up the drive from LA by booking stays at fab hotels in Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Sonoma County was the smartest idea I’ve had in a while, and I’m already planning my next visit in my head.

What do Four Seasons Los Angeles, Beverly Wilshire, the Fairmont Miramar, Malibu Beach Inn, Four Seasons Westlake, The London West Hollywood, and the Peninsula Beverly Hills have in common? Other than being hotels in LA, each has an amazing restaurant—so good you might even forget you’re dining in a hotel! Gone are the days when hotel dining was nothing more than a necessary evil, as these properties offer up seriously great eats. In fact, the meals I’ve had at these hotels rival some of the best I’ve had anywhere in LA.

Mexico’s always been top of my list of places to go when I totally need to chill, and want to do so in a luxury hotel on a gorgeous beach. A recent journey south gave me the chance to do so, as I checked into the newish (opened fall ‘o8) St. Regis Punta Mita for sheer R&R then headed to old town Puerto Vallarta, the region Richard Burton & Liz Taylor put on the map with their longtime love affair.

Leave it to Aman Resorts to put a small town like Page, Arizona on the map. Seriously, unless you like house-boating with throngs of tourists on Lake Powell, there’s little chance you’d choose Page as your destination of choice. That is, until now, with the recent opening of Amangiri.

Whoever said there’s no such thing as a free lunch simply hasn’t yet met a Four Seasons Preferred Partner. Not that any of us need a free lunch, but why refuse it, especially at top restaurants in some of our favorite hotels worldwide? Simply book your next Four Seasons stay through a Preferred Partner and enjoy a complimentary lunch at the hotel or a $100 spa or golf credit.