After a lot of thinking, my fiance and I decided that we'd like to visit California for our honeymoon. Our honeymoon is only going to be 6 days and 5 nights. We need some advice on choosing the area. We would definitely like to visit LA/Hollywood for a day or two to check out some of the attractions. Any advice on a hotel in this area? We're looking for something somewhat nice, for about $100-$150 a night. We'd also definitely like to have hi-speed internet access in the room. This will help us plan our daily activities.

As for a second destination, we were thinking of Santa Barbara. Any advice about the hotels here? We'd like the same as above. We were planning on driving to Santa Barbara from LA.

Any other areas nicer than Santa Barbara that we should try instead?

We'd be arriving in CA on Oct. 3, 2005 and leaving on Oct. 8, 2005.

Help, please!

danjake, you are coming at our very best time of the year, the weather should be gorgeous (high 70s and clear blue skies, very little fog) and your trip will be wonderful! There have been numerous posts on this subject, so do a search and then post your specific questions. With just five nights, I would want to rest and not do too much driving or unpacking, but that is up to you. Congratulations!

I'd also like to add in that our budget will be approximately $2500.

Though most wouldn't consider it a "honeymoon hotel", the Sunset Plaza is in a great location an easy drive to Beverly Hills and the Getty Center, an easy drive to Universal and Warner Brothers (you can do both tours in one day if you start early) and a quick walk to dining, shops and comedy clubs.

In Santa Barbara first wk of October is usually quite busy, I'd book early, just book something that is changeable. You will be able to go to the Avocado Festival, hooray!

The Eagle Inn should meet your budget for SB, also ask when calling the hotel 800 number about the "entertainment card rates" at Four Seasons Biltmore and the Montecito Inn (just south of Santa Barbara right on the ocean). The Sunset Plaza may also have an e-card rate, and you can currently purchase a membership for about $20, (well worth it if it saves you $30 per night on your rooms.) It will also get you a car rental discount.

www.sunsetplazahotel.com
www.theeagleinn.com
www.montecitoinn.com
www.entertainment.com

We decided on staying near LA for the entire trip. One day during the trip, we're going to leave at the crack of dawn and spend a whole day in Santa Barbara. So, now we just need to find a nice hotel near LA. We wanted to say in Santa Monica, but I can't seem to find anything affordable that isn't pretty crappy. We really don't want to spend more than $150 a night. And we'd be staying for 5 nights. I want something nice because it is our honeymoon, but I don't want to go over our budget either. Suggestions, please.

I was looking at staying at either the Best Western Gateway or the Best Western Ocean in Santa Monica, but I've read some pretty bad reviews for each place.

Baysidehotel.com is the only decent budget place that I know of in Santa Monica, Gateway is just a roadside motel.

We have gotten entertainment discount rates at Doubletree Santa Monica and Wyndham Bel Age in West Hollywood, but it might be too early for them to be offering specials for Oct. Got a $99 rate once at the Sunset Plaza , but that place has become so popular thanks to fodors that the rates have gone up. Bel Air Holiday Inn is a nice location for tourists, and an easy hop on the freeway for your trip north. Stop in Summerland at the beach cafe omelet parlor for breakfast.

Once you get to Santa Barbara you're going to wish that you were spending the night.

We were originally thinking of staying in Santa Barbara for the night, but I'm not sure how I can plan that. We are planning on using Jet Blue (cheaper fare) and flying into LAX. There are no flights to and from Santa Barbaraon Jet Blue. So the best option we could think of would be to stay near LA/Santa Monica from Monday through Wednesday, then spend Thursday in Santa Barbara, drive back to LA, and spend Friday relaxing. Saturday morning would be our flight back home.

I stayed at the BW Ocean Santa Monica last spring for one night and it is an okay location, clean, but it is NOT a honeymoon hotel. If you really wanted to spend more time in Santa Barbara, just drive up from LAX! Easy drive and lots of romantic places to stay. Tracey2cents gave you some great places that fit your budget.

Get ready to change your plan again...because Jet Blue does not fly into LAX (as far as I know). They do fly into Long Beach, in which case you might want to make your friday night at a beach city SOUTH of Los Angeles, not north.

Also, in May they will start flying into Burbank...which is easier access to Hollywood than LAX anyway.

Right next to Long Beach is the quaint, friendly town of Seal Beach. Check out the SealBeachInn.com Go to dinner a few blocks away on Main Street, take a walk along the pier in the morning before you checkout Long Beachand drive 30 mins to LA... Congrats!

LA is definitely not a "Honeymoon Place". Take the time and drive to Santa Barbara and stay there. We took an anniversary trip to Monterey / Carmel and it was wonderful, a great place to honeymoon. We flew into SanJose and it wasn't very expensive and then drove to Carmel. Do a little research before making a committment on LA. Another suggestion; we flew into Long Beach and went over to Catalina Island for a couple days. Very romantic! Good Luck!

I don't know why anyone is surprised southern California coastal hotels might be a little *gasp!* expensive. The scenery can be spectacular, lots of people come here, real estate is shockingly pricey. You pay dearly for the convenience of those breathtaking ocean vistas.

Having said that, there are bargains here and there. Not Santa Barbara. Lovely, truly beautiful, but definitely for the well-heeled.

Santa Monica? Only one bargain place I'd recommend without reservation: the Georgian. Not on the sands, but right on Ocean Avenue with great views and a cool historic vibe. The Best Westerns in the area are, to put it gently, grim. Other than the Georgian, anything less than $150 a night is a true dump.

Head farther down the coast! The Beach House in Hermosa Beach is very cool, very southern California. Truth be told, just keep on going down the coast into Orange County and you'll find the Laguna Riviera in Laguna Beach. The best seaside cove views this side of La Jolla Village, and the Riviera is actually not too expensive.