Our last day was full of last minute things to do and places to see. We wanted to get some shopping in so we headed to a shopping centre at Culver City then a trip up to UCLA and a burger for lunch at In-n-Out Burger, from there we checked out of the hotel.
The Holiday Inn at Century City is OK, but as with any hotel in LA, they are expensive, tired and old looking. The Holiday Inn would be a new place with new carpet and a coat of paint. The mattress in our room sunk in the middle and I think it’s probably been there when it opened so it was a little uncomfortable. Breakfast was included in the rate, but it’s made up of powdered eggs and other items that are just full of sugar, but overall, the rooms are big and unlike other hotels we stayed in, this one had a refrigerator and the rooms were quite large.
We raced around Beverly Hills and Hollywood to take some photos and battled the LA traffic to take the rental car back before the peak (seems all times are peak). We managed to get to the airport 4 hours ahead of time, just to make sure we didn’t have to rush. The terminal in which V Australia takes off from is a domestic terminal. They just don’t cater for international travelers with only a Burger King that only sells chicken a restaurant that I wouldn’t let my dog eat at (it was dirty and disgusting) and off course a Starbucks. Originally, we thought of sitting and having a few drinks and dinner in the restaurant, but after seeing the filth, my thoughts were if they don’t care about the cleanliest of the restaurant, then they won’t care about the food, so I let the waiter know. We had one drink and left (no tip either). We found another vendor selling sandwiches so we had no choice but to pay $10 each for a sandwich that was stale (shame on you LAX).
We boarded the flight to Melbourne that was delayed, and Bron was pulled a side and her carry on weighed. They said it was too heavy and had to be checked on but she kept arguing and eventually they gave up and picked on somebody else. The flight was relatively full and the seating arrangements were OK. However 16 hours on a plane is a long time and I don’t think any airline cares about its economy passengers. The seats are hard and uncomfortable, the entertainment system is good, but we had the same moves on the way home as we did on the way over which is stupid. The food on the way over was good, but on the way back, it was disgusting. My main meal was horrible (fish that was overcooked and dry, with a few vegetables), along with a dry bread roll and 2 pieces of fruit. I’d finished my meal before your one free drink was offered. Breakfast was worse, the meal was cold and the orange juice they served was frozen. Service was ordinary, it seems Australian airlines want to spend more time relaxing than serving their customers. Not sure I’ll fly with V Australia based on the last leg of our trip.