How do you make the most of a flying visit to the world’s entertainment capital? Jessica Bowen reports on the perfect way to eat and drink your way through a day and night in LA

1 POWER BREAKFAST

Hugo’s, West Hollywood
Breakfast is the power meal in LA. Directors, producers, actors and agents network, make deals and flip through scripts. The original and perhaps still the best power breakfast can be found at Hugo’s in West Hollywood where the Go Green Frittata, a medley of superfoods including beet greens, kale and quinoa, and the Phoenix Bird Oolong tea will give you a healthy energy rush to last the day. www.hugosrestaurant.com

2 MID-MORNING

Sprinkles, Beverly Hills
Ever since Oprah declared Sprinkles cupcakes to be her favourite inexpensive luxury in Beverly Hills, there has been a permanent queue outside the suitably petite-sized bakery on Santa Monica Boulevard. Cakes in all-American flavours such as spiced pumpkin with cinnamon cream cheese are hardly very Californian in calorie content but if the celebrities are doing it, so is everyone else. www.sprinklescupcakes.com

3 LUNCH

Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills
At the recently refurbished Roof Garden at the Peninsula Beverly Hills the emphasis is on healthy food with subtle citrus flavours. Nibble on homemade carrot bread followed by a ‘tuna chopchop’, cobb salad or, for the less conscientious, a burger with sweet potato chips and Pinot Noir aeoli, all served up by buff, young waiters. www.beverlyhills.peninsula.com

4 DINNER

Whist, Viceroy Hotel, Santa Monica
The interior of Whist’s main dining room has all the mirrored, well-lit panache expected of highend, self-conscious eateries, but for something more exclusive head outside and reserve the poolside chef’s cabana. Executive chef Warren Schwartz and his sommelier sidekick create customised, seven-course tasting menus with dishes such as elk tenderloin with red wine cherries, miso and polenta. Perfect with a Ciroc vodka martini. www.viceroysantamonica.com

5 PARTY

Bar Marmont, West Hollywood
Nightspots go in and out of fashion as quickly as their celebrity clientele in LA. One that has managed to stand the test of time is Bar Marmont, thanks to a decadent, star-studded history dating back to the 1930s. It oozes gritty charm with tassled red lampshades casting a dim glow over a dark wooden bar where screen icons play the night away under the watchful eye of a stuffed peacock perched in the corner of the room and hundreds of butterflies which dance across the ceiling. www.chateaumarmont.co

6 ON THE WAY HOME

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class bar
Forget all the jetlag advice about not drinking: my recommendation is to travel Upper Class with Virgin Atlantic and be blessed with the distracting onboard company of mixologist Marc Plumridge. Alongside masterclasses on how to make the perfect Bloody Mary, he will also show off his specialities including the Breakfast Cocktail, made with Cointreau and marmalade, with toast for dunking. If I had jet lag, I don’t remember it. www.virginatlantic.com

STAYAT

Shutters on the Beach, Santa Monica
Don’t suffer the smog of the city. Head for Santa Monica where the air is fresher and your mornings can be spent doing yoga on the Pacific ocean beach or surfing alongside dolphins. Stay at Shutters on the Beach, styled to resemble a Californian beach home – all white wood, blue gingham and hardwood floors, with balconies overlooking the wide beach and promenade where blond, tanned bodies zip up and down on roller-blades. Perfect. www.shuttersonthebeach.com

GETTINGTHERE

I travelled by Virgin Atlantic Upper Class and suggest you do too. Full Upper Class fare from Heathrow to LAX starts at £3,515, including taxes and charges, as well as limos to and from the airport at both ends, access to the Upper Class Wing (with private security corridor) at Heathrow and Clubhouse with complimentary beauty treatments, and priority boarding. www.virginatlantic.com