jlsct

I posted to Travel Talk earlier this week regarding our December 6 day stay in Los Angeles.

We appreciate all the recommendations and exhortations to stay in West Hollywood or Santa Monica, but we mapped out our trip and realized that we slept in Downtown we could save a bundle of money ( I was determined to stay with a total rate of not more than $135 for hotel and parking before tax), get a "better" hotel than what we might be able to afford in a "hipper" location, and be reasonably close to a variety of locales.

We figure that we will save time not driving across town everyday by picking one locale for each of our 5 days (1. Downtown, 2. Farmer's Market-Museum Row, 3. Hollywood(?)- Griffith Park, 4. Pasadena, 5. Getty Center, Santa Monica-Venice 6. Queen Mary, Scorpion on the way to San Diego.) We'll have dinner in the area where we spent our day.

We'll certainly be close to the Downtown attractions, Farmer's Market-Museum Row, Griffith Park. We'll be closer to Pasadena than if we stayed in Malibu, SM, or Venice.

The only time we will drive across town will be to the Getty Center and we will top it off with a late afternoon or dinner at Malibu/SM/or Venice. When we finish we will be driving back into town at the end of the day with what we presume will be less traffic by LA standards...

I am not sure why Downtown gets such a bad rap, but by the end of the day after dinner (9:00? 10:00?) we will be pooped and ready for bed. I am pretty sure we will be glad to be sleeping in an area without a lot of nightlife or rowdy tourists.

After much deliberation (Beverly Garland @ $99 a night, Millennium Biltmore @ $95 a night, Figueroa @ $94 a night, Checker Hilton @ $130 a night, Best Western SM @ $135 a night, Inn @ Venice Beach @ $151 a night) we actually settled on the Los Angeles Omni on Olive Street near California Plaza.

I snagged a fabulous rate of $104 a night using Kayak.com to connect with Skoosh, who had the lowest rate. I booked the room on Tuesday night.

Everyone on TripAdvisor raved about the Omni (not a single unpleasant review - unlike the Figueroa or the Millennium Biltmore) and we will be close to Disney Concert Hall, Museum of Contemporary Art, Grand Central Market, Angels Flight Railway up Bunker Hill, El Pueblo Los Angeles, etc.

*Today (Thursday) the Skoosh price jumped to $122.40 per night
*Travelocity.com = $233.44 (With a $50 Gas Card Rebate for Paying With VISA)
*PerfectEscapes.com = $249 a night
*Priceline.com = $249 a night
*Expedia.com = No Availability
*Hotels.com = No Availability
*Orbit.com, = No Availability

I have no idea why Skoosh has cornered the market on these Omni rooms, but at $104 (or even $122) a night (compared with $249 all over the place from lots of other discount sites,) I am thrilled. With any luck, there will be enough empty rooms to upgrade us to a room with a view of the California Plaza fountains!

So, I am really happy with our LA choice (which took me 2 weeks of research! Whew!)

If you are considering going to either Los Angeles in the next few weeks, I think both the Omni is a great choice, so hopefully someone else can benefit from all my research!

traveler24

Just a reminder--be sure you have "parking" arranged at the Getty-apparently it is very limited -there are shuttles for transport-
Just check their web site for info..
Sounds like a wonderful trip
Be sure to write a trip report when you get back--this help the rest of us with future plans..

NeoPatrick

Have you added in the hotel parking per night by the way?

GoTravel

I'm sure parking is close to $30 per day at any of the hotels.

jlsct

Parking is $28 per night at the Omni with full in and out privileges ($4 cheaper than at the Millennium Biltmore!) What's funny is that SELF parking at the Omni is $35!

We are not above using safe public parking if it is in the same block as the hotel.

(At the Millenium Biltmore valet/hotel parking is $32 with full in and out privileges, but there is a public underground lot across the street for $14 with NO in and out privileges...)

Down to reserving our last hotel room (6 Nights at the LA Omni, 5 nights at the SD Manchester Grand Hyatt, and now, on to the last night at the airport. Kayak.com, here I come!)

Tomorrow? Rental cars!

easytraveler

i just checked the Millenium Biltmore on

tripadvisor.com

and it's got TERRIBLE reviews.

Do be careful!


OTOH, I checked out biddingfortravel.com and, if you bid on Priceline, you can get a 4* in DT LA for a bid of $75, which with taxes and fees will probably take you up to around $95. You'll save around $10 a room a night by bidding for the same area on Priceline.

If you haven't already bid on Priceline or don't know how, come back and ask. Lots of good help here for you!

If you do get the Westin Bonaventura on a 4* bid for DT LA, there is street parking, which is free (if you can find street parking). Or there's a garage just a block off on Figueroa where you can park for $9/$10 a night.

I would not suggest parking on the street around the Millenium Biltmore, but that's just me.

Haven't checked out your other hotel choices, but you can really save a whole bunch of money if you bid on Priceline. For example, you can get a really really nice 4* in Costa Mesa (Orange County) for $55 up, free parking.

Could I persuade you to reconsider your hotel choices?

mlgb

The OP has booked the OMNI at $104.

jlsct

Dear Easy Traveler

Thanks for the advice. Our trip is upcomning December 19-25 (I had a slip of the fingers and mistyped "December 6" when I first posted.)

We have already booked the Omni at $104 a night.

We don't like bidding for rooms unless we can see EXACTLY where the hotel is, what the rooms look like, and what kind of reviews it has gotten on TripAdvisor. Hotwire and BiddingForTravel just don't meet our need for emotional security...smile.

I have a feeling that the Omni will be sparsely populated that last week before Christmas, so we are hoping the hotel will share the bounty of empty rooms and put us someplace high up with a view of the fountains. I'm thrilled with the price and it's a done deal.

I still need to book my rental car and do some more Los Angeles restaurant research.

We have already booked a room at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego at $110 a night. We are thrilled with that deal, too. I've come up with really good SD happy hour bargains, fabulous SD restaurant deals, and SD dining coupons --- more than we will be able to use during our 5 days there.

Now, I am just keeping my fingers crossed for good weather!

NeoPatrick

jlsct, what you say makes a whole lot of sense. I can see Priceline when you can't find anything you really like for under $200 or so and you can get something on Priceline for half that price or less-- and take a chance of what or where it is. But when you can book exactly what you are pretty sure you will like for a rate like $104 -- why prepay and "risk" to just save a few dollars? Can you imagine bidding a 4star in downtown LA and getting the dreaded Millenium Biltmore, warned about above? I see on Bidding for Travel, that's exactly the place a couple of them got bidding on Priceline.

easytraveler

Oops, sorry! My bad! Don't know why I thought you had booked the Millenium Biltmore.

Omni at $104 is a good deal.

Have a great trip!

trippinkpj

About the Millenium Biltmore, it was great when we stayed there in 2002. Maybe it has gone downhill since then. Also, we were on one of the upper club floors.

Jean

I like downtown L.A.!

I'm sorry to tell you that Angel's Flight is not currently in operation.

Try to do the walking tour of the Disney Concert Hall.

There's another good museum downtown: the Japanese-American Museum.

You can take the Gold Line train to Pasadena from Union Station (across the street from Olvera Street Plaza). You can also get to Hollywood and Vine by taking the Red Line from Pershing Square. FYI, the public parking lot under Pershing Square may have a very good overnight rate.

jlsct

Dear trippinkpj

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I actually called the Millennium Biltmore's reservation manager Long Distance (We are on the East Coast) and expressed my concerns about some of the information I had read on TripAdvisor.

She told me that the Millennium Biltmore Club floors, and the 8th and 9th floors have been refurbished/renovated, but ince we would have been booking the room via one of Kayak.com's providers at $95 a night, I didn't have a lot of confidence in her replies or our ability to get a quiet upper-floor room with any kind of a view...)

We don't travel a lot (1-2 times a year for 10 days to 2 weeks at a time, but I am known for doing my "homework" and I generally have good relationships with hotel staff. (On our last trip to Vancouver in August, 2007 the reservation manager moved us up to the best penthouse room in the hotel with a wrap around view of English Harbor and Coal Bay after an unfortunate noisy night overlooking Robson Street. We didn't yell, we didn't carp, we just asked for a meeting and explained the problem quietly. It worked.)

So, for the reservations manager of the Millennium Biltmore (which has almost 700 rooms!) to tell me that she couldn't help get me on a quiet floor --- well, she lost my business.

We know that the Millennium Biltmore has lovely public spaces, and we are sure we will walk by to gape at the lobbies and foyer, but we are pretty sure that we made the right choice with the Omni Los Angeles.

mp

We stayed at the Omni LA downtown over Labor Day Weekend, 2006 - and really liked it - we had a huge suite, the hotel breakfast was surprisingly good - the high floor view was pretty, the fitness room/pool area was blissfully quiet and well maintained, the staff was friendly, we liked walking around the concert hall. The neighborhood was deserted, but being from NYC, we found that amusing . . . We quickly drove to some interesting Japantown restaurants and had terrific mexican food near the LA Coliseum. Be sure to join the Omni guest program before your stay and you'll probably get an room upgrade and some free amenities . . .

trippinkpj

Yes, the Omni sounds like a great choice jlsct. Have a great time!

jlsct

Dear mp

Thanks for the tip! I am a member of so many darn rewards programs that I rarely benefit --- I usually pick on price/location/amenities (in that order..) so I am almost always staying in a variety of branded properties.

I was really impressed with the depth of the Omni's Rewards Program's questions: feather or foam? near or away from elevator? Made me smile with anticipation!

I joined right after you wrote and printed off my membership information from the computer. Of course, I'll bring it with me! My bargain rate of $104 doesn't include breakfast, so unless they decide to throw that in, we'll be exploring Original Pantry, Phillipe's, and the Grand Central Market for breakfast...

LA booked, SD booked, LAX booked, rental car booked (absolute best deal was on Enterprise - more than $100 cheaper than anyone else for the same standard or full size car!

Now, back to attraction and restaurant research (well, after I leave for work @ 7:00 a.m. - work - and come back at 6:00 p.m.!)

smiles and many thanks to all for sharing your expertise!

NeoPatrick

I guess I'm still a little confused over one post above extolling the virtues of bidding Priceline for a four star in Downtown LA and what a great deal you can get that way. Yet in the very same post there is a warning about the "bad" reviews for the Millenium Biltmore and saying "be careful", one of the very likely hotels you'd be likely to win bidding a four star downtown. How can one "be careful" not to get the dreaded hotel when bidding. Aren't you taking your chances that you will indeed get it -- especially since others in that category recently have?

Is this the typical idea that any horrible hotel is OK, as long as it you didn't pay too much for it? Does it mean that since you're getting a bargain you may have to put up with a place that really isn't so nice? This is why I totally understand the original poster's comment that she wanted to be sure it was a nice hotel. Priceline in this case certainly wouldn't guarantee that.

mlgb

jlsct, another breakfast (and lunch) option is Le Petite Boulangerie, which you can find by walking through the Wells Fargo Center to the Hope Street frontage, on ground level. I'm guessing that they probably are open only on weekdays. They have freshly baked croissants, bagels, etc, as well as sandwiches and wraps to go for lunch.

Broadway and Grand Central would be a good option for weekends when many Bunker Hill restaurants are closed. And your hotel's Grand Cafe is also nice for breakfast, although probably a bit pricy.

jlsct

NeoPatrick: I haven't had the chance to write and Thank you for you intelligent commentary and wanted to make sure I did!

I agree with you completely! I will bid on Skoosh, Expedia, Hotels.com, and in a pinch, maybe Orbitz (we almost ended up with no hotel on our honeymoon because of them, but that's a story for another time...smile) but I won't use Priceline or Hotwire unless it is to book a 4 star property at an airport for dirt cheap. I AM willing to gamble, but only when the odds are in MY favor.

I can tell you for an (almost) fact that the 4 star hotel you are seeing for $75 probably could definitely be the Millennium Biltmore and here's the reasons why:

1. The MB has 683 rooms that they need to fill. (Count them: SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-THREE rooms!)

2. TripAdvisor Editorial information lists the MB as a "4 Star" property.

3. I also tend to believe that Priceline sometimes "overstates" some of their properties' Star ratings...

4. The MB is in downtown LA, which most people seem to shun*
(See #1)

(*note: I can tell you, I am hoping we're going to be very happy at the Omni in Downtown - walk to the Disney MOCA, Pueblo LA, Central Market, a short drive or bus to Museum Row, the Farmer's Market, Griffith Park, and one hell of a lot easier to drive over to the Norton Simon, The Huntington, Gamble House, and the Descano in Pasadena, especially when compared to driving from Malibu, Santa Monica, Brentwood or West LA, so we are not among the anti-downtowners...)

4. The Writer's strike in LA is having an impact on business in general. No new scripts means lots of related businesses are "on hold"
(see #1)

4. The two week between December 15 and January 1 are devoid of big conventions and business events.
(See #1)

5. THE MB has LOTS of negative reviews on TripAdvisor

(We MIGHT have been able to stay at the MB without complaint, because I almost always prefer "old," "heritage," or "European," compared with "modern," or "hip," but I want a clean room with nice sheets, so, no dice...)

6. AND finally, you read the full November 9, 2007 TripAdvisor report from LondonTravelingGirl and the response from the the MB PR Marketing and Public Relations Director, he himself, states:

***"As I have heard other guests mention our star rating I would like to clear that up as well; the Biltmore is a 3-star hotel, not a 4-star. Star ratings are based on certain very specific regulations on such things as amenity availability and even bathroom square footage. As a historical hotel we are physically unable to meet a 4-star qualification, partially due to structure, and are therefore labeled and advertise ourselves as a qualified THREE-STAR. It is still an elegant and well-serviced property, and most guests find the star-rating differences minimal or unrecognizable."***

So all in all, I am sure that someone is going to book on Priceline and end up there. And at $75, I am sure it will be a good deal for someone who thinks like us most of the time. (For $75 I could probably clean the room myself!)but we just weren't willing to pay $95 a night there when we could pay $104 at the Omni!

poodle13905

great hotels in Downtown LA that are reasonably priced and not generic:

Wyndham Checkers Hotel
The Standard Hotel
Hotel Figueroa (beautiful pool and gorgeous Morroccan lobby, although this is a bit more budget/funky/euro than the other two)