Last night, GT hosted its annual cocktail reception at the fabulous Hotel Bel-Air. More than 100 people from the travel industry and Bel-Air Association turned out to fete the West Coast-based winners of our GT Tested Awards. We told the Bel-Air staff we wanted a Roman theme and they truly transformed the front lawn into the ancient city with columns, ice sculptures and more. Look for a complete recap of the event in a summer issue of GT. This event is a personal favorite for more than one GT staffer! We also got to enjoy the meeting facilities at the hotel, and dinner at the award-winning restaurant. Staying here is a true treat and I can see why our readers continue voting the property “Best Hotel in the U.S.”. However, this being my third trip to the Los Angeles area since starting with the magazine, I was determined to see a little bit of LA and I wanted to hit some of the hot spots I read about all the time. And, I’ll admit, I wanted to see some celebrities! So, we decided to have lunch at the Ivy on Robertson Boulevard yesterday afternoon. Two tables over from us were Melanie Griffith and Sharon Stone. I got a taste of what the paparazzi are like as well. Then we did a bit of shopping at trendy Kitson boutique and got our sugar fix at Sprinkles Cupcakes! But we didn’t even need to look further than our own hotel and our own event! Kathy Hilton, you know, Paris’s mom, stopped by the party and chatted with us all! Well, I’m off to LAX for my flight back to the real world! -Kimberly Krol, circulation and PR executive