Last night my friend Deborah took me to a fabulous hotel in Beverly Hills called SLS to have cocktails with friends from Singapore. It’s definitely one of the hotspots in LA at the moment. SLS is owned by the uber hip SBE group which owns and operates lots of trendy restaurants, hotels, and lounges around the country.
The hotel has a really cool rock and roll vibe. It’s dark and rugged, yet has all the amenities of a five star hotel. The lobby bar feels a bit like a velvet treehouse with glass bars that have televisions embedded in the tables. And there are weird fixtures such as monkey art and monkey chandeliers. 
If the Hard Rock Hotel or Planet Hollywood was a five star hotel, this would be it. There are even pool tables in the elevator lobby of each floor. I would definitely recommend staying or visiting this hotel. It’s packed with pretty people and makes for great conversation and people watching. It also has a great location. The bathrooms here alone, make the trip worth it — they are some of the prettiest hotel bathrooms I have ever seen in my life. Book reservations or learn more here.
We then went to dinner at Cecconi’s, an upscale classic Italian eatery with amazing food. We sat outside on the patio and stayed toasty via the heat lamps. We ordered grilled octopus with lemon, capers and olives, wood-oven baked meatballs, rib eye steak, and lots and lots of Dom Perignon, but my favorite part was the baked gnocchi! It was sooo delicious! The swanky scene of travelers and business people enjoying meals is as appetizing as the setting itself. I hear this restaurant is always full of famous faces; we spotted Chelsea Handler last night.
They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and for as many celebrities as you see here, it actually can be very affordable if you choose the menu right. Look at the full menu and make reservations here.
The best part of dinner is conversation. The journalist in me is constantly asking questions because I love to learn about other people’s experiences.
I asked our friends from Singapore what they suggest to do well in business and life. Everyone said the key to success is “don’t get caught!” Haha. Just kidding. They said to work “really really hard.” Hard work. That’s it. (I tend to think its a little more complicated than that). They also advised me to wake up early and to get emails and calls out early in the day. To them, the early birds get the worm statement proves to be true. They also said to take time to enjoy the nature around me and praise the sun every day.
