phieaglefan

Hi all,

This is kind of last minute (at least for me!), but I am going to visit my daughter. She's moving to the Silver Lake area and I will be out there over a long weekend in August.

I was hoping to use priceline or hotwire, and have done a little research on the bidding sites. Most likely, I would only bid on 4*. I will have a rental car. Given those parameters, would you concentrate on downtown or the Hollywood area?

OR, do you have another suggestion?

Thanks in advance!
H

happytrailstoyou

I think you would be happier in Beverly Hills or West Hollywood than in Hollywood or Downtown.

HTTY

paula1470

HTTY-I am the OP wants to be close to her daughter. If she is only here for a long weekend, she doesn't want to be spending her whole time driving back and forth from Beverly Hills. The problem on Priceline with Beverly Hills/West Hollywood is that you could end up in a hotel as far west as Century City. Looks like all the winning bids recently for Beverly Hills/West Hollywood for the 4* have been the Hyatt in Century City.

Looks like for downtown people are winning the Omni or the Bonaventure. If you get the Omni that would be great but the Bonaventure gets mixed reviews. Looks like they are finally doing room renovations but don't know if you could get one of those rooms with Priceline.

For Hollywood, many are winning the new W Hotel. The other 4*'s in Hollywood are the Roosevelt and the Renaissance which are both good hotels. I would also check out the parking prices at all the hotels. I think with the W Hotel you can park at the lot nearby for cheaper than the hotel parking.

I think a lot depends on what you are going to be doing while in LA. If you are going to be hanging out at your daughter's house the whole time, either location is geographically fine. If you are going to be doing some sightseeing then it depends on what you're going to be doing. I'd probably base the decision on the best rate you can get as I don't imagine you'll in your hotel much.

mlgb

I would prefer West Hollywood or Downtown, rather than Hollywood. However Hotwire won't distinguish between the two Hollywood neighborhoods.

Bear in mind that many hotels charge $30 to $40 for parking your car. So it may pay not to use the opaque websites unless you are sure you know which hotel you'll get.

You may want to use Expedia so you can be sure which hotel you are getting. Prices are going to vary depending on supply and demand. For some reason the weekend of Aug 21 is expensive downtown (Dodger game?), but the following weekend has some much better pricing.

happytrailstoyou

P1470, I understood the OPs question and I gave her my opinion, the underlying assumption of which is that she will be happier staying in West Hollywood or Beverly Hills even though the drive between those locations and Silver Lake is farther. HTTY

maitaitom

Pasadena is only about 15 minutes from Silver Lake and would be a nice alternative to West Hollywood or downtown. Lots of shops and restaurants.

By the way, I just went to a great restaurant in Silver Lake. You and your daughter might try Barbrix. Link below is to my review of the restaurant with photos.

http://web.me.com/tomfielding1/Tom_%...ake%2C_CA.html

paula1470

HTTY-I don't doubt you understood the OP's question. But if she is here to visit her daughter for a long weekend and will probably only be sleeping in her hotel, I just didn't see the point of driving back and forth from Century City. I do agree it's a much nicer area.

mlgb-I agree with what you said about West Hollywood being better than Hollywood although the 4*'s that are winning in Hollywood are all very nice hotels. Interesting that on Hotwire the two Hollywood's are linked together and on Priceline West Hollywood is in with Beverly Hills which includes Century City.

One thing I liked about the W Hotel in Hollywood is that people said they parked next door for $20 with in an out privileges. I think these are the lots you park in for the Pantages. So at least there you have an alternative. Of course there is no guarantee you're going to get the W. Downtown parking is very expensive.

I like maitaitom's idea of Pasadena. The only downside would be traffic if there is a Dodger game but you could definitely work around that. Also I can't wait to try Barbrix.

divineMissM

With a rental car, depending on her exact neighborhood in Silverlake, you might be better off at Embassy Suites Glendale or Hilton Glendale.

phieaglefan

Wow, thanks everyone for your replies.

Yes, the driving has me a bit worried. The one and only time I have been to the LA area, I was stuck in probably the worst traffic jam of my life.

Paula, yes I looked at the Hollywood 4* hotels on priceline and thought they couldn't be bad. Also, I thought perhaps the Hollywood hotels would be more likely to have a pool, in case we want to lounge around with a mai tai (not you, Tom one afternoon.

mlgb, I had not considered parking charges. I'm used to $5 or $10 a day, most places. I had not considered $30 or $40. I will do some comparisons. Also, I will most likely be traveling the first weekend in August, so will avoid the higher priced weekend of the 21st.

HTTY, That's my big dilema. I would love to stay somewhere nice, or even at the beach. But the drive would kill me!

maitaitom, I wondered about Pasadena. I'll look into it. BTW, I did a search on the forum for 'silver lake' and came across your post. I have added Barbrix to my notes.

Thank you again for all of your input. Please feel free to add or elaborate.

H

paula1470

On the weekends the driving is not too bad (usually). I just know I would like to stay closer to my daughter so I spend more time with her than driving. Are you set on using Priceline? What is your budget? Also depends on what you plan to do for the weekend? If you aren't going to be hanging out at her place the whole time then you could stay closer to the beach and she could come to you. Just let us know.

happytrailstoyou

I thought perhaps you would like a good experience, but if the only consideration is to avoid driving, stay at the Comfort Inn at 2717 West Sunset Boulevard, which is less than a mile from the heart of Silver Lake. The AAA rate is $111 for a weekend late in August--breakfast and parking included. Advance purchase is as low as $89!

HTTY

phieaglefan

Paula, I would say my budget is at or below $200 per night, but that would have to include parking. I considered splitting my stay - the first two nights someplace close and inexpensive just to sleep and spend time at her new apartment and in her neighborhood. The next two nights, perhaps a bit more luxury but with 2 doubles so she could join me and relax closer to the beach.

As far as what we plan to do, I'm not 100% certain ( I just found out I would be able to go last night!) Although I'd like to see a bit of Los Angeles, my priority will be to accomplish any errands/shopping necessary for the new apartment. The only part of the area I have seen is Santa Monica.

HTTY, I will check out the Comfort Inn, thanks. For what it's worth, I would like to have an overall good experience, but also want this trip to be mainly about my daughter and her new surroundings. I'm liking my idea about splitting my stay more and more.

Thanks again,
H

happytrailstoyou

Here is what folks on TripAdvisor have said about the Comfort Inn: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...alifornia.html

HTTY

maitaitom

We have had many friends stay here when visiting for out of town parties we have thrown (Courtyard by Marriott). Prices are about $130 - $150, although I don't know your dates. No one has had a bad experience there, and it is located very close to numerous restaurants, including one on my local favorites (and numerous friends of mine), Azeens Afghani Restaurant. Great Kabobs and fantastic appetizers! Also near another favorite, Cafe Santorini. There are tons of restaurants within walking distance and you're only about 15 minutes from Silver Lake.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...dena-old-town/

joesorce

www.losfelizlodge.com

www.seaviewinnatthebeach.com

paula1470

phieaglefan-I think you should seriouly consider joesorce's recommentdation of the Los Feliz Lodge. I looked at them and also on tripadvisor. They are the cutest places I have ever seen and only a couple of miles at the most from Silverlake. They also have a listing on VRBO-Listing #142174. Much better than the Comfort Inn in Silverlake although it does get good reviews and the price is right.

Los Feliz is one of my favorite parts of LA. I am guessing that joe was suggesting you go to Manhattan Beach for the Sea View Inn for the other couple of days but after looking at the Los Feliz Inn, I'd probably want to stay there the whole time!!

SOCALOC

If you won't go to Los Feliz Lodge- I will!

Nice info- joesorce.

phieaglefan

Hi all,
Sorry for not getting back more quickly. Work has a way of creeping into my life!

HTTY, yes I read the reviews, and they're fairly positive.

MTTom, the courtyard looks very nice, but their rate for my dates was $209 (although, they had special rates posted for this weekend and the next on their homepage. I'll check back with them in a few days.)

Joe,
I have sent e-mails to both the Los Feliz Lodge and the Seaview Inn.

Paula, I saw their vrbo listing. I also found a few other apartments with 2 or 3 night minimums in Silver Lake and am working my way through those. I agree that the Los Feliz Lodge looks very good. But I have to say, coming from land-locked Oklahoma, I crave seeing the ocean once in a while

Also, I imagine this will not be my only trip to visit my dear middle child, so I will be keeping all of the above references for future trips as well.

I'll post back when I get things sorted out. Oh, and I must issue a blanket apology. I have gotten alot of wonderful suggestions, but I am the type of person that has to investigate every option before I make a decision. So my apologies, and thanks for putting up with me!

H

divineMissM

Be sure to get up to Griffith Observatory, a hop skip and a jump from Silverlake and great photo ops there...try to go before sunset and stay til 10pm closing time. Closed Mondays.

paula1470

phieaglefan-Thanks for giving up the update. I know exactly what you mean about doing lots of research. The good thing about the Los Feliz Lodge is that there is no minimum night requirement. So you could go stay at the beach if you had the time.

I am sure a lot depends on how much you have to do to get your daughter settled. Seems like the times I helped my daughters move, we were always running out to different stores to get missing items or spending time setting up the kitchen. Maybe she has most of that done and then you'd have time to relax.

I looked quickly at Priceline again especially on biddingfortravel.com where they have a calender or wins. Not much for the first week of August which is when I think you said you're coming but the second weekend, the Omni Downtown was won with a bid of $85 so even with $30 parking that's a deal. The W Hotel in Hollywood won with $119 plus their parking. Personally I would prefer to stay somewhere like Los Feliz Lodge but Priceline might still be an option.

If you do decide to go the beach for a day or so, then a cheaper alternative around Silverlake would be good because you're not going to get much in the beach cities for $200. I did see the Best Western Sunrise in Redondo Beach for around $169 I think. While it's not on the beach and is across from the Marina, you are just a few blocks from the beach in Hermosa. I've stayed there before and it's a decent hotel.

The advantage of staying in the South Bay (Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach) is that you are very close to the airport. You could stay in that area on the evening before your flight home. Of course Santa Monica is not far either but hotels there are pretty pricey.

Let us know what you decide. I would definitely make time to go the ocean even if it's for the day.