The view from the Stanford Hotel, Hollywood.   (Photo: Bjorn Wallander)

It was Quentin Crisp who nailed it. He said, “Los Angeles is New York lying down.” And never are those words truer than in the months following the Academy Awards—that petite mort in L.A. calendars that leaves Angelenos mildly incapacitated after the interminable build-up and (usually disappointing) climax to the protracted awards season. Crash, the dark horse Best Picture winner set in and about this town, finally put a cinematic face on the terror that lies deep in the heart of every L.A. resident: not the simmering threat of racism—everyone seems to be getting along just fine, thank you—but the fear of getting sideswiped by an uninsured motorist. Chills you to the very bone. Luckily, with summer fun almost here, the marrow should be thawed in no time. Folks are looking forward to the Coachella Valley Music Festival at the end of the month. The Getty Villa in Malibu has just reopened after a nine-year, $275 million face-lift, with its magnificent collection of Greek and Roman sculptures (perhaps the only chiseled figures in the area who managed to achieve the look without the help of a team of personal trainers and plastic surgeons). The first Dodger Dog of the season is pending. Skis are racked, and surfboards waxed. Randy Newman nailed it too: “Everybody’s very happy / ’Cause the sun is shining all the time.”
-S.A.

Hotel Finder
If you like watching tabloid items unfold at the Gansevoort’s GSpa, you’ll love the bar at the Roosevelt.

If you love the discreet elegance of the Carlyle, you’ll love L’Ermitage.

If you like the pool scene at the Soho House, you’ll love the Viceroy Hotel’s cabanas.

Next: A Starbanger's Guide to L.A.