Hotel at a Glance: Dockside Boat & Bed

Dockside Boat & Bed gives guests the experience of a bed and breakfast in the privacy of their own personal yacht. Anchored at the company’s private dock in Rainbow Harbor, the boat comes equipped with all the comforts of home—from coffee to champagne flutes—and makes it easy for staff to deliver a continental breakfast to each guest every morning. It also puts more than 20 restaurants and the Pike Outlets within a 10-minute walking distance, as well as the Aquarium of the Pacific.

• Onboard amenities, such as linens, towels, free bottled water, and a refrigerator, rival those of a traditional hotel.
• Continental breakfast includes various pastries, fresh fruit, juice, and yogurt.
• A downtown location puts guests near dining options, entertainment, and shopping.
• Gladstone’s, a restaurant at the top of the gangway, serves seafood and tropical cocktails conveniently close to the yachts.

Long Beach, California: Art, Architecture, and the Historic Queen Mary

Fewer than 30 miles from much-visited Hollywood and Disneyland, Long Beach offers a quieter experience distinguished by art museums, eclectic architecture, and ocean-front scenery. Take in the sights as you pedal along the Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath, a paved 3-mile trail that hugs the coastline. The path wends near the Aquarium of the Pacific, which houses penguins, a giant Pacific octopus, and more than 150 sharks, in addition to other mammals and fish that live in the Pacific Ocean.

One of Long Beach’s most iconic attractions floats in the harbor across the bay: the Queen Mary, a former ocean liner and current museum-hotel hybrid. Built in the early 1930s as a luxury liner for the wealthy elite, the Queen Mary was transformed into a troopship and painted camouflage gray during World War II. After nearly two more decades of civilian service, the ship retired to Long Beach. Today, thousands of annual visitors flock to the boat—which is larger than the Titanic—to embark on guided tours along its decks.

Back on land, in the East Village Arts District downtown, independent playhouses and art galleries line the streets. On the second Saturday of each month, the neighborhood hosts an art walk, as galleries, boutiques, and cafés stay open late and local artists display original works. Long Beach’s architecture also has its own distinctive appeal. Geometry buffs may marvel at the distinctive Walter Pyramid sports arena, as well as the aptly named Skinny House at 708 Gladys Avenue, an extremely narrow structure—only 10 feet wide—reportedly built on a bet.