Calling Out To All Californians Out There...

The Renaissance Longbeach - Any good?

So, I booked our flight to Los Angeles yesterday.

We'll be flying into LAX on Thursday Sept 14th, and departing on October third.

We now need to know the following, from any natives out there:

• Can anyone recommend any good four-star hotels in both Los Angeles and San Francisico, preferably with pool, and good bars and restaurants within walking distance.

• Recommended tourist activities in LA and San Francisico?

• Areas to avoid in LA (Is Long Beach really that bad?)

• Local delicacies - Any particular foods we should try?

We want to avoid the possibility of getting our throat slit whilst in LA, so any advice would be gratefully received.

I want to stay in Beverly Hills, (I'm hoping to do some celeb spotting) but The Tall Guy isn't so keen on the idea. What do you guys think?

Any Lurker comments would also be warmly welcomed!