Sportsmen’s Lodge- A Half Century of Happy Travelers
Our guest post comes from Bonnie & Bill Neely of: Real Travel Adventures Ezine – Your free online monthly travel magazine with hundreds of features and photos on travel to anywhere.
Just off Highway 101 on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, California, lies quietly hidden from the noisy traffic of one of the busiest centers of Greater Los Angeles, the Sportsmen’s Lodge and Resort. We stayed there recently to enjoy its peaceful respite in the exquisite grounds, so perfectly cared for and enhanced over the past half century.
This is a great and well-located place to stay when visiting Los Angeles for sight-seeing or business. The free shuttle can deliver you to Universal Studios just three miles away or to nearby shopping areas. You are a short, beautiful drive through Laurel Canyon to Hollywood’s most notable sites. Or take nearby Coldwater Canyon over the mountain to Beverly Hills and Westwood. From the hotel you can walk along Ventura Blvd day or night to find stores, entertainment, and restaurants for anything that interests you.
Sportsmen’s Lodge has large, recently renovated rooms and suites with extremely comfortable furnishings, free WiFi, coffee service, and large room service menu. Everything is impeccably clean and the large lobby is always inviting you to sit aound the round fireplace and visit, read, or watch TV. The on-site beauty salon is very convenient. And Sportsmen’s Lodge has one of the most beautiful Olympic size swimming pools we have ever seen, and it’s heated year round to be comfortable in spite of California’s chilly nights. You’ll also enjoy relaxing in the bubbling hot tub. The hotel even offers a small, clean laundry room for the convenience of hotel guests.
But Sportsmen’s Lodge is not your average city hotel. The resort is set back from the busy boulevard and the beautifully landscaped grounds and large parking area create an isolated space within one of the busiest cities of the world. For hotel guests to enjoy and for accommodating special events and conventions Sportsmen’s Lodge maintains and preserves its own exquisite park with enormous trees that must be centuries old, small lagoons, a little stream with bridge, fountains, brilliant flowers. There are several large banquet areas. The picturesque gazebo and arch have seen many a bride and groom happily married.
And the grand staircase is the location of many bridal portraits. The beautiful grounds are also the location for many film and TV shoots. Being in Studio City, you can frequently see some very famous people walking around,or swim or eat with the stars.
Sportsmen’s Lodge serves hotel guests and locals in the surprisingly casual Patio Cafe. The varied menu for breakfast , lunch, and dinner can please any appetite or special diet and has some of the most delicious food you never expect to find while traveling, especially in a hotel! For breakfast you MUST try the Sportsmen’s scramble or the many different variations on Eggs Benedict. For lunch there are many combinations you can make up for Pasta bowls. For dinner anything you select is bound to please your palate. The casual atmosphere allows you to dress comfortably and not be pressured to impress anyone. Maybe that is why the famous faces are frequently seen eating here.