Can anyone recommend a nice, not too pricey accommodation, on route to Santa barbara from LA along 'the 101 possibly. Arriving after a 36 hour flight and dont want to travel the whole way without a rest.

Also a good hotel in new york near central park ?

We stayed at On the Ave in NYC and my sister stayed at Beacon Hotel. We were both happy, especially with the location.

How far away from LAX do you want to drive?

'Not too pricey' tells us nothing much. What is your actual budget?

Instant replay:

It's only 100 miles from LAX to Santa Barbara. Rather than stopping, consider a shuttle if you don't want to drive.

A 36 hour flight, good lord. Are you arriving from the moon?

Sheraton Agoura Hills starts around $139.....Tarzana Inn is fine, both are easy off the freeway. However, what time do you arrive? You don't want to hit the freeways leaving LAX between 7 and 10am or between 4pm and 8pm if it's a weekday.

What's your budget for New York, and what week/month?

Without dates, specific budget and bed configuration needed it's impossible to make useful recos for NYC hotels.

Ibid.

The "not too pricey" is meaningless. Speak in dollars and cents.

And hotels near Central Park that are under $300/night are few, far between and very often complete dumps.

There is a direct bus from LAX to Santa Barbara. You could save one day of car rental which would off-set a portion of the bus fare.

https://www.sbairbus.com/page/display/laxshuttle

After a long flight I would stay in one of the beach towns near the airport and drive to Santa Barbara the next day. Santa Monica is nice but pricey, look at Sea View Inn in Manhattan Beach just south of LAX. An yes we need your budget in USD for a hotel/motel.