First timers to California
 

My family, son 16, daughter 14, husband 46 and I want to go to CA for the first time. My son wants to see Hollywood and hopefully run into some stars. My husband wants to be on a beach and have a view. My daughter and I are easy going as long as there is some shopping. I have been looking at Sant Barbara Where should we stay that would please all of us. We are going out the midle of July. We will need 2 rooms so we wanted to stay in the 300 dollar range or less for a hotel or resort. Any ideas?

Santa Barbara is a wonderful upscale coastal town. It's a 3 hour drive to Hollywood, good luck with the stars. If you want to be on the beach you have to be in central to Southern California. Anything south of Santa Barbara has nice beaches inf the summer. North can be foggy in the summer. I don't know about shopping in Santa Barbara, LA and Orange County have great beaches and shopping also. June can be foggy and cool. In OC and LA, not been to Santa Barbara during those months.

Santa Barbara can be warm in July, but not usually unpleasant. For hotels, Fess Parker's Doubletree is very nice. The Harbor View is also a good choice. The beaches and restaurants in SB are excellent.
But SB is a long way from Hollywood.
Maybe some place a little closer, Santa Monica or Manhatten Beach? ot down on the Orange County coastal areq, Dana Point, Laguana Beach, San Clemente?

Hollywood is not really where you'll find any stars, or see any movies being made. Its one street, more or less, for tourists. Try hanging out in Santa Monica, Malibu, Pacific Palisades if you want to try to see Stars. Shopping in Santa Monica and Malibu is fun..so is West Hollywood for that matter. I don't think Santa Barbara sounds like what you want.

Santa Barbara makes for a nice laid back family vacation, you might want to hit it on the weekdays when prices are a bit lower, then head down to the Universal Hilton for the weekend to please your son. Friday you could do the Warner Brothers Studio Tour nearby, and Sat the Universal Park and a subway ride down to Hollywood/ Walk of Fame.
In Santa Barbara the Harbor View Inn is great, just south of SB in Montecito the Montecito Inn is really nice. It was a celebrity hangout back in the 40's and celebrities have mansions in the area (Oprah, Travoltas, Ellen).

Santa Barbara is a gorgeous place to visit, but it won't meet all your needs. Well, everybody but your son.

If you want to do the touristy L.A. things, you need to stay closer to L.A. For star spotting, head to the Beverly Center, the shops on Melrose or Robertson (I've seen lots of celebs at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf), or Santa Monica.

Definitely visit the Getty museum if you can. It's such a stunning location, even if you aren't a "museum" person.

Echoing another poster, you are unlikely to see many celebreties in Hollywood. Aside from a couple of tourist attractions, it is mostly a seedy, down-at-the-heels section of Los Angeles.

There are a number of areas where "star" sightings are fairly frequent. They include Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Malibu, Studio City, and the LAX airport terminals. It is always luck-of-the-draw whether you'll see any or not but you have a greater chance in these those areas. When I lived in that area for about 18 months, my most frequent sightings occurred in the up-scale grocery stores in Studio City and at the airport.

Echoing dwooddon to some extent, my most frequent sightings over the years were at Jerry's and at Art's, both well-known delis in Studio City.

Remember its often very hard to spot a "celeb" since they will look fairly normal without all the make up, hair do's and air brushing..not to mention the fancy clothes.

Thanks so much for the info!! I guess I was alittle confused with Santa Barbara and Santa Monica in location with the touristy stuff for my son. Thanks for the info where to see the stars. kleroux, I'm with you, I have always told my son when we are in NYC that we probably walk past stars without even realizing it!!I guess Sant Barbara and the sourrounding area is the place to be. Any hotels/resorts in this area?

Living in So. Cal all my life, I have seen so many celebrities and I don't know if you want to bug them..
I leave them alone.
Why don't you find a great place to stay and if you run into them great but if not, great too!
La Jolla, Santa Barbara, Malibu are great places to stay and see the stars..
Combo pak LA/SD to Catalina Island...another great place in July..take the boat over and the snorkeling and island life is just so wonderful.
For the San Diego Area try Expedia or Priceline..
Try the Sea Lodge at the LJ Shores or La Costa Resort & Spa., The Grande Colonial Hotel or for a reasonable hotel try the Hotel LJ..
You want a place for your kids to play in the water and eat, drink and have a frigging blast..
La Jolla/San Diego rocks!

ljbtc.com
thegrandecolonial.com
hotellajolla.com
lacostaresort.com
visitcatalinaisland.com

Not much taping is going on in July so lots of celebs are out of town too. I guess you can see Britney pretty much at any gas station though! ;)

Poor Brittany is a very sick little girl and needs all the help and compassion she can get. Being mentally ill is very hard on families who have to deal with it. The person who is ill is often in denial for a very long time and resists treatment. People with BiPolar disorder (Manic/Depressive) are at great risk of suicide too.

Thanks for all the help. We definitely are not out to bug celebrities its just a thrill for a 16 yo to see someone closer than on TV.

When we have seen celebs in So Cal, it's been at grocery stores and gas stations, LOL.

It's difficult to spot stars, IMO, because they don't really look like what you expect (dressed down, no make up). I've been in CA all my life and have run into stars in very ordinary places (hospitals, gas stations). Santa Monica pier is a good place to see them.

Sounds like Santa Monica is what might be best. Not far from Hollywood (Plus there are some celebrity friendly hotels and bars on the beach), shopping on the 3rd Street Promenade, and the beach right there for your DH.

We stayed at the Car Mar Suites. HUGE - bedroom, bathroom, living, dining, kitchen. But, not luxurious by any means. (See mixed reviews on tripadvisor) Perfect location - 2 blocks to the beach and 2 blocks to shopping, in a residential area. I'd stay there again but not on the first floor - there was a kid upstairs who was wearing wooden shoes...And they don't mention the extra $$ for parking - but it was only $11 per day back in 06.

Don't forget to visit Universal Studios when you visit. No only is there is the studio tour which you will enjoy, but Universal City Walk as well. It may be busy in July, but worth a trip.

Thanks for all the info. I've been calling hotels in Santa Monica and realize if I want anything nice, ocean front, for 4 of us it is going to be close to $1,000/night in July ( we need 2 hotel rooms or a suite). Unless I can find anything else, I may be looking else where for vacation this year. We budgeted 10k for the vacation and I was planning on 4 nights in west Hollywood also. Anymore info would be helpful.

$1000/night would be too rich for my blood! There are other choices, I'd think. There's a little place on Venice Beach that might work for you. Venice Beach Inn, I think. Anyone else know it?
:)>-

You can try www.hotelbooklet.com which compares more than 30 popular hotel reservations sites and shows all available deals!

Have you thought about renting a house from vrbo.com? That may be a better way to go and more comfortable for your family. There a quite a few homes that are on or near the beach listed. Just a thought!

Another good site for beach rentals:

www.marineviewmanagement.com

Manhattan Beach would be a great place to stay as well.

There are a few oceanfront properties in the South Bay that would be cheaper than Santa Monica. Try the Beach House in Hermosa or the Portofino in Redondo. (Portofino is on the Harbor, not a beach, but has ocean views). Other places with harbor/ocean views (though not on the beach) would be the Crowne Plaza in and the Best Western Sunrise, both in Redondo.

Since you are staying in West Hollywood for a chunk of time, you can do all the typical Hollywood touristy things while there. This will free you up to just enjoy the beach for a few days, without having to venture out into the LA traffic.

I would recommend the Warner Brothers studio tour, for a true studio tour. The writers' strike is throwing production schedules all out of whack, so there's bound to be something taping while your there.

You might also try www.tvtickets.com. The minimum age to see a taping is usually 18, but there are several shows that allow kids as young as 10.

Thank you so much for the continued information. I am still overwhelmed but not as much.

We are planning a trip to Southern
California in May and have made reservations at the Embassy Suites
in Oxnard(a little south of Santa Barbara). It is right on the beach
and the one bedroom suites have two
bathrooms-great for a family. We got a net direct rate of $199 per night-this includes breakfast and cocktails in the afternoon. We are planning to take daytrips from this
location.

nlg, we stayed at that Embassy Suites when my kids were little and it was WONDERFUL.

We try to stay at Embassy Suites where ever we go and we have never been disappointed. I was happy to find one on the beach in Oxnard. I will post a report after our trip.

The hotel looks great. What is there to do in Oxnard? Is there a downtown? How far to Santa Monica? We are staying in Beverly Hills for a few days before at a Residence Inn but I may look for an Embassy suites there too!!

I have gotten mapquest directions to
Santa Monica(58 miles from Oxnard)
and Santa Barbara(38 miles). There is a Channel Island tour from Oxnard
that looks interesting. Don't know how much of a downtown Oxnard has, but there are several restaurants in the area that look good.

If your family plans on primarily sightseeing in the L.A. area, then Oxnard may be a bit far -- especially if you try to get back to your hotel in afternoon traffic (going north on the 101, the traffic can be miserable). I mentioned Manhattan Beach before because the beaches are clean, the water temp is a bit warmer than farther north (Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Barbara), there are lifeguards, restrooms and snack stands on the beach, etc. My kids surf/boogie board and that is there favorite beach. There is a great bikepath that runs for miles along the beach and is really fun on a warm day. Also, MB is just minutes away from LAX and close to many sights. Have you checked into the Sea View Inn in Manhattan Beach? My friends stay there and love it. The prices are reasonable as well: www.seaview-inn.com I believe that they have complimentary bikes which is nice. There are other hotels in the area that may work as well. Or you could go north to Santa Monica (beaches not quite as nice in my opinion). Staying in Oxnard would be fine, but I would suggest using that area as your base if you visit Santa Barbara about 30 miles north.

Another place you might consider is Ventura. It is south of Santa Barbara, not as crowded, or chi-chi, to coin a very technical phrase, so it's not as expensive but there's alot to do. The Main Street/downtown is really cool, there's a mission and also a Boardwalk on the water. We were doing an overnight in Carpinteria but had lunch in Ventura and found ourselves eager to come back. It's maybe an hour to Hollywood, less than that to Pepperdine. Here's a good link to hotels in the area.
http://www.ventura.com/

Let me say, we live near the beach south of LAX, near Manhattan Beach, and I'd pick Ventura instead.

I started this post and initially wanted to go to Santa Barbara or Santa Monica. I have reservations at Embassy suites in Oxnard. Now I talked to someone and they said Laguna Beach would be our best bet. Things to do, beach and in between LA and San Diego. Any comments?We will be staying the first 5 days in Beverly Hills.

I liked La Jolla more than laguna Beach....

we did see 2 stars in a matter of minutes once we got to santa monica though! still, i would rather go to la jolla from all the beaches mentioned that I have gone to (La Jolla, Laguna, Newport, Santa Barbara, Oxnard area, etc). Santa Monica should be well expensive! If you do go to La Jolla. I like George's by the Cove as a restaurant.

My wife & I stayed at Casa Malibu last year and had a blast. We walked the beach and ate and drank at nearby restaurants and saw plenty of celebs (Jessica Alba, Matthew Mconnehy, Arti Lange). The weather was awesome, close to LA shopping and reasonable rates.

Good luck

I agree with the previous poster that Laguna Beach is great, but keep in mind that it is in Orange County as opposed to L.A. County, so is going to be quite a drive from L.A. sites (Warner Bros/Universal studios for instance), but is close to Disneyland, etc. It is doable though. My favorite place to stay is "The Inn at Laguna Beach". It is right on the ocean and really reminds us of Hawaii. There is a great restaurant right next door called "Las Brisas" which is perfect if you and your hubby want to stroll down for a margarita while the kids are occupied. Laguna is a great town to stroll around in and very picturesque.

uggghhh, the traffic between laguna beach and LA is horrific. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. If you want to be near LA, then stay at Santa Monica or perhaps that Malibu beach the OP was talking about.

I bet you're more confused that ever right about now! You have gotten advice about beaches in 5 different counties!

As I understand your post, you are going to stay in Beverly Hills/WeHo for a few days, at which time you'll do most of your "touring". Then you want a beach location for a few days, where you will be staying close to the beach and not trying to fight the daily traffic to tour around. Is this correct?

If so, then any of the locations mentioned would work for you. However, if flying in and out of LAX, you do not want to be staying in La Jolla for the last night of your trip.

If not, and most of the things that you want to see are in L.A. County, then you should stay at a beach area there.

So far you're looking at:

Santa Monica/Venice/Malibu - in LA County, pricey and congested.

Manhattan/Hermosa/Redondo: Southern LA county. Nice beach town atmospheres, farther from LA attractions, less pricey or crowded.

All of these places are lovely, too. Their locations would just make a miserable commute into L.A:

Ventura County (Oxnard/Ventura) 1 1/2 hours north of LA. Quieter beach area, closer to Santa Barbara, more reasonably priced.

Orange County beaches (Laguna, Newport, Huntington) Very nice beach towns. Lodging probably less than Santa Monica.

San Diego County - La Jolla - closer to San Diego attractions. Beautiful beaches, restaurants, etc.

Santa Barbara County: Beautiful and pricey.

All of the beach towns mentioned have great shops and restaurants. Some have great bike paths along the beach. Of course you are aware that any oceanfront lodging in the middle of July will be much more expensive than a few blocks inland.

You just need to narrow your scope and figure out what is most important to you.

Well, I think I've decided what we are doing except still being unsure about our reservation at Residence Inn Beverly Hills. We are going to do touring while in LA/Beverly Hills with our base at Residence Inn (if this is a good location?). Then we are driving downt to Laguna Beach and staying at Vacation Village. We could get connecting rooms with our kids, its right on the beach and close to town and the price was more resonable than anywhere else. Any other recommendations are still appreciated!! Thanks for everyones help!!