These are great tips! Easy, my plan is to fly into SF and out of LA as you mentioned. Your itinery sounds wonderful.
WB studio tour sounds good, the girls love Gilmore Girls and maybe we'll see something from the show. Melrose sounds worth a visit.
Olvera sounds good, we love Mexican food, etc, is that far from Hollywood area?
Narrowing down LA seems to be the biggest challenge. How's Renaissance Hollywood Hotel? We all love the retro stuff.

Olvera Street is not far at all from Hollywood-only a few miles. Just get on I-5 north from Olvera Street and get off at Hollywood Blvd or Sunset Blvd.

The Renaissance Hollywood is actually a nice hotel, recently renovated and quite well-regarded. I'm not a huge fan of staying in the Hollywood neighborhood; it's cleaning itself up quite a bit, but it's still a bit grimy to me (too many head shops and check-cashing joints for my taste).

If you want "retro" in feel and can spend a little extra, how about the Beverly Hills Hotel? Or, if you want ocean access and a feel for southern California circa 1930, there's the Georgian in Santa Monica. Early Hollywood Déco combined with all the latest mod-cons and a relaxed feel you don't get in a lot of LA-area hotels.

The Georgian & Beverly Hills both look a little stuffy for the girls. Any other ideas, especially in W. Hollywood? Does anyone have a suggestion for SF or for a stop along the coast drive?

Columbus Motor Inn in SF is fine, they have some large family-sized rooms and parking is included if you want to have that car for trips to the coast, the Redwoods, etc.

In West Hollywood, we like the SunsetPlazaHotel, but if you're planning 4-to-a-room they are definitely not spacious. Summerfield Suites nearby is getting a little worn, but you could get a larger unit there. The RenaissanceHollywood is a good choice, though not in WEST Hollywood...from this hotel you can take a quick subway ride up to Universal Tour/ or a quick bus ride to WB tour so that you don't have to worry about traffic.

I'm looking for a SF Hotel that's in a good spot as far as mass transit to explore the city. Don't want a car (or the parking expense) until we leave the city. I've seen mention of a hotel (Hilton?) on The California Cable Car line which sounded like a great location for a base.

SF is best without a car. The public transportation is good and it's also a good walking city. If you stay near Market St, you will be in the thick of things, right downtown and just about every transportation line in SF either crosses Market or travels up and down it (or under). The cable cars are great too, they can get very crowded, so I wouldn't count on them too much for transportation. The California line tends to be less crowded than the Powell lines.

Went with our two teens (13 and 15) last April. They really loved Alcatraz (especially younger son) and Sonoma including vineyard tram tour at Benzinger (especially older daughter). They also particularly enjoyed dim sum in Chinatown and dinner at the Fog City Diner. The Japanese garden was also a hit!

The Hearst Castle tour was incredible. I highly recommend it, and suggest you stay somewhere closeby as a half way mark between LA and SF. We stayed at the Best Western Cavalier in San Simeon. It is a decent family hotel in a fabulous location but with a dreadful restaurant. However, they do have a laundry center on premises, so it's great for a mid-vacation stop! :)

My kids enjoyed LA, and especially the Warner Brothers Studio tour. It was very good. We took a Hollywood / Beverly Hills day tour right out of our hotel one day, and found it well worth it! Much easier than trying to drag yourselves around and find all the traditional tourist stops. (The third day we went to the Crystal Cathedral and Calif Adventure.) For restauants, I'd recommend Warszawa for dinner, and the Champs Elysee for breakfast or lunch.

For LA and SF, you may want to learn how to use Priceline, and bid a four or five star hotel. Read through Biddingfortravel.com before you start, and stick to your desired neighborhoods and quality levels. We got two non-smoking connecting rooms everywhere we went, and paid $75 per night per room at the Beverly Hilton and $65 pn pr at the SF Hilton Towers.

Good luck and have fun!

How's the Argonaut? Is it too close to everything? Also, I don't see any hotels listed on Market Street itself.

Merry Christmas, biscuithead!

You'll probably not get many answers, as it's holiday time and the weather is wonderful here in the Bay Area!

Very quickly: the Argonaut is fine. It's one of the most popular hotels in SF. It's located at the end of the Fisherman's Wharf area and is very close to the Maritime Museum. Fisherman's Wharf is the number one tourist hotel area in SF.

The second most popular hotel location is Union Square.

Don't try to stay on Market Street. It's not the best place.

Have a great holiday season! :)

I know there won't be much today but it's freezing here and doing a little California dreaming. Any rec's for Carmel/Monterey lodging?

If you have a chance to check out the Standard Hotel Lobby in Hollywood, it is real metro/modern, bean bag chairs, live person in display case.

In Los Angeles:
Santa Monica Pier and 3rd Street prominade are lots of fun for both children and adults. Santa Monica is fun during the day or night.
Also, check out Venice Beach during the day.

Dont know if you'd have time for a stop at Pismo Beach on your drive from S.F. to L.A.
But, you could stay over one night near the pier. The street the pier is on is a nice little walk.
You could get a ride on a hummer on the sand dunes in Pismo, this is a BLAST!

I think your itinerary sounds pretty good. Assuming this is not the only trip you will ever make to California, you don't have to do everything in one week. In San Francisco and LA, I would recommend using a discount service to get a 3 or 4 star hotel - it will be perfectly fine and you will pay a lot less. Stick with Fisherman's Wharf or the Union Square area in SF, and Hollywood/Beverly Hills in LA. In SF, definitely do Alcatraz, Ghirardelli Square, Union Square, etc. Maybe Sausalito, Point Reyes, etc. if you have time. I wouldn't recommend any of the detours like the jelly belly factory or Winchester Mystery House. If you don't want to take your chances, the St. Francis in SF is my favorite touristy hotel, but there are tons of small hotels around that are great as well. The Orchard, the Argonaut, the Villa Florence, Campton Place, etc. Definitely eat lunch at Fisherman's No. 9, and have dinner in North Beach.

When you get ready to leave the City, leave early so you can get to Monterey/Carmel in time for lunch (3-4 hr drive). If you have time, do the 17 mile drive. From there, drive down to Big Sur and stay at Deetjen's or the Big Sur Lodge. This is a beautiful but very windy coastal drive, so be sure to do it during the day!! From there, stop at Hearst Castle and then drive to Santa Barbara or Solvang. It's a looong drive from Hearst Castle to LA, so I'd recommend spending a night in Solvang or Santa Barbara (lots of decent motels).

It sounds like a couple of nights in in the Beverly Hills/Hollywood area of LA would suit you fine. It's nice and central and all of the interesting "Hollywood" sights are nearby, like Graumann's Chinese, the sign, and Rodeo Drive. Don't miss the La Brea Tarpits, and if you have time take one of those tours that drives you by the stars' homes. The studio tours are also fun,and show tapings if you can get tickets. If you want to see celebrities, go to the Ivy for lunch and/or Fred Segal - I have never been to either of those places and not seen somebody. Just don't forget to act cool! Don't bother with downtown LA unless you want to see the new Frank Gehry designed Concert Hall. If you want to go to the beach, try the Santa Monica area rather than Venice. Hotels in LA that would be good are the Renaissance in Hollywood (in the Hollywood/Highland complex) the Westin on Sunset, the Beverly Hills Hotel and the St. Regis in Beverly Hills (it's the "Pretty Woman" hotel) or Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica. For eating in LA with kids, try Musso and Franks' Grill, the Pig and Whistle, the Pinot "chain" of restaurants, Pink's Hot Dog stand and the Farmer's Market.

If you want to keep going, head down to Laguna Beach, or even to La Jolla in San Diego. Hope you have a great time and good luck!!

I second do not stay on Market Street. Also do not stay on Van Ness!!!

biscuithead,

you have been given great advice here.

Just two comments on the advice by aliceaq regarding L.A.:

I am not sure which Westin Hotel there should be on Sunset. There is none as I recall.

The "Pretty Woman" Hotel is not the St. Regis, but rather the Regent Beverly Wilshire. The St. Regis is located not far from Beverly Hills in Century City on Avenue of the Stars. This is a good location if you are in the area on business.
The Regent Beverly Wilshire is a grand property just at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Blvd. It's in possibly one of the best locations for leisure and business on the Westide of L.A.. I think you would prefer staying here than at the St. Regis (and I am pretty sure, this is the property aliceaq was recommending while just getting the names mixed up).

In LA, you may want to visit the LA County Museum of Art, where the King Tut exhibition will be on display from June thru November. Possibly a once in a lifetime experience.

Just one more poster agreeing that you do not want to stay on Market St., or VanNess in S.F. I just stayed at the Villa Florence (Union Square) last week. You would need 2 rooms (or perhaps their suite). Grand Hyatt at Union Square is a good choice to.

Personally I always feel that Union Square is a good location to stay at, seems that than everything is walking distant (I do like to walk especially in SF).

You IMHO have received some very good suggestions. Have fun planning your trip.

Hi biscuithead!
Just a couple of added suggestions for you. As hotels go in SF, we prefer Nob Hill area. Our favorite hotel is the Huntington. It is smaller than many, but used to be apartments, so it has much more space. The restaurant is good, there is a spa on premises just in case the ladies need to be pampered, a park is just across the street, as is Grace Cathedral. Cable car stops out front and the hotel has a curtesy car to drop you at nearby places, including going for rental car before you head out of town. I also suggest staying in Carmel. There are many B&B's in the area as well as a variety of other places. A lady in town (she has a web site)conducts a walking tour a couple of times a week which shows you some places you might miss on your own. I agree with other posters that the kids would love the beach there...the dogs rule! Carmel is very pet friendly. A side trip to Monterey for the aquarium is well worth it. So is a trip to Pebble Beach if you happen to be a golf fan. Going on down the coast to Hearst's castle is a pretty drive. I suggest staying in Cambria. Many small hotels/motels are on Moonstone Beach Drive. None are on the water side of the street, so no one's view is blocked. There is a boardwalk and the view is great. Cambria is only about 10 minutes from San Simeon. Check the website for the castle. You can get tickets online. Another good place to stay for a night or two is Santa Barbara. Very pretty, big marina. Fun to watch the fishing boats come in with their catch. The visitors center is about a block from the pier and they provide free parking. From there the drive to LA is not bad at all. My personal preference is to stay in Santa Monica. It is on the coast, between Venice and Malibu. The boardwalk and pier are fun. My hotel favotite is the Faimount Miramar. The tower rooms have water views. Be warned, however, that the rooms and baths are on the small side, although the hotel is quite nice. And may I get on my soap box for just a second and suggest you get a good city map so you can navigate without the need to always use the freeway. The freeway will take you 3 or 4 times longer to get some places than the city streets, because no one is using the streets. Everyone is on the freeway! From Santa Monica you can go right up Wilshire to Beverly Hills in no time at all. Sepulveda runs parallel to the 405 and is much faster. Etc, etc.You get the idea. Obviously, this won't work for everything, but keep it in mind. Also, may I suggest that you sign up for a tour in each city for your first morning. That way you see some of the main sights. Some you may want to go back to later, some you can mark off your list. And lastly, you mentioned that your girls like the Gilmore Girls show. It is shot at Warner Bros. IMHO the tour is pretty lame, but they show you all the exterior settings and you just might get to see an interior. Hope this helps. Have lots of fun...it's a great place to visit!