My 12 year old daughter and I are staying in San Diego for a week but would like to go to Hollywood to see the homes, walk of fame, etc. We did it last year in one day but it was too much driving. Where would you suggest staying overnight? We would like to go to Hollywood in the morning, take a tour and then do something the next day. Would Huntington Beach be a fun destination? Does anyone have a tour operator that they liked when booking tours of LA and Hollywood? Thank you

The Hotel Angeleno (Formerly Holiday Inn Bel Air)is easy to get to, near the homes of Bel Air and Brentwood, an easy 10 min drive to the Walk of Fame/ Hollywood and Highland...and an easy 15 minute drive to Malibu beach. It's under renovation but should be ready soon.
Starline has a good grand tour of L.A. that probably picks up at the hotel if you have time for a 5 hour tour, they also have shorter tours. If you decide to drive/tour yourselves, do it on Sat or Sun when traffic is much easier.

Here's a link to my favorite guide for visiting Los Angeles....good maps, lists of hotels, attractions, restaurants, landmarks etc: It's called Top Ten Los Angeles from dk.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/075...Fencoding=UTF8

We've stayed at the Hollywood Renaissance and loved it. It's actually connected to the Kodak Theater (where the Oscars are held) and steps away from the touristy stuff on Hollywood Blvd. We caught a Starline Tour of Hollywood, parts of Beverly Hills and the stars' homes at Graumann's (sp.) Chinese Theater. Lots of fun.

I've heard good things about the Magic Castle Hotel in Hollywood--check it out on tripadvisor.com.

Also check out seeing-stars.com. It has dates and times when celebrities get their walk-of-fame star. Your daughter might get a charge out of seeing that. Have fun!

The Hollywood Renaissance would be perfect in my opinion for your daughter.
I no longer consider that part of Hollywood to be seedy.
It is certainly colorful -- Grauman's Chinese Theatre with the footprints, wax museums, Frederick's of Hollywood, wild shops, local characters. You can get a star homes tour from right there.

The following link has tons of information on Hollywood. I don't know who the author of the website is, it appears to be someone in the United Kingdom as the suffix is .co.uk but that doesn't take away from the massive amount of information available from the site.

http://www.hollywoodusa.co.uk/index.htm

Keith