Shangri-La La La La

In the current economic climate, Weekations and Daycations are the new Vacations.

My latest daycation was a 22-hour trip to the Shangri-La hotel in Santa Monica- exactly 11 miles from my front door.

Five girlfriends and I packed up our overnight bags and booked a room at the Shangi-La where we attended the SoBe Lifewater July 4th party hosted by Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Rashida Jones.

According to Wikipedia, “Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia—a permanently happy land.”

The Shangri-La in Santa Monica, that has been open since 1939 and recently renovated, suited our need for an enclosed happy land just fine. Following the poolside soiree and a quick trip to nearby Venice, we camped out at the downstairs bar where we ordered the entire bar menu before heading up to the bar in Suite 700 to watch fireworks in Marina del Rey and Malibu from the exclusive rooftop. The fireworks went off at about 9pm, but continued for us until we finally left the bar for a slumber party in our 2-bedroom suite after midnight.

This morning we woke up, brunched and caught some sun by the comparably quieter pool before getting our cars from valet and heading back home, happy and relaxed.

Hope everyone had an equally fun Fourth of July – and when making vacation plans, good to note you don’t have to travel far from home to get in a vacation state of mind ;) xo

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