I booked the Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills after checking out their website and reading a Frommer's review. Unfortunately I then made the mistake of checking out the IgoUgo competitor Trip Advisor which, as always, only seemed to include histrionic reviews written by impossible-to-please travelers upset over this or that fussy detail. The good news is that the hotel staff quickly assuaged any fears Trip Advisor had instilled—in fact, the young, friendly, and professional desk staff provided great service, and my stay at the Avalon was as pleasant as of any hotel I’ve experience. Here, briefly, are the highlights.

* A clean, cool, spacious room with trendy bed and iPod stereo.
* A balcony overlooking the hotel’s bar and kidney-shaped pool designed as a celebration of 1960’s California "Patio Culture." (Apparently Patio Culture encourages laying out and drinking by but not actually entering the pool.)
* A location less than a half hour walk to Rodeo Drive, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and some impressively hedged mansions.
* Free, daily delivery of the New Times (including the Sunday edition which came in handy during the long plane ride home.)

I did, however, have one complaint. While booking I decided to upgrade to a large room advertised as featured "soaking tub." Unfortunately, or tub was nothing of the sort, but I suppose the upside is that the upgraded room included the balcony with the pool view, and this alone was worth the price.