A senior partner dreads the L.A. visit because of the traffic. A new client coming to town doesn’t eat sushi. An old client has been here so often he wants to avoid the usual haunts. A big investor has decided to bring the family and stay the weekend, but where?

People come to Los Angeles on business all the time, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily enjoy the experience. Let’s face it, L.A. is tough: high prices, horrendous traffic, enormous sprawl and not always friendly people.

For the uninitiated, almost every aspect of the trip becomes a big deal: Where should the client stay? Which restaurant for dinner? Should they rent a car?

All of which involves considerable planning and decision-making. And while it’s not your fault if the 405 is backed up or the hotel is overbooked, any business experience good or bad could reflect on the host. How many times have you encountered problems in a strange city and wondered to yourself, “Why didn’t they warn us?”

Transportation


It’s clearly the most challenging part of any business trip, especially if the arrival point is Los Angeles International Airport. While travelers stand a good chance of reaching the gate on time LAX has one of the highest on-time percentages in the nation it’s getting from the airport to wherever that can try the patience of those unaccustomed to wall-to-wall cars.

The first rule of thumb is the most obvious: avoid arranging a flight that lands between 3 and 6 on a weekday afternoon. That arrival time almost guarantees a gridlocked seat on the San Diego Freeway. Also be careful with early morning flights, although traffic flows at those hours tend to be a bit better.

For important visitors who expect more handholding, it might be worth going the extra mile.

“Airports have become more stressful and chaotic, so people like being walked through it,” said Steve Robb, operations manager at Executours Inc., a Century City agency that handles business travel. He arranges to meet visitors as soon as they pass security and walk them to their car. A similar escort can be arranged for the return trip: the client is brought to the airport, walked through the check-in process and deposited in an airline lounge.

Arranging a car service is a nice touch because it gives at least the illusion of control over the travel experience and it’s just a lot easier to let someone else do the driving. Julia Gouw, chief financial officer of East West Bank, says that visitors coming from Asia almost always get a car and driver.

But there are still intrepid travelers who enjoy their freedom and want to drive themselves around L.A. “When they want to rent a car, it always makes you a little nervous,” said Eden Livingood, executive assistant of Inter/Media Advertising.

Even with great directions and a navigation system in the car, the out-of-towner lacks the local knowledge to take short cuts or to know when to avoid venturing out on the freeway. And MapQuest doesn’t keep on top of Century City construction or the latest high-speed pursuit.

For one- or two-day trips where the visitor only shuttles between an office and a hotel, taxis may suffice. However, it helps to remind those unfamiliar to L.A. that cabbies typically don’t cruise. “People don’t realize you can’t just go out to the Avenue of the Stars and hail a taxi,” said Seth Horowitz, marketing director at law firm Greenberg Glusker.

It’s a good idea to supply visitors with phone numbers of reliable taxi companies, and even more important, manage expectations about traffic flow. There’s nothing worse than having a visitor grumble about how long it took getting back to the hotel the night before.

While LAX has the most flights, it is not necessarily the best option. Livingood encourages clients to fly into Burbank because it’s less congested and more convenient to the company’s Encino offices. (The cheaper flights, though, usually go into LAX.)

Long Beach Airport is also becoming a more popular business destination, especially for travelers coming from the East Coast. But judging from increased crowding, success could be turning into too much of a good thing and don’t forget the often challenging freeway trek from Long Beach to points north.

Hotels


In L.A., more than most cities, it’s all about location.

Santa Monica’s Shutters on the Beach has a spectacular view, but for someone doing business downtown, like lawyers who must be in court every day, the view comes at a price: a trip on the Santa Monica (10) Freeway that can easily run over an hour.

Instead, Eric Maryanov, owner of West Los Angeles-based All-Travel.Com, advises staying at a downtown hotel, where “there are several good options that would allow them not to have a car.”

Same is true for Century City, where there are enough nearby restaurants and shops Beverly Hills is just around the corner to avoid extended stays in the car. Visitors can stay at ultra-luxury properties like the Peninsula Beverly Hills, Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles or Regent Beverly Wilshire, while scheduling meetings down the way in Century City.

Beyond location is the matter of the hotel itself. More buttoned-down business travelers who typically favor standard-issue Hyatts, Marriotts and Hiltons might be uncomfortable at the downtown’s happening Standard or the W in Westwood.

Of course, if you’re young and feeling stylish, a place like the Standard is just perfect. Cherie Conrad, recruiting manager for Kirkland & Ellis LLP, said job candidates especially favor the rooftop bar and its waterbeds.

As for staying at the beach well, it’s cool and pretty but don’t count on an oceanfront room. Whether it’s Shutters, Casa del Mar or Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, those tend to be in short supply and can easily command $500 or more per night. Rooms not facing the ocean, especially those on the street side of a property, can be noisy and gloomy. Advise out-of-towners accordingly.

Restaurants


Now that your business associate is safely ensconced in his hotel, it’s time to think about dinner and you don’t want to take them to the same place as last time.

Choosing the perfect spot can be tricky. It’s important to feel out what clients like. Are they meat and potatoes people? Are they disgusted by raw fish?

“If they’re folks from the flyover states, chances are good that an exotic sushi bar is not going to go over that well,” said restaurant critic Merrill Shindler, host of “Feed Your Face” on KLSX-FM (97.1). He recommends sticking to well-tested stalwarts such as Ruth’s Chris Steak House or Morton’s Steak House.

For downtown stays, there are a number of obvious choices, such as Patina at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Caf & #233; Pinot, Nick & Stef’s, the Palm, the Water Grill and Engine Company No. 28. At a corporate law firm, the membership-only Jonathan Club is a top choice.

Of course, business travelers are people too and for someone visiting L.A. there’s nothing like a celebrity sighting to tell the family back home even if it’s a minor television star typically ignored by blas & #233; Angelenos.

Conrad has a tip: take guests to restaurants stalked by paparazzi. At Spago or Matsuhisa, there’s bound to be a snap-happy photog peering through the bushes to catch Cameron Diaz or other celebs pushing food around their plates.

“At the very least, you are getting them to Beverly Hills and what they perceive L.A. to be,” she said. Restaurants at fancy hotels such as the Peninsula and Beverly Hills Hotel are also good for star sightings.

Carlos Valderrama, director for Latin American operations at Carlsmith Ball LLP, said Latin American visitors often ask for sushi, and downtown’s R-23 is a favorite. Among her visitors from China, Gouw said Lawry’s is very popular. “They’ve built great name recognition in Asia,” she said.

Conrad said she’s often perusing restaurant guides to find the latest hip pick. Last year, Grace was a hot choice; this year it’s Katana. She sends Zagat’s reviews over her Blackberry to show attorneys a restaurant is an appropriate place to take a client.

Fun/Extras


Not many business travelers have the time or inclination to visit Disneyland or Universal Studios, but there are other possibilities that hosts might consider.

The Lakers and the Dodgers are usually a good bet, especially if the team is winning. Luxury box seats are nice, but not essential to the experience. “A key part of any business relationship is the personal relationship it’s OK to just grab a couple of tickets and go see a great game,” said Lee Helper, president of public relations firm Bender/Helper Impact.

Beyond sports, what to do with clients, partners, guests and investors? There’s the Huntington Library, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Getty. The Hollywood Bowl is a summertime L.A. thing.

Tickets to movie screenings (a very L.A. thing) are typically available through the right channels. For those with a car and a little free time, there’s always Malibu and even the Santa Barbara wine country, now a more popular locale thanks to the movie “Sideways.”

There’s also hot architecture: the Disney Concert Hall seems to be at the top of the list, even among people who have no interest in music. “Not everybody likes to sit through a symphony, but everybody wants to see the building,” said Charles Ong, executive vice president of Far East National Bank.

Then there’s always golf. George Nadel Rivin, a partner at accounting firm Miller Kaplan Arase and Co. LLP, tries to match the club with a visitor’s golf game. He and his partners have access to Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank, El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, and Porter Valley Country Club courses with varying degrees of difficulty. “Lakeside has a lot of water, so if someone is a three to eight handicap golfer, we’ll typically take them there,” he said.

For some local businesspeople, the excursions are more basic. Mark Tarczynski of CB Richard Ellis likes to show off all the high-rises going up downtown. “Of course we’ll go out to lunch and dinner, and drinks at the top of the Standard or at the Golden Gopher but if I have a developer in town, I like to drive him around to the different development sites to show what’s happening. That would be a must-see in my book.”