Los Angeles hotel

[diberry]

We will be arriving in L.A. in August from U.K. and plan to spend a week touring before we descend on Anaheim!! Can anyone please recommend a good basic hotel fairly near Universal for a couple of nights for 2 (very jet-lagged!!) adults? We've never been to California before so would really appreciate your help. Thanks.

 

[Judy from Boise]

this is a harder question than you think.......LA isn't a "normal" city, it is huge and sprawled and has many many distinct neighboorhoods that can be hours away from each other depnding on the traffic!
It sounds like you may be interested in a hotel in Universal city? Or maybe in Redondo near the beach since it is close to LAX?
You may want to consider just biting the bullet and heading to your Disneyland hotel, then arrange tours for LA sights and universal to be picked up from Anaheim??????I always think that is more relaxing.

 

[diberry]

Thank you JudyfromBoise - the beach option sounds wonderful. Do you know any specific hotels you could recommend or will there be the usual Best Western type to choose from? I really appreciate your help! And a very Happy New Year to everyone!!!

 

[Judy from Boise]

Here is a link to Greyline tours that are offered from Anaheim, in case you should want to consider making it your home base.
http://www.etix.com/travel/servlet/onlineSale?action=viewTours&franchise_id=84

here are the tours offered from LA
http://www.etix.com/travel/servlet/onlineSale?action=viewTours&franchise_id=106

 

[diberry]

Thank you again - you certainly do have all the local info at your fingertips!!

 

[LynnTarrant]

I'm not sure how much help this is but we are also from the UK and are spending some time in LA before going to Disneyland next August. I did quite alot of research uusing this site , Trip advisor and others and have booked the following:-
1st 2 nights The Shangri - La Hotel Santa Monica, as I understand it this is opposite the beach and about 20mins from the airport.
2nd 2 nights The Magic Castle hotel which is right in Hollywood and about 10mins from Universal. There were loads of choices but we were looking for value for money. I'll be home on 12th Aug can't let you know more until then. If any West coast folk want to comment on my choices it's not too late to change!
Lynn

 

[diberry]

Thank you so much Lynn, that really is very helpful. Santa Monica sounds wonderful too - just so many great beaches to choose from. We thought we might stay on the Queen Mary at Long Beach which is surprisingly affordable. We're going on 10th August by the way for 2 weeks.
We've decided on 2 nights in L.A. (how on earth do people cope with an 8 hour time shift????? - we'll be like zombies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) , 3 nights in Las Vegas , 2 in San Diego and a week in Anaheim. It just sounds SOOOOOO exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Does anyone have any tips for must-dos/must-sees in any of these places please?

 

[lap3]

Judy is right in that LA is sooo big and spread out. If you want to stay at a hotel near LA, Santa Monica is nice but since you're going in August, I would suggest try the Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach area. The weather will be so nice with many activities to do and see. I don't know of any specific hotels but I'm sure you can find a nice hotel in those general areas by visiting online places like Hotwire, Priceline, Cheaptickets, Expedia, or Orbitz. If you want to stay in Universal City near the Studios, it's a bit pricey but my wife and I always enjoy the Universal Hilton. You can walk to the Studios or take the tram. Also to see in this area is City Walk.

If I think of other suggestions, I'll let you know.

 

[diberry]

Thank you lap3 - I always find Expedia good. Bythe way, isn't 2563 miles west of WDW somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - Hawaii??

 

[lap3]

Thank you lap3 - I always find Expedia good. Bythe way, isn't 2563 miles west of WDW somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - Hawaii??

LOL!!! Actually, I reside in Simi Valley which is about 45 minutes North of LA. The 2563 is the actual mileage when driving from WDW to Simi Valley.

 

[diberry]

WOW!!!! Shows how bad my geography is!!!!! I thought it was about 1000 miles from WDW to DL - can't cope with these enormous distances living on an island!!!

 

[lap3]

No problem. BTW, have you decided where you want to stay yet? Which ever you choose, you would have made a good choice. August in Southern California is really beautiful and there's so much to see and do. Let me know if I can help in any other way...

 

[almostGoofy]

Judy is right in that LA is sooo big and spread out. If you want to stay at a hotel near LA, Santa Monica is nice but since you're going in August, I would suggest try the Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach area.

Although the South Bay area (Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach) is a great area with great beaches; I have to differ on it being the ideal place for a tourist who'd like to explore the L.A., Hollywood, Universal area. Traffic along the 405 fwy will be a problem unless they carefully plan around the rush hours. Even during non-rush hours, someone who isn't use to traffic in a busy major metropolitian area like L.A. may still find it crowded. I use to commute from Orange County to Santa Monica and still drive into the L.A. area to visit family and there isn't anytime of the day I haven't run into a back up just north of LAX on the 405 fwy. I think that's due to the 10 fwy. merging into the 405 around there. Staying in the South Bay area will make it necessary to travel through that part of the 405 to get to Hollywood/L.A. and beyond. I think Santa Monica is a better base than the South Bay area for touring purposes.

dberry mentioned in their original post about a place near Universal. Past postings on this board have mentioned the Beverly Garland which is part of the Holiday Inn chain. Here's their website: http://www.beverlygarland.com/home.html. You might want to check out the reviews on this place on Trip Advisor. I've never stayed there but only mentioned it because so many others have on this board. If Universal Studios and Hollywood are the sites you want to see in your two days in L.A., this would be much closer than Santa Monica.

 

[diberry]

That's really nice of you, thank you lap3. We've booked 2 nights on the Queen Mary at Long Beach, 3 nights at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, 2 nights at a HoJo in San Diego and a week at the Best Western Park Place Inn in Anaheim. Any tips about good places to go and good things to do and see would be very welcome as we are total newcomers to CA.

 

[diberry]

Oh dear, almostGoofy - have I booked the wrong area? Maybe I should have waited but was eager to get it all sorted. Hope we can get from Long Beach to Universal and Hollywood without too much trouble especially as we'll be driving on the other side of the road from our usual!!

 

[lap3]

almostGoofy, that's a good point. But, when you get right down to it, traffic is always a concern when traveling through the greater LA area, regardless of where you stay. diberry, I don't mean to discourage you but traffic can get pretty bad out here and I don't think that's to anyone's surprise. With careful planning, I think you can venture about while incurring very little trouble with the congestion out here. Like almostGoofy said, avoid the rush hour.

 

[lap3]

Oh dear, almostGoofy - have I booked the wrong area? Maybe I should have waited but was eager to get it all sorted. Hope we can get from Long Beach to Universal and Hollywood without too much trouble especially as we'll be driving on the other side of the road from our usual!!

It can still be done. If you're staying during the week, the best times to drive around would be during the day. This will avoid the rush hours for those that are working. If it's during the weekend, the early morning hours should be a breeze.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I love vegas, so let me tell you some of my "must do's" there
1. Bellagio fountains and a walk through their conservatory
2. Forum shops, see the fountain show, and have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory
3. The exploding volcano at Mirage, with a look inside at their aquariums
4. A walk through (the name is escaping me! The Italian place across from TI) shops
5. A spin on the NYNY coaster at night
6. If you are a Star Trek fan, don't miss their attraction at the Hilton
Of course all of my must do's are on the strip since i never leave it!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I live about 15 minutes from LAX.

The Queen Mary is right at the end of the 710 freeway - from there you can easily get on the 405.

Things to see in 2005: Los Angeles -
One day: Griffith Park Observatory, La Brea Tarpits, & Hollywood, including Mann's Chinese Theater & Kodak Theater.
- Take the 710 north to the 105 west to the 110 north - You'll pass the LA Coliseum, where the Olympics were held in '32 & '84. Get off on the 101 north (which is the same way you would get to Hollywood Bowl and Universal Studios). Get off on Vermont & head to the hills for the observatory, if you'd like to visit. The La Brea Tarpits are where the movie Volcano was filmed. Hollywood Blvd has the famous stars on the sidewalk - very touristy.

You can spend one day at the beach - you can either hang out at Long Beach, or drive down to Seal Beach or Newport Beach - both nice for their beaches & shops.

There's a lot to see in San Diego, including Shoreline Village, Old Towne (where SD began), SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, etc.

From San Diego to Anaheim - if you have time, get off on Ortega Hwy in San Juan Capistrano & tour the mission there - part of California history.

BW Park Place Inn - walking distance to the entrance to both parks - Disneyland & California Adventure -- very nice.

 

[almostGoofy]

diberry,

Well, Long Beach certainly puts you further away from Universal and Hollywood but, like lap3 said, it can be done with careful planning around rush hour. Guess we should tell you when rush hour is.

In the morning from Long Beach, I probabaly wouldn't plan on leaving until 9:00 a.m. From Universal and Hollywood, I would plan on being back on the road to Long Beach either by 2:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m. at the latest; or plan on staying out there longer and leaving after 7:00 p.m. Later would be even better. When I was working in Santa Monica, quitting time was 6:00 p.m. but I wouldn't leave any earlier than 7:00 p.m. Even at 7:00 p.m., traffic would still be slow but at least it wasn't crawling. You will have one big advantage that I didn't as a solo commuter: car pool lanes! That could speed up your journey. Use them if you have two or more in your car, especically if there's a back up. Not all sections of every freeway will have car pool lanes but many do. You should know that you may only enter and exit car pool lanes where there is a broken white line. If you cross over double yellow lines, you risk getting a ticket if caught.

I still think finding a place closer to Universal and Hollywood would be better for touring but I can understand the allure of staying on the Queen Mary. If you decide to stay in Long Beach, you might be interested in a gondola ride if you've never done that before. If you done it in Venice, I'm sure it will pale in comparison though.