Originally Posted by number_6
-You might consider staying in Cambria in addition to (or instead of) Santa Barbara.
-The hotel suggestions posted above are excellent
- September/October is the very best time to tour the coast, and driving south is the way to do it
As an aside, the best hotel in CA will not really match Viennese standard for fine hotels. Most are 2 levels down from the Imperial, for example, though you do get a nicer view. Food and wine does meet or exceed Viennese standards, and now with the new Disney concert hall in LA it might even match Vienna for music on a bad day (not really, but it is a huge improvement for California -- and well worth touring, along with the Getty museum).
Thank you, number_6 - I am glad to hear all that and I wasn't aware of the fact that Cambria is so much nicer - I will definitely make a stop there!
Just read the last paragraph of your post with great enjoyment - I'm happy you liked the Imperial, which surely is a great hotel, along with the Coburg even the nicest one of the city, but it is IMO not really Viennese standard. The other self-proclaimed top-leage ones, Sacher, Bristol, etc. are in desperate need of refurbishment - which is just being undertaken at the Sacher, it will be very nice once completed. And hotel food in Austria is just overpriced and unimpressive (except the great jazz brunch at the Imperial, which is just fantastic) - because Austrians don't like to eat in hotels, strange, but I don't know why.
Well, maybe I'm just too critical. As for the rest, true, there are some really good restaurants in the city, and the wines - especially the styrian ones - are a class of its own.
I'm looking forward to be able to compare all the standards myself soon
expecially the wine & food
btw. is the french laundry worth a visit? or some place else I should consider instead?