Going West this summer?

Los Angeles has week’s full of activities for the family, notes Erika Lavyne, director of public relations for the 726-room Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, 2025 Avenue of the Stars. Close to most area attractions, the seven-acre hotel features a spa with 20 treatment rooms, fitness center, pool and a variety of places for the family to eat including Breeze, the Hyatt’s award-winning, signature restaurant.

“L.A. does not disappoint. Every member of the family will find something special to enjoy when visiting Los Angeles this summer. There is so much to choose from,” says Robin A. McClain, director of Media Relations and Communications for The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The two women suggest a variety of L.A. stops. In Hollywood, Universal Studios is featuring the new King Kong ride, opening in July. You and the children will be transported—via Surround Digital 3D projection—into the world of Skull Island, home of the big movie star and gigantic simian.

Hollywood also offers The Kodak Theater (Cirque de Soliel starts here in 2011), the Hollywood Museum at the Historic Max Factor Building, Disney’s El Capitan Theater and Soda Fountain Shop and the Hollywood and Highland complex with great shopping and dining. And don’t forget the shopping at Rodeo Drive and the etched sidewalk at Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

In nearby Santa Monica, the world-famous Pier (have a corndog!) is a rewarding visit, and the newly opened 5,000-sq.-ft. Santa Monica Historical Society Museum has historical information on the art, culture and history of the city.

View from Hyatt Regency Century Plaza

Lavyne also suggests Malibu beaches and star sightings at Zuma surf beach. Venice Beach has a boardwalk with affordable eats and treats. And, the nearby Channel Islands are a great adventure, too, for their wildlife. On Catalina Island, the Art Deco facade of the historic 1929 Casino in Avalon has been refurbished, and, of course, great shopping and dining are there, too, as well as inviting bed and breakfasts.

Back on the mainland, don’t miss the La Brea Tarpits where you can still see where animals from the last ice age roamed and died 9,000 years ago. The California Science Center features exhibits for children such as “Ecosystems” and “Mummies of the World.”

The Skirball Cultural Center has launched “Noah’s Ark” to teach concepts of environmental stewardship for ages 3–9: Everything is recycled and hands on. And, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is opening an exhibition this summer in July, “Age of Mammals,” which traces the history of evolution from dinosaurs to humans.

The Getty Center is open seven days a week with landscaped grounds for a family picnic and sight-seeing, and the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is another outdoor experience that the children, as well as mom and dad, will like.

Century City’s newly renovated Westfield Shopping Center offers new AMC theaters with stadium seating, an upscale dining terrace and retail stores that will also appeal to all family members.

“From easy-to-access beaches, famous outdoor theme parks, world-renowned shopping, spas, dining, arts and culture and Hollywood sightseeing, all ages will be entertained in LA,” Lavyne says. “Coupled with Southern California’s sunshine and breezy days by the seashore, Los Angeles is the perfect all-around family summer destination location.”