OF all the places you'd expect to see a Hollywood star, an underground car park in Los Angeles isn't high on the list says CLARE THORP

But as we stood on the tarmac waiting for the valet, there he was.

The famous muscles were hidden under a black suit and dark sunglasses disguised his face. But there, just two metres away, was movie legend Sylvester Stallone.

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That's the thing about Los Angeles. You never know when or where you will see a celebrity.

But we weren't in Hollywood to spot celebrities. We were spending five days living like one - Vincent Chase from TV show Entourage.

The hit US series is based on the antics of movie star Vince, played by Adrian Grenier, and his entourage, older brother Johnny Drama and friends Eric and Turtle.

Entourage shuns sets in favour of real locations, from glitzy restaurants and hotels to coffee shops and bookstores.

It means that anyone can try their hand at living the Entourage lifestyle. We were staying in The Mondrian, LA's see and be seen hotel in West Hollywood.

While Hollywood itself is home to tourist attractions like the Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theatre, its hipper neighbour is where celebrities like to shop, eat and party.

The Mondrian featured in season four of Entourage, when money problems meant Vince had to sell his Hollywood Hills mansion and move into a suite there. During our visit it was Ashley Cole's presence that had the guests gossiping. Rumour had it he appeared poolside at 5pm each day, but we were too busy sipping the delicious home-made smoothies to notice.

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On our first night we battled jet lag and headed to The Palm, an old-school steakhouse on Santa Monica Boulevard that has been pulling in Hollywood power players for over 30 years.

In the show, this is hardball agent Ari Gould's favourite place for making and breaking deals.

Assistant manager Jordan greeted us and showed us to our table - the same one that US chat show host Larry King eats at every Monday night.

We devoured jumbo shrimp cocktails, 12oz steaks and scrumptious side dishes that would keep most people going for a week.
As we got up to leave, Enrique Iglesias settled into the next booth.

West Hollywood is not short of glamorous eateries. The next day, we had lunch at the latest hotspot, Boa Steakhouse on West Sunset.
Victoria Beckham is a regular and it was recently used as the location for an upcoming episode of Entourage, guest-starring Christina Aguilera.

If you want to mix with the beautiful people on a budget, the £15 threecourse lunch deal is great value.

And what do celebs do after lunch?

Get pampered, of course.

We headed to Voda Spa to slather ourselves with mud masks and sweat out our impurities in the sauna. As we lowered ourselves into the Jacuzzi we spotted another familiar face.

Hollywood actress Julia Stiles was doing a few lengths in the pool.

We took a cab back to the hotel, but if your stay in LA is any longer than a few days then hire a car.

LA is far too sprawling to walk anywhere and public transport is limited. Of course, if you really want to live the life of a movie star then there's only one way to travel - by helicopter.

Celebrity Helicopters, in Compton, offers a range of chopper tours, including fling over the iconic Hollywood sign.

Head pilot Robin Petgrave has plenty of experience in flying the stars. A few weeks earlier he had taken Rihanna and new boyfriend, baseball player Matt Kemp, on a romantic date over the city.

If you're scared of heights, opt for a more sedate form of transport. At the Marina Del Rey, you can hire a boat, complete with skipper, to sail up the coast past Venice Beach and Santa Monica's famous boardwalk.

On our final night of living the Hollywood dream, we went for dinner at Comme Ca restaurant on Melrose Avenue. Charlize Theron and Jessica Biel are fans.

The next morning, it was time to check out and back into reality, leaving our celebrity entourage behind.

FACT FILE
ENTOURAGE season six is out on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 6, from HBO Home Entertainment.

Our trip was organised by the West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau. See visitwesthollywood.com Visit unitedairlines.co.uk or call 0845 8444 777 for flight information.

Rooms at the Mondrian, West Hollywood start at around £160. See mondrianhotel.com to book.

Marina Del Rey has a range of sail and power yachts available. See visitmarinadelrey.com.

Hollywood sightseeing tours can be arranged from around £60 a trip per person through Celebrity Helicopters.
See celebheli.com