This tour company is small but personal. They take you to the stars homes in what they call 'Starvans'. It is like a small van in which about roughly 10 people could fit in. They have no roof as it is open top so I do recommend that you bring sun cream or put lots on before you start the trip. The tour costs $35 for an adult and $26 for a child. At the present moment roughly 1 American dollar is equal to 0.723 United Kingdom pounds. There is savings to be made if you book more than one tour. It says on the leaflet that booking is recommended but we had no problem getting onto the tour but maybe March is a quieter season. It lasts 2 hours and you will see homes of more than 70 stars. This tour company doesn't pick you up. You will have to make your own way to their offices. You then start the tour from
their offices which are situated on 6231 Hollywood Blvd at Vine Street. It is next to the historical Pantages Theatre (which is worth while visiting as well if you get the opportunity to see a play).
**TOUR ITSELF**
You are taken in small groups of about 10 people in what they call a Starvan. Basically this is a van which has an open top roof so you can feel the gentle breeze in your face which is nice as LA can get very hot. The Starvan was comfortable and had leather seats. I felt that I always got a great view and seen everywhere that we visited clearly. As I am short I tend not to always see over people or see things clearly when in a bus. There were no obstructions and pictures could be easily taken.
First stop (well drive through really!) was through Sunset Strop. Then you are taken to Beverly Hills and get to pass the iconic sign which most people will have seen on the television at some stage. Lots of palm trees are scattered everywhere and you feel like you are in the most fancy and picture housing place ever. Your guide will give you commentary along the way giving you some interesting facts. He will give you some history of the area and show you the famous people houses. You do not get out of the van at any stage and only see the houses from the road so you don't feel like you are invading anyone's privacy. A lot of the houses have restricted views but nevertheless it is nice to see where the rich and famous live.
First house we seen was an apartment block which Lyndsey Lohan and Cher lived in. The house that Elvis and his wife once lived in. Here there was a gate which fans used to write messages on, it is still visible. At the very top which I thought was the most impressive house with the best view was Julia Roberts. On the way back down the hill was Courtney Cox. The one thing I noticed about this area was that it was very hilly. It wasn't something I had imagined.
I seen Ozzy Osbourne's old house which is now Christina Arguilera's. It was a dream seeing here as I had seen it so much on the television. Next was Frank Sinatra's house. Then Tom and Kate Cruises house however it was not visible and had the most security around it. They definitely had the most privacy. Then around the corner was Dr Phil's house, the guide informed us he was very friendly and came out often to talk to tour groups. We never saw him though.
Also to be see was houses of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, Kurt Douglas, the Beverly Hills hotel, the person who started McDonalds, Peter Falk (Colombo), George Harrison (who had an interesting letterbox. It was a huge hand), the person who started Walt Disney (their daughter now lives there. I seen Rod Stewarts house which Kimberly Stewart now lives in, the Hiltons (Paris Hilton and millionaire parents). Beside it was the Ritchie's house were Nicole grew up.
I was shown a house Mike Tyson started building but went bankrupt so 50 Cent had bought it over. It still wasn't finished and was in working progress. Another favourite of mine was the house shown in Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I used to watch the show loads when growing up.
More famous people's houses were Steven Spielberg, Erin Spelling, Peggy (from Love and Marriage), Paul McCartney (now Heather Mills) and the house Madonna and Sean Penn lived in. There probably were more stars but this is as many as I can remember.
The van drove leisurely through Bel Air ad Beverly Hills to show you all these houses giving you interesting facts about different stars. Then you were taken down Rodeo Drive where all the stars shop. It has a lot of designer and expensive shops.
**OVERALL**
I liked this tour and felt is was very informative yet relaxing and fun. You got to see where the stars lived and it was really nice getting to see the 'posh' area of LA. One thing I remember was seeing lots of people out walking their dogs and how lush and green the area looked even though it was so warm. I am very glad that I took this tour and felt that it was excellent value for money. I would recommend that if you are every in LA to do this tour. Unfortunately I never seen any famous people but you may be lucky enough to. I got the impression that this tour would be slightly different if you were to take it again depending on the traffic or the specific guide you would get. I found our guide very friendly an approachable. He encouraged you to ask questions if you had any and was happy to answer to the best of his knowledge. I did enjoy my journey on the Starvan.
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Hotel - 3801 Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA, 3801 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, NV 89109, United States of America - 2 Stars - 1878 Rooms
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