johndaly

Hi,

Will be travelling to La and San Diego in November and looking for advice on where to stay in these cities. My Budget would be approx. €120 per night for single room.

Thanks

John

Jean

That's about $150 in USD...

You can search on booking.com. Otherwise, we need to know more info about your plans, esp. in L.A., and whether you'd have a car. If you will have a car, does your budget include possible overnight parking charges?

nanabee

Jean is right, between LA and San Diego you have a population of probably over 5 million people (probably much more) which covers a huge area of probably 300 miles from North of downtown LA to the border of San Diego and Mexico.

You need to give us a lot more information. I would suggest getting a travel guide to fund out what each city has that which might be of interest.

I assume you want to stay or be in the popular tourist spots while in San Diego which tend to be along the Pacific Ocean. La Jolla, Coronado are nearest to San Diego then about an hour drive North of the city are smaller beach communities such as Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad which are popular beach communities as well.

johndaly

I would like to stay fairly central in both cities. I have heard Santa Monica in LA is a good location ,any hotel you could recommend there for my budget?

nanabee

Santa Monica is central and on the beach. So that would be a good location.

I live in San Diego and if you want to be in the central area of San Diego I would recommend the downtown area near the Convention Center or Gaslamp area which are very popular with tourists.

You might research Coronado which is across the bay from downtown and a lovely community with lots of hotels to chose from.

What is your purpose ... business, fun, etc.

janisj

You seem to have raised your budget about 50% from your other thread (where you said your budget was under $100/night)

Right now £120 = equals approx $155. BUT one thing that you don't have to take into account in the UK is that generally US hotel rates do NOT include the taxes. And they can be substantial -- city, transit, etc can add 12% to 15%. So are you prepared to pay up to $180/£140 per night inc. taxes?

OR do you mean £120 max all in? If so, you need to look for room-only rates of £105/$135

Jean

There is no "central" location in Los Angeles for tourism purposes. You need to identify what you want to do, and then decide on a location that is convenient to most of that plan. Traffic patterns can also be a factor, and public transportation (in or out of combination with a car) can work for many sights. If you tell us your plans, we can give you some ideas.

Santa Monica levies a 14% tax on all lodging, and in most cases overnight parking is not free. It's one of the more expensive areas within Los Angeles to stay.

nanabee

I could be wrong but I think central L A would be downtown and Century City, Brentwood, Sunset Blvd area because I think there us a South 'Central' LA south of this area. But I am not from there so maybe OP could clarify.

Surfergirl

I agree that "central" is probably the wrong word for Los Angeles, since the city is comprised of 501 square miles of many different neighborhoods and communities. Kind of like a giant suburb with many employment centers, and several universities.

Having said that, if you are interested in staying on the Westside (an area comprised of, among others, the city of Santa Monica, Venice, Pacific Palisades, West Los Angeles, Rancho Park, Westwood & Westwood Village (location of UCLA campus), Culver City, Fairfax District, Miracle Mile, etc., here are three basic budget recommendations in decent areas of town with plenty of public transportation available and all close to restaurants and shops, within your budge.

Not in any particular order are:
Claremont Hotel in Westwood Village
Wilshire Motel on Wilshire Blvd. in West L.A. (close to Santa Monica)
Azul Inn at Santa Monica & Overland (really basic, but because it's across the street from the Mormon Temple, it gets a lot of Mormon visitors).

Jean

I've heard so-so reports on the Azul. Noise, ambient as well as room-to-room.

DebbieDoesDulles

"I would like to stay central in L.A".

It's 500 square miles, you would like to stay central to what, exactly?

"Santa Monica is central".

Central to what? Certainly not to Universal or Warner Brothers or Hollywood/Sunset Strip or to downtown L.A. or to much of anything else really except for Santa Monica.


In Santa Monica the SeaShore Motel and the Seaview Hotel are fine and dandy and probably in your budget range. You'll probably spend a lot of time on public transportation depending on what you want to see and do (or do you also have a nice budget set aside for Uber/Lyft? )

If you'd rather be near the Grove and the Farmer's Market in the mid-Wilshire "Beverly Grove" neighborhood then the Park Plaza Lodge is cheap & clean. It's 20 mins on the bus into Hollywood, 20 mins to Beverly Hills, and about 35-40 mins to the beach (Santa Monica).

In a nutshell, staying "central" in Los Angeles means lots of 35-45min bus trips to your chosen activities, or 25 min Uber rides. Once you let people know what you plan to see and do, you might get some better suggestions.

nanabee

Since OP hasn't given us much to go on, I am guessing by Central LA he means the downtown area. I realize to those familiar with Southern California it may have different meanings.

janisj

>>I am guessing by Central LA he means the downtown area.

jamie99

I live in a suburb of LA and do not consider downtown to be central to many of the things lots of tourists want to see like Hollywood, Santa Monica, one of the Getty museums, etc. It is east of most places in fact.
However OP has not said what he wants to see and do.

rjw_lgb_ca

jamie99, you're exactly right. LA Metro is just too damn big, with far too many interesting things to see and do, to talk about ANY location as being 100% "central". Downtown LA is central to-- well, Downtown activities, and I guess if you are also interested in exploring Hollywood, Pasadena and/or a dining tour of some of the country's best Chinese restaurants (sprinkled throughout the San Gabriel Valley), it's good as well. But for the vast majority of tourists, downtown LA is sadly off their radar, unless they hit Disney Concert Hall or Our Lady of the Ochre-Colored Warehouse-- er, the downtown Cathedral (a big "ugh" other than the stunning doors designed by the late Robert Graham). A shame, as downtown LA has great cultural venues, cool architecture (Bradbury Building, anyone?) and cutting-edge dining.

Others have chimed in with their ideas. I don't have much to add other than in November it's generally cooler in southern CA, so the allure of beach time is a bit faded (although it's still lovely at sunset). Choosing lodging in West Hollywood or Beverly Hills keeps one firmly in the Action, as it were, while keeping firmly steps from public transport options. Given LA's huge size, this should be considered. Prices should also be coming down a bit from the summer High Season, so be diligent and you should find something good.

Another reason to consider avoiding Santa Monica: American Film Market will be going on 11/1 to 11/8, and hotel rooms in Santa Monica (where the whole party is centered) will be at a premium in that general time frame, i.e., several days surrounding the main event (as participants will tour, network, make more deals, etc.).

johndaly

Hi all, thanks for the replies. It seems I have been underestimating the cost of hotels. From speaking to my friends we are now considering hostels in San Fran, LA and San Diego and book hotel in Vegas. From reviewing online HI hostels are getting good reviews. Would hostels be the way to go and spend money on tours/sports events.My budget would be 3-4k for 2wks.

Jean

The Santa Monica hostel is in a great location for using the metro and Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus service. But, just FYI, SM is about an hour from sights in Hollywood and a little more from sights in downtown L.A. No matter how you travel. Metro/bus would be dramatically cheaper in cost, esp. since there would be no parking charges anywhere.

Is your stated budget in dollars or pounds?

https://www.metro.net/

https://www.bigbluebus.com/

johndaly

My budget is in euro,I am going to a number of sports events and tours so trying to keep accommodation down.

janisj

Oh - jeeze - You clearly typed €, and I read £ . . . must be the new bifocals

So your budget is a tad lower than I calculated. €120 = approx $140 per night inc taxes.

Sporting events (depending on which ones you are talking about) can be very expensive.

jamie99

Football tickets will be very expensive, just took at look at tickets for USC vs UCLA (traditional college rivals) and tickets range from $100-200 Nov. 18.
Clippers basketball tickets would be a lot cheaper, should be able to find something decent for $40-50.