But the baby pink walled stairway quickly gave way to a huge glass roof, teasing me about what was to come.
After the never-ending climb, I was met with panoramic views of the Margate beach, where the bright blue waters were reminiscent of somewhere like Ibiza or Sardinia.
The bar can be covered for when the weather gets too hot
With a covered bar, the menu of both cocktails and wine as well as cocktails was extensive, and my crisp glass of rose was a perfect cooler for the temperature.
And the design felt more members club than Margate, with baby pink and white stripped seating, dark wooden tables and Bali-like wicker lights.
The music toed the line of classic chill out music to more upbeat tunes to get you in the party mood.
And with uninterrupted views of the beach, harbour and Dreamland in the distance, I was surprised that some had no idea it existed,
The cocktails and the wine list is extensive
Local Katherine told me: “I’d have never known this kind of place existed in Margate, its just what it needs.”
You don’t have to be a guest at the hotel, although I’d advise splashing out as they are some of the most beautiful rooms in town.
The rooftop bar is open Friday to Sunday as well as bank holidays, from midday.
And if you want something to eat, there is the Pearly Cow downstairs that serves.
Otherwise there is Peter’s Fish Factory just down the road, often named one of the best chippys in the UK.
Thankfully it was delicious enough to be worth the wait, after I inadvertently found myself behind a queue of 50 school children.
Snag a seat at the front for views of the beachThe bar is now open for summer
(Although there was some luck there, after overhearing that another “90 kids would be coming in a few minutes”).
And along with big name acts at Dreamland this summer – I caught Haim before their secret gig at Glastonbury – there has never been a better time to visit Margate del Sol.
The closed Winter Gardens theatre has revealed grand plans to open, which will include a rooftop bar, set to cost £11million.
The Kent seaside town has seen a huge surge in tourists in recent years.
Margate’s Cliftonville neighbourhood was named the coolest neighbourhood in the UK by Time Out back in 2022.
Candles flickered on long wooden tables beneath a sprawling mulberry tree as Matt French stepped in front of the doorway of his sleek Pioneertown home, holding a drink aloft. Dressed in fitted jeans and a dark western shirt, he welcomed the roughly 60 guests who had assembled in his front yard for the kickoff event of the High Desert Art Fair that would take over the 19-room Pioneertown Motel he owns with his brother Mike.
“We’re super honored to be hosting this event and hosting tonight,” said Matt, addressing a crowd that included local artists, musicians and well-heeled art world types from L.A. “This is the exact kind of event that we want to have in the desert.”
Although the French brothers were not directly involved in the art fair itself, the evening’s itinerary had their fingerprints all over it. Dinner was held in front of the expansive compound they share, and the food — perfectly grilled tri-tip with chimichurri, sourdough bread with cultured butter, flatbread pizzas — was prepared by the owners of the Old Town Public Market, a yet-to-open organic deli and wine bar that would soon occupy another building the brothers own in nearby Yucca Valley. After dessert, the ringing of an old-fashioned triangle bell alerted guests that it was time to cross the road to the Red Dog Saloon, another French brothers business, where Shepard Fairey was already DJing to a packed crowd that spilled onto the rustic porch, the cacophony of laughter, bass and cigarette smoke wafting down the town’s main drag.
It was just another dreamy, highly curated night in the high desert of Matt and Mike French’s making.
Vintage design details abound at the French brothers’ properties, including the Pioneertown Motel.
Few people have had more influence on the modern aesthetic of the sun-drenched desert near Joshua Tree National Park than the two brothers from Portland whose properties regularly pop up in travel publications, Instagram reels and “best of the desert” lists. Since buying the Pioneertown Motel in 2014, Matt, 42, and Mike, 37, have built a portfolio of businesses that tap into the mythology of the California desert — part cowboy, part Rat Pack, part cosmic traveler. Across historic restoration projects like the motel where Gene Autry once played cards all night, the Red Dog Saloon where 1940s film crews unwound after long days of shooting and the Copper Room, a restaurant and bar at the Yucca Valley airport that was a favorite of Gram Parsons, their properties give tourists and locals alike a taste of the desert’s history and glamour all while making it feel like patrons have just stumbled upon these magical spots themselves.
Now, the brothers, along with Eric Cheong, a designer and the third partner in their company Life & Times, are expanding their unique vision to other parts of the desert with two new projects. In late 2026, they will open Lord Fletcher Inn, a 1960s-era steak house in Rancho Mirage where Frank Sinatra occasionally stepped behind the bar. Miracle Hill, the brothers’ colorful take on a geothermal bath house in Desert Hot Springs, is slated to open at the end of 2027.
The French brothers purchased the 1960s-era restaurant Lord Fletcher’s in Rancho Mirage, where Frank Sinatra occasionally tended bar.
Designer Eric Cheong, left, on the porch of the Red Dog Saloon, with Matt and Mike French.
With these two new businesses, as well as an ambitious expansion of the Pioneertown Motel, including an extension of the Western facade of Mane Street that was approved in December, the brothers say they feel a renewed commitment to the desert community where they have lived and worked for more than a decade. Although they toyed with the idea of doing projects in other parts of the country, they ultimately decided that the world they have created in this dry desert landscape is too valuable to leave.
“The lady at the post office has treats for my dog and knows my dog’s name,” Mike said. “You can’t buy your way into community like that. You have to earn it.”
The French brothers’ story may sound like a desert fairy tale, but they insist it wasn’t always that way.
Although they’d been traveling to Palm Springs for family vacations since they were kids, it wasn’t until 2009 that Matt first drove up the rocky mountain pass to Pioneertown and fell in love with the funky desert community originally built in the 1940s as a working film set. After learning that the rundown motel across the street from Pioneertown’s iconic roadhouse and concert venue Pappy & Harriet’s was for sale, Matt, who was working for a boutique hotel company at the time, convinced Mike to join forces with him and buy it. It took five years of starts, stops, heartbreak and nearly giving up before the deal finally went through in 2014.
“Matt was really the driving force,” Mike said. “I was like, this is nuts, but I’m in.”
Those early days were challenging. One of their first orders of business was to evict the previous owner’s weed dealer who had been living in one of the rooms rent-free. The manager at the time was known to yell people off the property. Skilled workers were hard to find, and the desert’s popularity as a tourist destination had not yet ballooned.
Mike and Matt French are setting the stage for their next venture, Miracle Hill, a geothermal bath house in Desert Hot Springs.
“In retrospect it can look very obvious and very, like, ‘Oh, of course, the hotel’s cool and it’s right next to Pappy’s,’” said Matt. “But that is not what it felt like back then.”
The brothers also had to contend with a notoriously fierce local community that was deeply suspicious of the lanky millennials from out of town.
“We had our claws out and our guns cocked,” said David Miller, 81, a longtime local and the president of Friends of Pioneertown. “But it turned out that they are model citizens.”
For two years, the brothers ran the motel remotely while continuing to work other jobs — Matt for a real estate company that did large-scale development in Portland and Mike for a ticketing and events start-up in L.A. In 2017, they decided they needed a home base in town and bought a rundown house with an even more rundown barn a 10-minute walk from the motel. They have since renovated it into two homes just yards from each other with a shared backyard that includes a pool, sauna, cold plunge, hot tub and custom-built hammock that can hold up to 20 people. In 2018, they moved in full time.
A Pioneertown Motel pick-up truck, spotted outside the kitchen window of Matt French’s home.
Two years later, in August 2020, they opened the Red Dog Saloon, a full-scale renovation of the historic bar of the same name that originally opened in 1946. The brothers say they weren’t necessarily looking to open a new business — they just really wanted another place to eat and drink in town besides Pappy & Harriet’s. Their original plan was to create a 16-seat whiskey bar in a small building across from Pioneertown’s picturesque Post Office, but their partners, restaurateurs Adam Weisblatt of Last Word Hospitality who operates Hermon’s and Found Oyster and Eric Alperin from the Varnish, suggested they look at the much larger Red Dog Saloon instead.
“They were like, ‘You can actually make money that way,’” Mike said about the restaurant and bar that can serve as many 1,000 people a day. “And we were like, ‘Yes, that’s a great point.’”
The same team came together again to open the Copper Room, a higher-end, full-service restaurant at the Yucca Valley Airport that opened in 2022 on the site of a dive bar they used to frequent called Wine & Roses.
In 2020, the brothers opened the Red Dog Saloon, a full-scale renovation of the historic bar of the same name that originally opened in 1946.
“At the time we really weren’t sure if Yucca Valley could support that kind of dining experience,” Mike said. “Now we have a $200 tomahawk steak served tableside on the menu and they sell out. There is no way we could imagine that happening when we opened.”
As they did with the motel and the Red Dog, the brothers and Cheong leaned into the history of the space when designing the Copper Room. They kept the curved bar where Gram Parsons drank his last margarita intact but went with a 1950s vibe in the main dining room, with heavy brocade banquets and floral wallpaper, nodding to the restaurant’s opening in 1957.
Cheong said that across each project, he and the French brothers leaned heavily on the space’s unique history for design inspiration.
The vintage-style entrance into Red Dog Saloon.
“We really base it around story and lore,” Cheong said. “The spaces merge together because there is a similar strategy, but it’s not a style. It’s not a color palate. It’s like a feeling of respect and honor, but it’s also our twist on it.”
The brothers’ three businesses were thriving, but in 2023, they found themselves in a lull. “We were having trouble figuring out what to do next,” Matt said. “ We have a very specific criteria of what we want to do and we were like, maybe we look outside of the desert. Maybe things here are plateauing.”
The brothers already had one property outside of the desert — Captain Whidbey, a historic lodge and resort on Whidbey Island in Washington that was named one of the best hotels in the world by Travel + Leisure in 2020 — but ultimately they concluded that the price of leaving Pioneertown to start over somewhere new was too high to pay. They had invested years into building relationships with the high desert’s eclectic community. Somewhere along the way they had also come to feel like chosen family.
The French brothers and Eric Cheong leaned into the history of the space when designing the Copper Room.
“So many things were pulling us in different directions, but life is more personal than business,” Mike said. “So we committed to the desert, which was not just committing to doing business in the desert, but was really committing to living in the desert.”
Since then, more opportunities have opened up. The brothers purchased Lord Fletcher’s in 2025 after a real estate agent happened to mention a 1966-era steak house in Rancho Mirage was for sale. Miracle Hill came about in part because the town of Desert Hot Springs is eager to grow its reputation as a destination for geothermal bathing and offered to help them find a suitable location. For the brothers, it represents the first time they are creating a space from the ground up. Construction has yet to begin, but they have already crafted a story for the space that builds off the community’s early 20th century history and mystical geology.
“The core narrative is that it feels like an eccentric, gregarious host’s home that you are going into,” Mike said. “And the mountain alignment, the sun, the wind, the faults and the geothermal water are the five forces that create a vortex-type energetic field deal. So we’re kind of leaning into that.”
At the same time, Mike revived the community’s historic Pioneertown Gazette, which he originally started printing as an in-room publication but has since expanded to a weekly newsletter that enthusiastically highlights the growing calendar of events happening at several venues across the high desert. And in the next few years, the brothers plan to begin construction on the next phase of the Pioneertown Motel, which will include a swimming pool, restaurant and 47 new rooms.
A game of horseshoes at Pioneertown Motel.
Signage pointing to the Red Dog Saloon.
Pioneertown’s history buffs, and there are many of them, will tell you that the picturesque community has a long history of newcomers showing up with dollar signs in their eyes, hoping to make it big in the desert. But few, if any, have been as successful as the French brothers at making those businesses come to life. It helps that they have a good sense of design and an intuitive understanding of what people want. It also helps that they’ve attracted like-minded people like Jeffrey Baker, the warm and personable general manager at the Copper Room and future general manager of Lord Fletcher’s who excels at management (a self-described weak point for Matt and Mike) and makes everyone he meets feel like an instant friend.
But their true secret sauce might be that aside from the motel, their businesses are designed to cater to the local community at least as much as to tourists.
“People here love these restaurants,” Matt said. “They love the Red Dog, they love the Copper Room, they love the Gazette. So we felt that vibe shift of people being supportive and excited about what we’re doing.”
It also helps that over the last few years, some bad actors have demonstrated what the alternative might look like, with new management at Pappy’s that alienated locals from their longtime watering hole and a wannabe developer who floated much-maligned plans to build a concert venue and a massive glamping complex in Pioneertown. (Both parties have since left the area.)
“I think that has given some people some perspective that having locals do it right, and seeing that we are committed, has really made a difference,” Matt said.
Mike and Matt French walk down Pioneertown’s Mane Street.
It’s been a winning business formula, but if you believe the brothers, there’s more to it than that. Creating spaces where everyone from foreign tourists to drunken bachelorettes to crusty locals to families with young kids feels comfortable and welcomed is all part of the desert ideal they’ve been curating for more than a decade.
Mike said that there’s nothing like seeing Pioneertown old-timers drinking with their buddies at the Red Dog.
“It’s so good,” he said. “And then you find other people who get lit up by the same silly thing, and it’s like, maybe it’s not so silly. Maybe it’s the whole point.”
I was impressed with the guest rooms, which hit the perfect note in combining comfort and design.
The Endeavour Suite feels extra special.
For a small price upgrade, you get a loft-style room with a sofa and living area, sea views from a large window and a terrace overlooking the water.
Newly decorated, a lot of effort has gone into making these rooms a sanctuary for guests. Be warned if you have an early start, though.
Fluffy duvets and pillows, along with the snug mattresses make it very difficult to leave.
Rooms start from £102 including breakfast. Visit theshiphotel.co.uk or call 01702 413452 for 15% off by booking directly with the hotel.
What is there to eat and drink?
Definitely eat at the hotel, which has excellent food.
Being so close to the coast the main menu leans toward seafood dishes, with vegetables and meat from local Essex farms.
They also serve fantastic Sunday roasts.
The beef-dripping Yorkshire puddings with Malden sea salt are worth making a reservation for, even if you’re not staying overnight at the hotel.
As well as the laid-back restaurant, there is also a small, but excellent bar.
More fitting of a swanky London cocktail club, the creative menu includes smoke-infused martinis and very spicy margaritas.
If you are staying a few days, I highly recommend getting a reservation at GABS too, which is a cute, bohemian restaurant across the road.
They also serve creative cocktails and have a sophisticated menu. I suggest going for a choice of ‘picky bits’. The whipped feta with honey, figs and pistachio, served with sourdough is frankly superb.
What else is there to do nearby?
Some rooms include parking in the private car park outside is a great find and absolutely perfect for a weekend away in Essex.
They also offer in-room massages, meaning with a great restaurant and cocktails on your very own roof terrace, you might decide you don’t even need to leave the hotel.
Otherwise the Ship Hotel is perfectly positioned to explore the surprisingly adorable town of Leigh-on-Sea.
You can easily reach Leigh Old Town, on the water’s edge, which I also happened to have a perfect view of from my room.
There are lots of pubs, bars and seafood shacks, many with seating on an outdoor terrace, idyllic in summer.
You can also walk up the hill to New Leigh and the charming high street, which is packed with cool coffee shops, quirky boutiques and trendy bars that are very popular over the weekend.
The grand finale was a view of the spectacular sunset from my room – not always guaranteed, but stunning if you get lucky.
Is the hotel family friendly?
There are family and interconnecting rooms, as well as cots and highchairs on request.
is it accessible?
The hotel has wheelchair access and a lift to all floors, along with accessible rooms that have adapted bathrooms.
Upgrade to a room with a terrace for drinks over the oceanRooms start from £102
Los Angeles didn’t get many April showers, but May flowers are blooming just the same, leaving a lingering scent of jasmine as the star-shaped flower blossoms across the city. Jacaranda trees will soon follow suit, turning the skyline of entire neighborhoods lavender as spring stretches into summer.
Marine layer aside, this season invites us to get outside and make the most of living in L.A. The Metro will soon open the expansion of its D Line, making it convenient to peruse Museum Row, the Grove and bars and restaurants along Fairfax and in Beverly Hills without a car. Local farmers markets are more abundant than ever, with rainbow assortments of stone fruits and tomatoes.
And there are plenty of patios and rooftops for enjoying sunny evenings and taking in city views. Keep reading if you need dining inspiration this month, like exploring a new hand roll counter in downtown L.A., a buzzy Larchmont diner that lives up to the hype and a pan-African destination for customizable “slop bowls” in Gardena.
“That man had clearly had too much to drink and it felt to me like his anger came out of nowhere,” Van Gerwen, 37, told Dutch sport news website Sportnieuws.nl, external.
“Just as he seemed to be heading for the exit, he suddenly lashed out.
“That man clearly knows he was in the wrong because he apologised via Instagram.”
Van Gerwen, who has decided not to press charges against the person responsible, said of his reaction to the incident: “Of course, it’s not right for me to go after him but that was an automatic reaction of shock.”
The incident occurred before Van Gerwen was back in Premier League action in Aberdeen on Thursday.
Luke Humphries beat the Dutchman 6-3 in the pair’s quarter-final clash in Scotland.
One of the greatest players in darts history, Van Gerwen was ranked world number one between 2014 and 2021, during which period he won the Masters five times in a row.
With 48 majors singles to his name, Van Gerwen is ranked second in the PDC’s all-time list behind England’s Phil Taylor.
After a brief reprieve following the end of Coachella, we find ourselves in the desert again for Stagecoach — hot, dusty and eager to be amused. The first day of the weekend offered plenty of top-tier country performances including Cody Johnson, Ella Langley, and Bailey Zimmerman along with a dose of nostalgia courtesy of ‘90s stars Counting Crows and Emo Nite featuring Ashlee Simpson. Let’s also not forget that Stagecoach is a place to catch celebrity cameos—we’re looking at you, Sydney Sweeney. Here’s our recap of all the fun we experienced on Day 1 of the festival.
Jessie Erickson, of Anchorage, Alaska, sings “more than my home town” by Morgan Wallen at the SYRN Saloon during the Stagecoach Country Music Festival at Empire Polo Club, in Indio, CA on April 24, 2026.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
I found a karaoke bar at Stagecoach — but it was Sydney Sweeney’s lingerie pop-up
En route to the press tent this sunny Friday, I saw a spot with saloon doors boasting karaoke. It didn’t click that the air-conditioned pop-up was a bar connected to Sydney Sweeney’s Syrn brand until I was inside and saw the lingerie hanging from the bar.
It was early in the day, so not much karaoke was happening, but you could scan a QR code and sign up via a Karafun link. I contemplated doing “A Long December” from the Counting Crows since they’re playing the Mustang Stage this evening, but thought it would No.1 bring down the mood and No.2, not really fit in with the Coyote Ugly vibes.
However, I saw dartboards on the wall and a sign to ask the “brand ambassador” about darts and I immediately thought — the hard drinkin’ Stagecoach crowd should probably not have sharp objects. They don’t. I found a “brand ambassador” and he showed off the darts, which were magnetic. It still might not be the best idea to let people throw projectiles as the night goes on, though. (Vanessa Franko)
Emo nite featuring Ashlee Simpson performs at Diplo’s Honkytonk during the Stagecoach Country Music Festival at Empire Polo Club, in Indio, CA on April 24, 2026.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Emo Nite with Ashlee Simpson and 3OH!3 made Stagecoach dance with their feelings
How is the giant country festival channeling the SoCal-born traveling punk festival, you ask? The popular Emo Nite DJ set was booked at Diplo’s Honky Tonk. (Emo Nite is no stranger to the Goldenvoice desert fests, by the way. They played the Sahara Tent at Coachella a few years back, too.)
Emo Nite’s Morgan Reed and T.J. Petracca opened up with Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Goin Down” to set the sing-a-long tone before blistering through a set of remixes to songs by beloved emo and pop-punk artists such as Panic! At the Disco, Paramore, All-American Rejects and My Chemical Romance. They also played some emo-adjacent and not-so-emo-adjacent tracks, such as the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” System of a Down’s “Chop Suey” and Justin Bieber’s “Baby.” (Bieberchella lives even at Stagecoach!)
Actress Sydney Sweeney takes photos with fans during the Stagecoach.
(Evan Schaben/For The Times)
Sydney Sweeney takes pictures with fans at Stagecoach
Actress Sydney Sweeney snapped photos with fans during BigXThaPlug’s set at the Mustang Stage Friday at Stagecoach. Sweeney also has a pop-up bar promoting her lingerie line Syrn at the festival. (Evan Schaben)
Ella Langley performs on the Mane Stage during the Stagecoach Country Music Festival at Empire Polo Club, in Indio, CA on April 24, 2026.
(Evan Schaben/For The Times)
Ella Langley takes a victory lap
“I’m gonna go ahead and burst your bubble,” Ella Langley said about halfway through her main-stage set Friday night. She’d just teed up her brand-new single, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” a shimmering roots-soul duet with country’s biggest star, Morgan Wallen. “Morgan is not here,” she continued. “He’s on dad duty this weekend. Can’t blame a man for being a good dad.”
And you can’t blame Langley for managing expectations. But she didn’t need Wallen (or anybody else) to show why she’s the biggest thing in country music right now: This was an effortlessly cool performance by a deeply vibey singer and songwriter who’s absorbed more than Stevie Nicks’ predilection for lightweight shawls. (“Broken” was extremely Fleetwood Mac-coded.)
Langley did bring out a special guest: the podcaster Theo Von, who did Riley Green’s part in “You Look Like You Love Me” for some reason. (Big podcaster energy is what I’ll say.) She played “Choosin’ Texas” — her dreamy pop-country smash that’s currently at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 — not last but next to last, leaving “Weren’t for the Wind” as her closer. Baller move. (Mikael Wood)
Counting Crows will perform on Sept. 3 at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.
(Courtesy of the San Diego Symphony)
Counting Crows and the perfect Stagecoach sunset
I am very into the ‘90s alt acts playing Stagecoach 2026 (I see you, Third Eye Blind) and Counting Crows got things off to a sublime start as the sun set Friday.
While the band played its breakout hit, “Mr. Jones,” early in the set, singer Adam Duritz let the crowd take the lead and almost did some spoken word in the second verse.
“How was your first day at country Coachella? They only call it Stagecoach because Count-chella doesn’t sound good,” the singer asked the crowd before the band launched into the “Shrek 2” ditty “Accidentally in Love.”
The hits kept coming, including “Round Here” and “Rain King.”
But the perfect moment under cotton candy skies happened during the band’s penultimate song, “A Long December” off 1996’s “Recovering the Satellites.” With the crowd singing along, the sun setting behind the mountains and good feelings all around, it was nothing if not a vibe. (VF)
Bailey Zimmerman performs on the Mane Stage during the Stagecoach Country Music Festival at Empire Polo Club, in Indio, CA on April 24, 2026.
(Evan Schaben/For The Times)
Bailey Zimmerman with an encouraging word
Bailey Zimmerman brought his puppy-ish energy — and an encouraging self-help message — to Stagecoach’s main stage Friday night ahead of Cody Johnson’s headlining set. “I grew up with nothing, and I worked my ass off to be where I am,” he bellowed before ripping off his shirt to punctuate the point. (MW)
Cody Johnson performs on the Mane Stage during the Stagecoach Country Music Festival at Empire Polo Club, in Indio, CA on April 24, 2026.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Cody Johnson closes Night 1 with Boyz II Men
Cody Johnson opened his headlining set Friday night by promising to “bring a little Texas to California if that’s all right with y’all.” Yet the most surprising moment of his 90-minute show actually brought a bit of Philadelphia to Stagecoach when Boyz II Men dropped in to join Johnson for a rendition of the veteran R&B crew’s “On Bended Knee.”
If we’re being honest, the vocal mix was … not the evening’s finest. But the selection was appealingly unexpected from a down-the-middle country star like Johnson, who spent much of the rest of his set recounting his long music-industry come-up and urging folks to see past their differences in the name of unity.
He also lamented the three months he had to take off the road after busting his eardrum last year — “I was depressed about it,” he said — before acknowledging that the unanticipated break meant he got to be home for the birth of his youngest child. (MW)
What’s the one thing better than finding the perfect beach? Finding one with a perfect cafe, bar or restaurant, where even the simplest of meals is elevated by a sea view and a soundtrack of crashing waves. We’d love to hear about your favourite finds in the UK and Europe, whether it’s a laid-back chiringuito in Spain, a seafood shack on a UK beach or an archetypal Greek taverna.
The best tip of the week, chosen by Tom Hall of Lonely Planet, wins a £200 voucher to stay at a Coolstays property – the company has more than 3,000 worldwide. The best tips will appear in the Guardian Travel section and website.
Keep your tip to about 100 words
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I have a “big” birthday coming up. It’s the big 70 (gulp!). I’d like to throw myself a party, but one that might seem more fit for a 7-year-old than a 70-year-old (except when it comes to the food). I would like for there to be activities or games such as scavenger hunts, escape rooms, billiards, pinball, karaoke, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey — you name it. But my friends and I also appreciate gourmet-quality food like the stuff that’s served at Providence, Crustacean and Mélisse. Is there any way to combine all of that into a party for 20-30 people? — Marla Levine
Looking for things to do in L.A.? Ask us your questions and our expert guides will share highly specific recommendations.
Here’s what we suggest:
Marla, I love that you want to celebrate your milestone birthday in a playful way that sparks your inner child. Who says you can’t run around and play games with your friends just because you’re a “grown-up”?
Similar to you, I prefer fun activities over stuffy, formal parties. I’ve celebrated my birthday at a go-kart racing track and a bowling alley. One year, I hosted an adult field day at the park with sack races, water balloons and snow cones, so I have some fun ideas for you. While many of these spots don’t offer gourmet-level cuisine — unless you consider chicken tenders and fries fancy — I’ve paired them with nearby restaurants that you can walk to. Depending on your vibe, you can do the activity first then walk to dinner, or vice versa.
One of my favorite adult-only barcades in Los Angeles is EightyTwo in the Arts District. Not only is it nestled between an array of bars, shops and restaurants, it is home to more than 50 vintage pinball and arcade machines. They have all of the classics like “Donkey Kong,” “Galaga,” “Mario Bros.,” “Ms. Pac-Man” and “Mortal Kombat.” On certain nights, you can catch live DJ sets as well. For a meal, consider the Michelin-recommended restaurant Manuela, which received a stamp of approval from the late Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. Tucked inside of the Hauser & Wirth complex, Manuela is a farm-to-table establishment with a variety of modern American bites to choose from. Whatever you do, be sure to order cream biscuits for the table.
An activity that instantly makes me feel like a kid again is singing — OK, more like belting — my favorite song into a microphone while surrounded by loved ones. One of the coolest karaoke spots in L.A. is Break Room 86, a nostalgic speakeasy hidden inside Koreatown’s Line hotel, which has private karaoke rooms, live DJs (and sometimes dancers, including a Michael Jackson impersonator) and an ice cream truck that serves boozy ice cream and Jell-O shots. Times senior food editor Danielle Dorsey says, “Entering the bar feels like you’ve stepped through an ’80s time machine with vintage arcade games, stacks of box TVs with static-fuzzy screens and tape cassettes decorating the walls.” Break Room 86 doesn’t open until 9 p.m., so check out Openaire for a sunset dinner. Led by Michelin-starred chef Josiah Citrin (the same guy behind one of your favorites, Mélisse), the rooftop restaurant offers elevated American fare such as a brick-pressed jidori chicken and grilled branzino — and it’s inside a glorious light-filled greenhouse.
Another spot that would make for an enjoyable birthday celebration is Highland Park Bowl, the oldest functioning bowling alley in L.A. Built in 1927 during the Prohibition era, the venue still has that vintage aesthetic with old pinsetters that serve as chandeliers, a revamped mural from the 1930s and eight refurbished bowling lanes. There’s also a billiards room and a full bar (with a tasty cocktail menu that rotates twice a year). When you get hungry, take a quick walk to Checker Hall, a neighborhood bar and restaurant that serves California-Mediterranean food such as skewers, turkish chicken and chicken schnitzel. Actor-comedian Hannah Pilkes told The Times it’s her “favorite bar in all of L.A.” How she described it: “It has the best cocktails and it almost feels like you’re in New Orleans when you step inside. It has a beautiful patio overlooking Highland Park. The decor is funky and kitschy yet classy; it’s magical.” Afterward, you can take another short walk to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams for a sweet treat (if you don’t have a cake).
My colleague Todd Martens, who writes about theme parks and immersive experiences, says it’s difficult to find escape rooms that can accommodate 20 to 30 people, but if you don’t mind splitting up and staggering your start times, check out Hatch Escapes near Koreatown. The venue can accommodate about 10 people at a time. Martens wrote about their room called “the Ladder,” which he describes as a “90-minute interactive movie with puzzles, taking guests through five decades, beginning in the 1950s, in which they will play an exaggerated game of corporate life.” The room “incorporates a wide variety of games, puzzles, as well as film and animation,” he adds. If this theme doesn’t spark your interest, there are three other options, including “Lab Rat,” which can accommodate 12 people.
You sound like a fun person, so I have a feeling that anything you do will be a good time. I hope that these suggestions are helpful in planning your special day. If you end up visiting any of these spots, please send us a photo. We’d love to see it. Happy birthday!
Since I started DJing nearly a decade ago, it’s been a dream of mine to DJ at a music festival, a place where music lovers of all walks of life converge. So when I got the opportunity to spin at Coachella, the country’s festival of all festivals, I was over the moon.
This was my second time playing at Coachella with Party in My Living Room, a house party concert series founded by Inglewood native Yannick “Thurz” Koffi in 2015. The activation, designed to look like an actual living room with couches and artwork, was a collaboration with GV Black, a group promoting “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to be seen at the festival.” For the last four years, Koffi has been inviting DJs and musicians (Ty Dolla Sign, P-Lo, Kamaiyah and Isaiah Rashad, to name a few) to perform at the pop-up, which has quickly become a popular side quest for festivalgoers. So when Koffi asked me to be a part of the stacked lineup during Weekend 1, I was honored.
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After preparing my set for weeks, the moment had finally come for me to spin on Sunday afternoon. I soaked up the entire weekend experience — from the celebrity-packed artist compound to the exclusive pop-ups (Redbull Mirage and the Soho House hideout) and the free dining. Here’s a peak behind the curtain from an artist’s perspective and what I learned about DJing at the festival.
Kailyn Hype played house, hip-hop, jersey club, baile funk and other genres during her high-energy DJ set at Coachella.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
1. Spinning at a daytime desert festival is much different than at a bar
I was in charge of kicking off the activation on the final day of Coachella Weekend 1, which is an underrated job because it means that you get to set the tone for the day.
If I were spinning at a bar, club or flea market, I’d likely ease into my set with more chill songs before getting into bangers. But this was a festival and the crowd was ready to party, so I didn’t waste any of my 45-minute set. (My set was initially scheduled for one hour, but it was cut due to a sound check delay.) However, I left the big hip-hop tracks for the other DJs to play, which is a common DJ courtesy.
With songs like “Tonight” by Pink Pantheress, “Am I Wrong” by Anderson.Paak, “Brighter Days” by Cajmere, “Nissan Altima” by Doechii and several high-energy remixes that I found on Bandcamp, my set was everything I’d hoped for: fun, joyful and liberating. The crowd and I jumped up and down, threw up our hands, sang and danced together. And even if they didn’t know the words to a particular track, they were still open to all of it, which is one of the best feelings you can get as a DJ.
2. The artist wristband was my golden ticket — to a glorious buffet
With so many delicious food vendors like Villa’s Tacos, Prince Street Pizza, Happy Ice and El Moro, I knew that I was going to be eating good at Coachella. What I didn’t expect is for there to be free catering for folks with artist wristbands, like myself. After making my way through the artist compound, past the golf carts that transported performers and celebrities (I spotted Teyana Taylor and Damson Idris) and along a plant-filled pathway, I made it to the elaborate dining area. Inside the room, which was draped with colorful curtains with guitars attached to them, I felt like a kid at a buffet. There were poke bowls, a sandwich station, pizza, steak, ice cream sundae and even a “wrap station,” so you could take your food to go.
“Since I started DJing nearly a decade ago, it’s been a dream of mine to DJ at a music festival,” says Kailyn Brown.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
3. But even if you have an artist wristband, long lines are inescapable
At any major event, be it a music festival or sports game, lines are to be expected. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I expected the bathroom lines in the artist compound — an exclusive backstage area for artists and their crews — to be shorter. I quickly realized that the lines were unavoidable and if I really needed to go, it was usually faster to go to the porta-potties in the general admission or VIP areas.
4. I found respite at exclusive lounges
After running around the festival for hours, it was nice to be able to take a break from the heat in stylish, exclusive areas like the Red Bull Mirage and Soho House’s hideout.
Red Bull invited me to check out their three-story social hub and hospitality destination at Coachella, which included a Nobu omakase dinner on the top floor. Overlooking the Quasar stage, it offered the perfect spot to sip on the energy drink company’s signature cocktails (the Paloma was my favorite) and watch energetic DJ sets from artists like David Guetta, Fatboy Slim and Pawsa. It’s also where “Love Island USA” Season 7 favorite Olandria was serving Red bull mocktails — and looks — from behind the bar.
While Red Bull Mirage provided day club vibes, the energy at the Soho House hideout was a bit more laid-back. Located inside a luxurious air-conditioned tent near the main Coachella stage, invited guests and Soho House members with VIP passes could order from the bespoke bar, grab a bite (e.g., burgers, fries and maki rolls) and enjoy music from a live DJ.
Founded by Inglewood native Yannick “Thurz” Koffi in 2015, Party in My Living Room is a house party concert series.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
With an artist pass in tow, Kailyn Brown explored the artist lounge, dining hall and other exclusive areas at the music festival.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
5. Music festivals can be a lot, but there’s a reason we keep coming back
After I was finished with my set, several people came up to thank me including one man, a Mexico-based artist named Memo Wright, who drew a live sketch of me spinning, which made my day. Even some of my Times colleagues took a break from reporting to stop by and say hello.
As I drove back home from the desert the following morning, I reflected on why I love music festivals so much and have been attending them since I was 16. Though events like Coachella get a bad rap for being expensive, crowded and uncomfortable (yes, it’s hot and dusty), this experience reminded me why people keep coming back — for the love of music and being able to commune with others who are just as obsessed with it as you are.
