First step of a high end, insider’s tour of Los Angeles: rip up that map of celebrity homes. While the most exclusive areas of the city are well known — Bel Air, Rodeo Drive, Malibu — getting to know them and other not-so-obvious L.A. gems requires some serious connections — and cash. Perusing TripAdvisor will not get you the super-luxe, insider experiences. Fortune sat down with Jeanne Mills, the Chef Concierge of the iconic Beverly Wilshire Hotel, to find out how she’d map out a $10,000 day in Los Angeles.
An Aston Martin convertible for a day
A chauffeur and Aston Martin DB9 Volante convertible for the day are perfect for tooling around the city. That will set you back $3,000.
If your pockets are deeper, Mills can call up a tonier chariot—she recently brokered the rental of a $4 million Bugatti from a private owner for a guest who had always wanted to drive one of the high end French cars.
A private tour of the Getty Villa
Drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu and stop off at the Getty Villa for a private, 3-hour tour with an expert guide. Cost: $550.
Visitors to this palace of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities usually browse it without an expert on hand or in a group tour. This one-on-one tour would be customized to your interests and led by an experienced arts professional with extensive knowledge of the collection. “This is actually an independent docent [whom] we have worked with in the past," Mills says.
A gourmet picnic, served by a butler
Depart the Getty for one of Malibu’s famed beaches, where you and your guests will relax and dine on a custom, four-course picnic prepared by Beverly Wilshire Executive Chef Thomas Bellec and served ocean side by the hotel's Beach Butler. Cost for two: $1,000.
What’s on the menu? Whatever your heart desires, but it could include a local Dungeness crab salad, smoked salmon Napoleon with sustainable caviar, chilled sliced beef tenderloin with horseradish aioli and truffled country-style potato salad, and Champagne and strawberries.
In the wine and liquor department, “the dollar value can go up really fast if [you] have a taste for a specific label,” Mills says.
And don’t worry about getting sandy. The butler would set up "a table and chairs, with the linens, the place settings, the florals,” she says. The butler "would come prepared with the entire ambiance to the extent that you’re having a beach picnic but at the same time, you’re at a proper, fine dining table.”
A ride in a helicopter
Hop back in the car for a short drive to Santa Monica airport, where you will leave your Aston Martin convertible for new ride: a helicopter. Cost: $2,000.
This won’t be the standard fly-by of L.A. Mills’ route goes over the star-packed neighborhoods—“You can’t see anything when you’re driving because the walls are so big, with this, you’re getting a bird’s eye view”—past the Hollywood sign and lands on a rooftop in downtown L.A., where the skyline’s lights will be flicking on as the sun goes down. “And of course,” Mills adds, “Your driver is left behind with your car, so the driver will catch up with you later downtown.”
Dine in one of LA's hottest restaurants
Dine at Bestia, L.A.’s hottest restaurant in an unlikely location. Cost for two: $500.
A table at this Italian restaurant in the gritty Arts District is one of the most coveted in L.A. (good luck finding anything on OpenTable).
On the menu: cured meats unlike any you’ll find at your local deli counter, melt-in-your-mouth handmade pastas, and gourmet pizzas crisped to perfection. “A lot of guests, they don’t think to go downtown,” Mills says. “They think Hollywood, Beverly Hills, but not downtown. There’s so much to offer down there, but Bestia is definitely the best.”
Get a really nice suite
Ride back to the Beverly Wilshire in your Aston Martin and enjoy a nightcap at The Blvd restaurant and bar before taking the elevator up to one of the hotel’s one-bedroom suites. Cost: $2,000.
Night owls looking for more entertainment can check out the nearby Spaghettini, a new lounge with music curated by the Grammy nominated jazz saxophonist Dave Koz. “It’s almost a speakeasy feeling,” Mills says.
Over-budget extras:
Celebrity meet and greet. Cost: $10,000 and up. Mills has arranged dozens of one-on-one meetings with stars, most recently, with the singer Ed Sheeran backstage at the Hollywood Bowl. She organized a more immersive experience for a guest whose wife was a huge fan of the soap opera “One Life to Live.” “We rented a house in Malibu and flew them there by helicopter,” she says. “We had several of the cast there waiting for her. She spent the afternoon tasting wine and mixing and mingling with her favorite soap stars.”
Dinner on a private yacht. Cost: $10,000 and up. For guests that want to take their L.A. exploration off-land, the Beverly Wilshire can charter a 63-foot yacht that comes with a private chef and seven-course dinner. It sleeps up to six, so you can travel far beyond Los Angeles county if you have the means. “I’ve had guests go as far as Santa Barbara,” Mills says.
