DD is flying from New Zealand on Oct 9th arriving LAX 11.30am and then flying to Miami via American Airlines departing 10.40pm arriving 6.40am on the 10th. She then gets driven to the Island Princess cruise ship in Fort Lauderdale and starts playing her gig at 7.30pm.

I think she is going to be rather tired by the time she gets there and if she could sleep at LAX for a few hours it will be beneficial!!! What is the best zone to look for on Priceline, and what is the average price for a hotel? She probably won't be able to check in until 2pm though, so is it going to be worth it.

I have looked up Admirals Lounge also. I think you can get a one day pass for $ 50.00. Which would be better?

Any other suggestions?

The Admirals Club Lounge at LAX is nice but like the lounges at every airport in the world they are not conducive for a very restful stay, especially if you are lingering around for more than a couple of hours. Your DD will be much better off staying at one of the nearby hotels - just about every major chain has a hotel within a mile or two of the airport (many provide free shuttle service). You can find lists of hotels at the following websites:

http://www.lawa.org/tenantLAXResult....&sindicator=qs

http://www.laxhotels.net/

Prices vary but you'll find one to fit almost any budget. Regardless, tell your DD to save the $50 Admirals Club Day fee and put it toward the cost of a hotel. She'll be glad she did.

Do you think she would be able to get a reasonable hotel for $ 50.00 incl taxes, on Priceline or Hotwire?

Also if she decided on the Admiral Lounge would she have to check through her bags first, and can you do this 9 hours before the flight?

The priceline area #7 around LAX would be good. I would not send her to a hotel in area #7 which is listed as Lawndale.

There are a lot of hotels on/near Century Blvd west of I495 that would be good. Better would be one in El Segundo.

The hotels in the Redondo-Manhattan Beaches area probably would not have an airport shuttle.

I just called the Hacienda Hotel in El Segundo and asked about a day rate. It is $50 + $4 tax, for 6AM to 6PM. I think it is a 2-star hotel according to pl. Not fancy but it is in a good location in El Segundo on the PCH. They have an airport shuttle. It is across the street from a bank, some restaurants, stores, Starbucks. Maybe 5 minutes from the airport, def less than 10.

She might be able to go standby for an earlier flight on AA. There would likely be a fee. Add to that the cost of a hotel room in Miami. I am not sure how doable this is. Flights to the east coast stop going out in the early afternoon until the redeyes after 10PM.

If your daughter decides to use the Admirals Club rather than get a hotel she will have to check any "non-carry on" luggage BEFORE she goes to the Admirals Club. The lounge is located on the "secure" side of the terminal so she'll have to clear the TSA checkpoint before getting to the lounge.

FYI - after she deplanes from the New Zealand to LAX flight she will have to clear US Immigration then proceed to the luggage carrousel, claim her luggage and clear Customs (this may or may not entail an inspection of the contents of her bags). Once she exits Customs and if she already has her boarding pass for the LAX/MIA flight she can check her bags at the American Airlines "luggage" counter. If she doesn't have her boarding pass she can go to the AA Ticket Counter where she can check her bags and get her boarding pass at he same time. From there she goes to the TSA checkpoint and on to the Admirals Club.

Thanks everyone. The flight from LAX to Miami is being paid for by the cruise line so won't be able to change it. Got some great information here, DD was worried that if she took the hotel option she would have to take her luggage, but looks like she could check it through once she leaves customs the same as if she was using the Admirals lounge. She is favouring the Admirals lounge option at the moment.

<b>4* Priceline LAX zone only</b>. $60 + tax/fees should be able to do it. You can start bidding lower (say $45), and add zones without 4* (Culver City, Inglewood & Lawndale), so you have 4 chances to bid up to your price point every 24 hours. You will get Hilton, Renaissance, Sheraton or Westin. All right outside LAX, all with complimentary shuttle.

I would not bid any other zone for any other * levels.

DD decided to use the Admirals Lounge which she found very comfortable. She made use of the showers, ate a lot of fruit, and snacks, said she also got 2 complimentary vouchers for beer or wine. She also spent 11 hours using the free wi-fi. She did manage a couple of naps, but the last three hours or so really dragged.

The worst part of the trip was arriving at Miami airport at 6.30am and not being picked up by the cruise line bus until 11.30am. DD was exhausted but said she couldn't go to sleep as she had all her bags/passport etc with her and thought they might get stolen. She said the airport was quite cold so she went outside where it was really hot.

I think she could have gone back to the Admirals Club as I think I read that it was a 24 hour pass. I am sure I mentioned this to DD before she left, but she obviously hadn't remembered. Once she got to the cruise ship she had a nap for an hour, then played her gig that night. I think she would have slept all of next day!!!!!!!

Anyone have any ideas what I can do on my 12 hr layover at LAX? Wasn't looking to get a hotel, just don't want to sit in airport all day. Would have loved SFO instead!

Neuman605, this is Gardyloo's recommendation posted on my thread regarding an 8hr layover at LAX (ORD-LAX-SYD via AA/Qantas):

"My recommendation - catch a rental car shuttle outside T4 and use the $$ that you'd spend on the day pass [Admirals Club]for a car rental. Pop down Sepulveda to Manhattan Beach Blvd. (10 min.) and then turn west down MBB to the MB pier. Park the car, walk out the pier, stop and have a sundowner at one of the umpteen bars/coffee houses/ restaurants near the beach. Then walk some more along the Strand - the beachfront pedestrian path, and decide which bank you'd like to knock over to afford one of these houses.

Then have a meal around sunset or later, maybe another walk or whatever, then take the car back and return to the airport for the flight.

Consuming copious oxygen and other nutrients before the long, long flight will do you good, and you'll have watched the sun setting over the Pacific - next time you see it it will be rising over the Pacific instead."