I need advice on Los Angeles please
 

I will be visiting Los Angeles for the first time and will be there for 3 nights. So I will have 2 full days there. I want to make the most of it and see as much as I can . I may never have a chance to return.

I'm thinking that taking tours will be the easiest way to see the important things.
I am not interested in museums. I am interested in seeing Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, some beaches.

So, my question is... In which area would it be best to stay ?
If I use Priceline , what area would be best to bid on ?

I'd appreciate any help .

I would stay in Santa Monica and take advantage of Amazing LA Tours. The buses leave one block away from the Promenade in Santa Monica.

http://amazinglatours.com

The weather is usually amazing in Santa Monica. You may even see a star or two on the promenade. I have. It is within walking distance of the SM Pier and Venice Beach.

Thank you Hershey. I knew you'd have information for me. .

How are you arriving? Car, train, plane? And what time of year?

The Hop on Hop Off tours are good too. You can buy the 24 hour pass, and upgrade it to a 48 hr pass if you decide to continue touring on day 2.

Santa Monica is a good idea. It's a pretty spot, with so much to do there. You can rent a bike and ride on the beach path as far as you want. It's easy to walk or bike to Venice and Marina del Rey from there.

I am arriving by plane at 10 pm on day 1. I have day 2 and 3 free, leaving on day 4 early afternoon .

The 48 hour hop on , hop off sounds good. I would have to take the Movie star tour sometime in the midst of hopping off.

It's falling into place in my head now.
Thank you all so much . I'll try bidding on Priceline for Santa Monica.
I've had very good luck with Priceline in the past but haven't used it for a long time .

I think Santa Monica would be good, too! I amy have to join you on some of the tours!

Cat, I would love for you to join me on the tours. That would be great !

kodi, what hotel did you choose? If you search for a 3- or 4-star hotel in Santa Monica, you probably can't go wrong.

Tabernash, I haven't done that yet... . I would like to stay within walking distance to the water. Is that possible? If I do Priceline I might not end up near the water, so might not go that route .

kodi, I think you're right about that.

The places on the beach, like The Shutters, are very expensive. Well worth it, though, if you can drop that kind of money.

Smack in Santa Monica, across from the ferris wheel and the beach, is the Georgian hotel. Check it out. It's mid- to high-priced. An historic building.

There's also a chain hotel that's as close to the beach as possible. I will have to think of the name, maybe Holiday Inn. It is directly behind this Irish pub my son likes, on Main. If you want the name, I can find it.

http://baysidehotel.com/

This place looks cute. More motel-like, but cute.

Anyone ever been there to comment on it?

I am sort of researching places to stay, as well, because we will probably visit DS in November. We like to stay near the beach, also. Our standbys are south of Santa Monica a little ways: The Jamaica Bay Inn, at Marina del Rey; and The Inn at Venice Beach, near the pier. Both are reliable, newly renovated, and decently priced.

Wow, there is no availability at Bayside. I guess I'd better get cracking .
I'm very much a budget traveller, so perhaps won't be staying on the beach, but hopefully I an et within walking disance.

Is that possible?

Yes. But they could be seedy, if you're not careful. Especially around Venice Beach it can get funky. I have stayed at the Inn at Venice Beach, by myself, a couple of times. Cheap parking and complimentary continental breakfast, in a cute inner courtyard.

Look at others in the Pacifica group. They have a couple of propeerties that have not been renovated yet, so are cheaper and a mile or so from the water. I have never been inside them, though, and they look pretty industrial.

Thank you tabernash. I will check it out. I didn't realize I should be booking for Feb already .

Kodi, if you wanted to stay a little further south, there are some decent hotels in Redondo Beach for a lot less. Are you going to be renting a car?

No I won't be renting a car... But I do want to be close to the hop on hop off route.... At least I think that's my plan .
I'm going to look at a map to see where Redondo beach is.

Redondo is too far without a car.

Yeah, that definitely won't work without a car. :(

http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/califo...izlist-_-47152

I am pretty sure this is the chain hotel I noticed, right at the water, close to the park and Main Street shops.

Tabernash , thank you so much. It looks very nice... But unfortunately out of my range ...
I'll have to rethink what I'll do. Perhaps I'll check airb'nb .

Apartment rentals for less than 30 days are now illegal in Santa Monica, so keep that in mind when looking at airbnb.

Note that if on a budget, staying in Santa Monica will mean a $25 -$30cab ride back and forth to the airport. You might check the rates of the Marina Del Rey hotels such as Foghorn Hotel, they include shuttle service and you'll be a few blocks to the Santa Monica bus stop. the Hop On bus comes by, too.

Good idea, clark. We have walked through the Foghorn a few times, when staying next door at the Jamaica Bay Inn. It looks ok, but I'll bet it's still not cheap.

Are there any hostels around there? What about any dorm-type housing on UCLA campus for visitors?

I appreciate the advice. i just checked out Foghorn and it's completely booked for my dates. I had no idea I should have been looking at this earlier.
Back to the drawing board .

What dates are you looking for? Maybe there's a big event then? Do you have flexibility on the dates?

https://reservations.venicebeachsuit...servation.aspx

They have a queen studio w/kitchenette (not ocean view) for $192 total. They also have a tour package that looked like your list.

Don't think I'm a stalker! I just know and like this part of LA. I forgot about this little place right on Venice Beach walk. It looks very cute and we walked into the lobby once or twice. It was clean, maybe a bit worn, but you cannot beat this location.

Hosteling International has one in Santa Monica, you can look for them on www.booking.com

Also try calling Sea Shore Motel

http://www.seashoremotel.com/Reservation.htm

I've got it...........Custom Hotel in Culver City. Decent neighborhood/restaurants around the corner. Free airport shuttle. Hop on Bus stops here. Metro bus and Santa Monica bus have stops nearby to get you to Santa Monica in 15 mins.
Hope you see this on time as there is a 48 hr sale at kayak, getAroom and Expedia right now and queen rooms are $99. Liberal cancellation policy so you can continue to look around but will have a great backup.

http://www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/cali...-and-amenities

Custom is not in a convenient location, not near anything. You'd do better to stay in Marina del Rey.

Not convenient to what? Kodi is considering the 48 hour Hop On Bus pass and is only in L.A. for 48 hours. Day 1 she arrives at 10pm. She could pay $150 more to stay in the Marina I suppose, and add cab fares to the airport, but why? To be 5 minutes closer to Santa Monica on the bus?

I think that would be a great place, clark, especially if the Hop On Hop Off stops there.

At the very least kodi can book it and not worry about finding something affordable. Still has several months to keep looking around but wont be panicked.

Are you sure the Custom is in Culver City? I know of a Custom Hotel that is on top of the hill above Loyola Marymount U. It was next door to our son's apartment building. It's a nice place, and usually very affordable. It's also a Joie de Vivre property, which is a good management company.

But it is not in Culver City. It is much closer to LAX and the beaches than Culver City. Maybe there's another Custom that I can't find on-line?

Clark, thank you for your help . I followed the link you provided, and as Tabernash says it's close to LAX .
I'm hoping not to stay by the airport

Tabernash, I don't think you are stalking me!!!!

The hostel's single rooms are booked. My dates are not flexible . I have my airline ticket already. I used air miles for the flight, so you can understand why I booked so far in advance .

Now I'm going to check the sale at Kayak .
I will be back !

You're right Tabernash, it's actually an L.A. 90045 address, about 3/4 of a mile outside of Culver City near Loyola. Actually closer to Marina del Rey than Culver City I guess.

The Custom is NOT in Culver City, but in Westchester (i.e., a neighborhood of LA just north of LAX). It's a nice business-oriented hotel, geared to people wanting the Joie de Vivre hotel chain flair while needing LAX access. It's right on Lincoln Blvd., so you do have Santa Monica and LA MTA bus lines just steps from the hotel itself. But the hotel's location is in a busy commercial part of Westchester, at an extremely busy intersection (Lincoln & Manchester). I drive by it every day and it looks like a reasonably cool place (better than the somewhat divey place it was before JdV took it over!).

The Sea Shore Motel is another one I drive by (it's up the street from a Starbucks I frequent on my way to work). The place looks as cheesy as its website suggests-- but the word on it is highly positive on all the travel websites. Clean, nice staff, convenient to Santa Monica sites, right in the middle of the cool stuff on Main Street in SM.... You're basically three blocks from the beach (walking up to Ocean Park, then head west till you hit sand). Again, bus lines are steps away. This seems to be a good budget choice. IF you can get a room. Why is anyone surprised that it's hard to find a room in Santa Monica in the summer?!?!?

Actually closer to Northside LAX as a few others have pointed out. I know that area quite well, having had to endure numerous community meetings at the Rec Center across the street.

OP, why not give us your dates, then we don't need to recommend places that aren't booked?

The other thing I would suggest if you want to be near Santa Monica is to at least look at map resulting from any hotel search (Expedia offers this). Like clarkgriswold, if you don't really know Los Angeles very well, you are likely to get a hotel that isn't anywhere near where you really want to be.

I hope you are not trying to find a cheap hotel for this weekend.

Sea Shore Motel sounds like a good idea. I think being near the water is the expensive factor, for the most part.

I booked the Inn at Venice Beach for early November. It pays to book far in advance. We haven't been there since they completely remodeled, and we like its location walkable to the Venice pier. Funky Venice doesn't scare us. haha

Yes, give us your dates and we can help more.