Plan The Ultimate Los Angeles Bachelor Party

So, your best friend is getting married.  Before he makes the biggest commitment of his life, it is up to you to plan one final, epic boys’ weekend.  Sure, there’s always Las Vegas, but nothing can really compare to a well thought out weekend, three straight days of partying, in one of the most fun cities in the world, Los Angeles.  LA has the glitz and the glamour, the 5-star resorts, the five diamond restaurants, the most gorgeous women in the world, and you never even have to leave Southern California.  Forget the sweltering Nevada heat and help your best friend live out his final days as a bachelor in a way that only California can deliver.

Hotel Reservations

Where you stay has a lot to do with the overall success of the weekend.  You want to make sure you are in a central location that provides the particular atmosphere you are hoping to create.  This probably isn’t the weekend the stay at The Peninsula or the Four Seasons.  Keep with the party theme and book a suite at The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Roosevelt in Hollywood or Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica.  Depending on the size of your party, you may be able to reserve a block of rooms at a discounted rate. But make sure you book at least one large and luxurious suite!  This will serve as the main gathering point. Stock the suite with plenty of top shelf liquor (make sure to get the groom-to-be’s favorites).  You can have food catered into the suite for various meals, set up a game of beer pong, order some live entertainment, or whatever else will involve the whole group and require more space.  

Pool Party

The rooftop pool party is a Southern California staple when it comes to partying and Standard Rooftop Saturdays at the Standard in downtown LA does it right.  The year-round beautiful weather affords the luxury of people getting to flaunt their sexy swimwear no matter what month of the year it is (minus December maybe).  The way to do a pool party for a group like a bachelor party is to make cabana reservations ahead of time.  Any pool party worth going to will offer this option. Most are attached to a food and beverage minimum that is easy to meet with an average size group of guys. Cabanas are stocked with waters, TV’s, seating, towels and your own personal model/waitress at your beck and call.  The only thing you have to worry about is partying so hard at the pool, that you miss your dinner reservations.

Dinner

Plan at least one formal dinner to honor the Bachelor himself.  Other meals can be catered in the suite, ordered poolside or grabbed casually.  The only other meal you may want to reserve a table for would be the sendoff brunch at the end of the weekend.  But for the dinner, it needs to be at a trendy hotspot and should cater to the guest of honor’s taste.  A few of our favorites, depending on what kind of food you decide on, are CUT in Beverly Hills, Cassia in Santa Monica and Beauty & Essex in Hollywood.  CUT is by Wolfgang Puck and would be an amazing dinner for a bachelor who appreciates a fine steak dinner. This restaurant has been awarded a Michelin star and is a place fitting for the more sophisticated crowd (think bachelor getting married for the second time).  Cassia offers excellent Southeast Asian cuisine in a not so formal atmosphere.  The food is simple and delicious, and the Santa Monica location is great for those planning on hitting the bars in that area after dinner. Beauty & Essex is elegant yet unpretentious. The menu is more eclectic and will make it easy to please everyone in the group.  They even have vegan and gluten-free menu options.  

Nightlife

What bar or club you choose to book may be the single most important decision of the weekend.  This will be the part of the bachelor party that everyone will remember, or if you do it right, no one will remember it at all.  Contact the venue well in advance.  They will put you in touch with a VIP host to help make sure your party is treated like royalty from the moment you arrive.  A great table and a gorgeous, attentive waitress will help make the night seamless and unforgettable. If Hollywood is more the bachelor’s style, check out the Playhouse on Hollywood Blvd.  They have extensive experience with hosting bachelor parties, are known for having awesome DJ’s cycle through their club, have a huge venue to accommodate crowds and provide anonymity for those seeking that and specialize in the traditional club scene.  If you’re looking to stay and party in and around Santa Monica, consider The Room.  It has a swanky, lounge feel with a stellar craft cocktail menu. DJs spin different types of music all night. This is an alternative to the big club scene. Finally, the Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills is the ultimate guys’ meet-up spot.  Whether you stop in for a drink and a cigar or decide to spend the entire night smoking, drinking and reminiscing, for some lucky groups, this will be on the itinerary at some point during the weekend, if you or someone you know happens to be a member.  

The Little Details

Get your girlfriend, or even the bride-to-be, to help you with a checklist of items that will help ensure all the guys have a great time.  Stock each room with waters and snacks.  Bring sunscreen and Advil and other personal items that are often overlooked when a woman isn’t doing the planning. Such a small gesture could change the whole weekend for someone.  That cousin from the Midwest has probably never had a California sunburn and no one wants to wake up hungover and have to go searching the lobby for a Sprite and some ibuprofen.  Plan ahead and you’ll be the hero.  

In LA, there are lots of options to fill in the remaining time during the weekend.  A Dodgers or Lakers game never disappoint.  Stopping in to have a drink at the Chateau Marmont or the Sky Bar is always fun.  As long as you take care to plan ahead and book an amazing suite, an epic night out, at least one stellar meal and work in a day at the pool, the bachelor and all of the guests are in for a weekend so jam-packed full of fun, it will hold you all over until the next friend decides to pop the question.