We are a family of four(two boys aged 6 and 9) and will be staying three nights in LA around Easter on the way to San Diego. We have never visited LA before but plan to stay somewhere around Beverly Hills, Hollywood or possibly towards Santa Monica. Any suggestions for a decent (new?) budget hotel with suites - or (so that I can search for something like a Hampton Inn/Suites) a particular location to stay. We will have a car.
More importantly what MUST the four of us do/see during a short stay in this area? Is Knotts Berry worth 'using up' a day for as an alternative to Disney which we will NOT be visiting. Lots of questions I know, so any suggestions appreciated.

I can't imagine why you won't be taking the boys to Disneyland or California Adventure. They're at a perfect age for the amusement parks!

Well, I live here.
I would recommend you stay in Santa Monica near the beach if you can afford it. The weather should be nice and it's a great area in terms of restaurants, shopping, etc. There's also a great pier with rides and games to visit for the kids.
If you'll have a car you could always go to Hollywood to see the touristy movie related stuff, but I wouldn't recommend staying there with kids.
You also might want to consider the Universal Studios Tour for the kids.
Will you be going to the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park? Both are fantastic.

xxx Thanks for your comments, however, we have visited Disneyland Paris and Disneyworld and Universal Studios in Florida, so with limited time we are happy to skip the Disney experience this time.
Kristina, we will certainly visit San Diego Zoo and maybe the Wildlife Park too if we have time.
If we base ourselves in Santa Monica approximately how long will it take for us to reach Hollywood by car and how easy is it to park when we get there?

Santa Monica to Hollywood could take you 1/2 an hour or more by car, depending on traffic/time of day. Your hotel should be able to tell you the best route.
Parking shouldn't be to hard to find, though you will most likely have to pay to park in a lot or structure. If you go see a movie, some theaters will give you free 2 hour validation.
Do you like Thai food? LA has the largest Thai population outside of Thailand and the Eastern part of Hollywood is "Thai Town" with tons of great restaurants and markets.

How about the Long Beach Aquarium? You can rent bikes at the beach in Venice. You go could to Magic Mountain, an amusement park in Valencia. A decent hotel in Hollywood that is a suite hotel is The Magic Hotel. Clean, reasonable, close to the boulevard. Has a nice pool too. Good luck.

There is an Embassy Suites near the airport (in El Segundo). While the area itself isn't too pretty, it is convenient to several freeways that will easily take you to Santa Monica, Hollywood, etc. I think the Embassy Suites set up is ideal for families - decent size rooms, 2 TV's, frig, free cooked breakfast, etc. Knott's isn't really any different than any other amusement park, so I don't think it is worth it unless your kids are crazy about this kind of stuff (and if they are, Magic Mountain is better for scary roller coasters). They might get a kick out of dinner at Medevial Times (?Anaheim) if you haven't done that before. They are probably too young to appreciate Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame or gawking at homes of the stars. The beaches are nice in Santa Monica and Venice but the water will be too cold in springtime for normal humans. The boardwalk area of Venice is always good for a laugh - "street performers", etc. Adults usually love the Peterson Automobile Museum om Wilshire Boulevard and the J. Paul Getty art museum. And on the way to San Diego, stop at Legoland in Carlsbad.

Depending where you stay, or on your way to San Diego, check out some of the harbors (Redondo, Dana Point). Perhaps your boys would like to go whale-watching. It's the end of the season...but there's also half-day sportfishing. They may enjoy some time out on the boat! Hotels may have brochures..

I live in L.A. and it is a pretty expensive place but I am sure you can manage. As for the kids there are plenty of touristy things to do with them, in Hollywood there is a theatre called 'El Capitan" and they always have some kind of kid related movie going on, Venice beach is always a fun place to walk around, a drive down to Malibu would probably be worth it, there are always cultural fairs going on and they are free but you have to check up with those, the Getty is beautiful, I would say Knott's is worth it but dont do it on a weekend, most of all I recommend just hanging out in the beautiful Los Angeles weather.

Hope you have a fun time...

I've spent weekends in Santa monica and in Hollywood, and had a lot more fun in Hollywood. The new Renaissance Hollywood is a nice hotel, more reasonable $$ than Santa Monica Hotels. I found Santa Monica a bit dull, to tell the truth...

We are also going to that area around Easter-We are staying at the Beach House in Hermosa Beach-I think it is 7 mi. south of LAx and right on the ocean. All rooms are suites. it is suppose to be in a nice location on the Strand,and right near the pier with restaurants and shops.We have also stayed at the Embassy suites near the airport and found it a convenient location as a home base for sightseeing if you don't care about being on the water.

messagexx The Beach House at Hermosa looks lovely. just wondering if you have booked direct or whether you obtained a better rate elsewhere?

There are several Residence Inns (Marriott) around greater LA, including one in Beverly Hills and one in El Segundo near LAX. These are somewhat less expensive versions of the Embassy Suite idea - rooms with kitchens, breakfast buffet daily, things like that.

With just three days I don't think I'd spend one of them trekking to Orange Co. to go to Knott's. There will be plenty of diversions for you and the kids of a similar (or, frankly, better) nature in San Diego. Instead, I'd probably shoot for things closer in. Farmer's Market (on Fairfax not far from BH) comes to mind, as does Olivera Street downtown - a (slightly faux but fun) Mexican street with food and craft stalls. Catch a Dodger's game if you can. Spend a day at the beach if the weather's good - Santa Monica, Venice or Manhattan. If you're there on Easter and if you're so inclined, attend the Sunrise Service at the Hollywood Bowl (free, get there by 5 AM) - an historic, memorable tradition.

Last April we stayed at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn : http://www.beverlygarland.com/

We enjoyed it and there were quite a few families there. Nice pool, decent restruant and they have shuttles to the nearby attractions. We had a car while we were there, but never used it untill we left.

Enjoy . . Rich

We got the Beach House for $208 nt. thru Lodging.com. I think Orbitz has it for this price too. It includes continental breakfast. Maybe we'll see you there! We are also going to San Diego after. Where are you staying there?