We took a minimoon vacation to LA last summer over Labor Day weekend after we had our microwedding in Malibu. I’ve visited LA countless times during my college days when I used to live in San Diego but ever since moving back to the Bay Area, I haven’t been able to visit as often. It was nice to visit new and old spots. This was also the first time we brought our dog, Boudin along for the trip so we also found some dog friendly activities.
Where We Stayed
hotel – Hotel June
We wanted to stay around West LA and I discovered this cute boutique hotel that exuded modern, mid-century, eccentric vibes. And of course was dog friendly. Everything was designed so thoughtfully, you just felt super hip staying at the hotel. They also have a swim club, which drew me towards the hotel initially. But later on, I found out the swim club was open to the public, so it got really crowded and there was pretty much no where to lounge around if you get there late, which was annoying because, we were actually guests at the hotel. We did hang out at the restaurant area of the swim club which was on the second floor overlooking the entire pool. This was pretty nice because it had a ceiling so we were shaded from the sun, but the wall facing the pool was only halfway up so you definitely feel like you’re outdoors. And you could definitely hear the music from there. Their foods were pretty delicious too, very colorful and vibrant.
We decided to lounge at the pool on the morning of our last day, that was how we were able to get our own cabana. It was very relaxing. The rooms were not as impressive. It was a very simple and clean midcentury styled room, with not much decor. I assume that most people aren’t visiting Hotel June to lounge in their rooms.
The location is kind of in the middle of nowhere on the west side of LA. You couldn’t really walk to anything, so we had our car. There was no free-parking, they only had valet service, which was $30 a day. But it was still close driving distance to all the places we wanted to go to.
Food + Drink
+ dan modern chinese
+ Firestone Walker Brewing Company
+ Chitchat
+ Hae Jang Chon Korean BBQ Restaurant
+ The Boy & The Bear
+ Iron Teapot
+ Bestia
+ Marugame Monzo
+ Teamorrow
What We Did
+ Rustic Canyon Park Murphy Ranch Trail – using my trusty AllTrails app, we found this dog friendly hike in the Pacific Palisades area, about 30 minutes north from our hotel. At the start of the trail, you can see a bunch of luxury properties, and we always enjoy dreaming of what it’d be like living in such mansions. The hike was definitely challenging, a lot of uphill and stairs.
+ Caravan Swim Club
+ Urban Lights at LACMA – been here many times, but first time I came with my husband and dog! We went earlier in the morning, and it was less crowded!
+ Santa Monica Pier – we went right before sunset, parking is crazy around Santa Monica. We parked a little further from the pier, and found some scooters to take us to the pier. There were tons of people there so we didn’t want to stick around, so we just walked to the Route 66 sign and walked back and found a spot to watch the sunset.
+ Little Tokyo – always a fun place to walk around and check out shops and eat. This place is also dog friendly but we didn’t go inside the shops with our dog. There was a good amount of restaurants that had outdoor seating.
