California is one of my happy places. I was 18 the first time I visited, helping my best friend move into her college dorm in LA. We stayed in a hostel in Venice Beach, and I made the mistake of falling asleep on the beach, resulting in the worst sun burn I have ever had.

Over the decades, I have spent countless hours traversing the state visiting my favorite places…San Diego, LA, Santa Barbara, Carmel, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Muir Beach, the wine country, Yosemite, and Tahoe.

Last month, the world watched in horror as wildfires blazed, made worse by the notorious Santa Ana winds and drought conditions.  200,000 people were forced to evacuate, and countless lost their homes and belongings to the fires. I spent several days reaching out to my California friends and family with such a sense of helplessness and sadness. How could I help this place I love so much while living so far away? Was there a way I could use my expertise in travel to support the affected areas?

This overwhelming desire for outreach resulted in the recommendations below for how we as the travel community can support this beloved state. First, I want to make one thing clear: the hotels and resorts of Los Angeles and surrounding areas are avidly welcoming guests as we speak. Sometimes, when a natural disaster occurs in a popular travel destination, folks can get wary of traveling there, often with the good intention of not wanting to overwhelm the community. But no— the California hospitality industry needs us to VISIT, VISIT, VISIT! My email inbox has been flooded with my partner properties in Los Angeles and surrounding areas saying, “No, please come stay with us!” Many of the area’s best hotels have been left unscathed— the beaches are swimmable, the weather is radiant as always, and the community, though they have a long road of rebuilding ahead, is recovering beautifully.

See below for how you can donate and where you can visit to lend a hand to this beautiful land and the people in need.

How to Help Impacted Fire Communities

Help Provide Free Housing with AirBnB

AirBnB is partnering with 211 LA to provide free, emergency housing to people who've been displaced and first responders. Click here to donate.

Book a Stay at the Proper LA

This quarter, for every stay at a California Proper hotel, they will be donating to California Fire Foundation and World Central Kitchen, ensuring your visit contributes directly to making a difference. Click here to learn more.

Donate to the California Community Foundation

CCF supports an array of critical recovery services, including housinig, case management, mental health, and medical care for displaced residents. Click here to donate.

Directly Support the Los Angeles Fire Department

Los Angeles Wildlife Emergency Fund provides vital equipment and funds programs that help the Los Angeles Fire Department save lives and build resilient communities. Click here to donate.

Help Provide Meals for Those in Need

World Central Kitchen provides comforting meals to survivors of disasters by partnering with organizations on the ground and activating a network of local restaurants, food trucks, and emergency kitchens. Click here to donate.

Book a stay at one of these amazing los angeles area properties

1. Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club

Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club is the perfect blend of Southern California’s legendary laid-back luxury and sincerely elegant service. 

Perched on 175 acres atop a 150-foot seaside bluff and featuring a private beach club, this elegant AAA Five-Diamond retreat offers both indulgence and inspiration—from oceanfront culinary experiences to unique coastal activities and adventures. Whether you’re looking to revel, relax, or simply relish your time with those who matter most, the vast range of experiences at Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club provides a wealth of opportunities to create your own ideal journey. From the vibrant atmosphere of their private beach club to the tranquil intimacy of the spa, journey to WA to embrace all that Southern California has to offer.

EXCLUSIVE AMENITIES FOR MY CLIENTS:

• Upgrade at time of booking, subject to availability

• Daily Full breakfast for up to two guests per bedroom, served via in-room dining

• $100 USD equivalent Resort or Hotel credit to be utilized during stay (not combinable, not valid on room rate, no cash value if not redeemed in full)

• Bookings in the Luxury Suites will receive an additional $100 Resort or Hotel credit (for a total of $200 during stay) and Penthouse Suites will receive an additional $400 Resort or Hotel credit (for a total of $500 during stay)

• Early Check-In / Late Check-Out, subject to availability

• Complimentary Wi-Fi

2. Montage Resort & Spa at Laguna Beach

Montage Resort & Spa is a throwback to the Laguna Beach of the turn of the twentieth century, a conscious homage to the city’s birth as an artists’ colony. This is the Laguna Beach of the early 1900s, the romantic vision of design in complement with nature. The resort itself, with its winding pathways and classic stone architecture, is surrounded by lush gardens, shaded by tall trees, and sits atop a rugged, rocky bluff, overlooking the white sand beaches below. The interiors are liberally decorated with artworks, some contemporary, some dating back to the heyday of the Arts & Crafts movement, which is Montage’s main inspiration.

The beach and ocean views are one of Montage’s main attractions, and the guest rooms all feature patios or balconies with panoramic views. The interior style is a restrained, casual elegance, classic Californian, with subdued colors and details in dark wood. Public areas have views as well, through floor-to-ceiling windows in the Loft restaurant or from the Mosaic Grille’s terrace, on the edge of the bluff fifty feet above the Pacific.

Montage’s spa overlooks the ocean as well, and offers a comprehensive list of services, from the passive (massage, hydrotherapy, facials) to the somewhat active (yoga or tai chi, with a view). The facility itself is expansive, 20,000 square feet, both indoors and out. Outdoor activities on offer include swimming in no fewer than three pools, and a variety of salt-water sports, such as kayaking, snorkeling, and even surfing. Kids can be consigned to the PaintBox, the resort’s children’s club, and the less fitness-minded adults can sit in on art classes of their own, or take a stroll through the gallery or down to the beach.

EXCLUSIVE AMENITES FOR MY CLIENTS:

• Upgrade at time of booking, subject to availability (applicable to Coastal View upwards)

• Daily breakfast credit of $40 per person, for up to two guests per bedroom, served in The Loft Restaurant and via In-Room Dining (credit is non-cumulative)

• $100 USD equivalent Resort or Hotel credit to be utilized during stay (not combinable, not valid on room rate, no cash value if not redeemed in full)

• Early Check-In / Late Check-Out, subject to availability

• Complimentary Wi-Fi

3. Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel

Timeless glamour, approachable luxury and world-class service meet in the heart of Beverly Hills at Beverly Wilshire.

Since opening in 1928, this legendary property has been the preferred address for celebrities, royalty and the international elite — and it’s easy to see why. Located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, this Four Seasons property puts you in the enviable heart of Beverly Hills, with designer shopping, fine dining and postcard-worthy views at your doorstep. Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel offers unparalleled experiences as a luxury hotel in Beverly Hills.

4. Santa Monica Proper Hotel

The Proper Hotels brand debuted in San Francisco with a classic building, a vibrant contemporary design by Kelly Wearstler, and high-luxury details that elevated it above typical high-end boutique fare. And for the brand’s second installment, it’s a similar story: though the Santa Monica Proper Hotel is a new build, designed by Howard Laks Architects with interiors by the very same Kelly Wearstler, it incorporates a 1920s Spanish Colonial building on Wilshire Boulevard, updating a century-old classic for the boutique-hotel era.

What results is a hotel that’s more contemporary than vintage, even if its history does show through — it’s got the romance of the Twenties but the forms and materials of a modern luxury boutique hotel. The rooms feature works by Los Angeles artists, and the full-length windows reveal uncommon views of Santa Monica’s rooftops. The Proper brand has its own signature bed, which is an indulgent one indeed, and it’s complemented by Fili D’Oro and Bellino linens, Kelly Wearstler bathrobes, and Aesop bath products.

The Surya Ayurvedic Spa is joined by a fitness center and a yoga terrace, and not only is the rooftop pool deck the only one in a Santa Monica hotel, but it’s also home to one of the restaurants. Calabra, by the poolside, serves a hybrid Mediterranean-Californian cuisine, and it’s joined by Olea, another al fresco option on the garden terrace, as well as the swanky Palma Lounge.

5. Pendry West Hollywood

There’s no one location in Los Angeles that captures the appeal of the whole city, but the Sunset Strip comes close — Hollywood glamour, rock-and-roll decadence, spectacularly set against the backdrop of the hills. The Pendry West Hollywood takes up a whole block along Sunset, and it needs every square foot; the Pendry contains not just 149 rooms and suites, but a spa, a pair of Wolfgang Puck restaurants, a members’ club, a 100-seat music venue, and even a bowling alley.

The design, by Martin Brudnizki, is influenced by the Art Deco interiors that are synonymous with Hollywood’s Golden Age, but the Pendry is no retro experience — instead it’s a fantasy version of contemporary L.A., full of dazzling colors and textures, beginning with Anthony James’s mind-bending Icosahedron, a fractal-like sculpture in the lobby which draws the viewer’s eye into a seemingly limitless interior world.

Rooms and suites carry on in a similarly fantastic vein, if not quite such a psychedelic one; the views of the city skyline and the Hollywood Hills feel infinite in the other direction. The comforts are luxe but not over-opulent, and the interiors are stylish but more welcoming than intimidating. The same goes for the public spaces, from Ospero, the ground-floor neighborhood eatery to Merois, the rooftop fine-dining venue. Bar Pendry is pure Hollywood glamour in Art Deco blue and gold, while the rooftop pool enjoys some of the finest views in town.