My family and i will be spending a few days in the LA area this summer and wondering where a good place to stay might be. We're going to spend a few days at UCLA and USC college searching for my son. Which area might be better or more convenient to stay. My wife wants to be near Santa Monica, my sons want to stay in Beverly Hills, and my economical mind wants to stay downtown. Which area is best as to convenience/safety. Any help is greatly appreciated.

DON'T STAY DOWNTOWN. Simple.

There are deals to be found in BH and SM-- and they're much better situated to sightsee, and there's more to do in these areas, so just grit your teeth and spend the cash. You, and your family, will be MUCH HAPPIER.

For years I wondered why I loved LA and everyone I knew hated it. Then I found out most of them had only stayed in downtown LA for conventions. No Wonder!! That's not LA. Stay somewhere to the west. West Hollywood, Beverly HIlls, Westwood, or Santa Monica are all good.

I live in LA and agree with rjw and Patrick. Don't stay downtown. It's very boring down there. Much more to do at the beach. Beverly Hills and West Hollywood are also nice like Patrick said.

RE: downtown hotels

Please read the current thread entitled
"Trip advice for three week family trip to California--too long???" for passionate advice against staying downtown.

love
kristin

If you have "business" at UCLA, and usually a student-visit qualifies, you can stay at the UCLA house. You might want to check it out.

Nearby, the Brentwood Holiday Inn on Sunset Blvd is very convenient to UCLA (free shuttle) and close to the Getty Museum which is a must-see. The H Inn is on the edge of Beverly Hills, and about a 10 minute drive down the freeway to Santa Monica. You'll probably get a good rate if you hold an Entertainment Card, and the cards are on sale right now at entertainment.com (check the rate first, and if it's attractive, you can tell them you have an E card and then buy the Ecard before your visit).

Your sons might like the Best Western in West Hollywood, its a good hotel for a family (some good sized rooms, free breakfast) and is close to comedy clubs, night clubs, trendy stores, House of Blues etc.

Make sure you get precise directions from your hotel to USC, including "where to park" instructions from USc. This University is in an area of town that you DO NOT want to get lost in., On your "USC DAY", you might want to also plan to visit the Museum of Science and Industry nearby, & nextdoor the Imax theatre.

I do back you solidly on your choice of universities-- both are great. I taught at UCLA for a few years, and recruit heavily from USC's excellent MBA program. I also hope you get a chance to explore the region-- there's a lot here to enjoy.

I live in L.A. near downtown and I wouldn't stay there unless you were going to the theatre every night. (I would take a walking tour --see Los Angeles Conservancy-lots of gorgeous deco buildings). As stated in previous posts, there are plenty of hotels in all price ranges. You would be happier in West Hollywood or Westwood or BH than downtown.

I live in LA and agree w/ all the aforementioned advice. There are many hotels w/i 20 min of both - here is a list I recently sent to my friend (none are as far west as Santa Monica)

1) Le Meridien, is VERY nice and and central and seems to have slashed prices recently.
OTHER:
Sofitel (very central), the Wyndam Bel Age (all suites and right off Sunset strip-west) Other reasonable places on Sunset - Hyatt West Hollywood, Grafton
--Cheap-ish place in a great area that is decent - Beverly Plaza Hotel
Also, the W in Westwood (blocks from UCLA) is wonderful and occasionally has good deals.

Hotels in Santa Monica seem to be much more expensive than the rest of the area, and Beverly Hills probably will be more convenient to both USC and UCLA. While I'm not so anti-downtown as some, I think you'll be happier in BH.

I have two words on hotels in the BH area: Price. Line.

Reports on www.biddingfortravel.com show most 4-star hotels in Priceline's Beverly Hills/Century City area are hitting at $80 a night or less, the Hyatt for example hovering around $60. You can get two or three rooms at that price for the equivalent of one room's rack rate. Do check it out.

Gardyloo is spot-on correct about staying in the BH area being more central to the purpose of your stay. Staying in SM can be worth the money if you're planning to relax on the beach (which is the reason they're so expensive, after all-- they're on the coast). Priceline will indeed get you great deals on BH hotels. You could look in the West Hollywood area too, but you have to stay at 3 star and above levels (lower than that you're in "transitional" areas, or less-than-family-oriented properties).

Oh, one other thing-- I've found that the user reviews in Travelocity are usually very accurate, so use that as a secondary source of info on area hotels.

Thanks for all your help. Were looking into using priceline for a BH hotel. Thanks again!