Have a two day break in LA, prior to a 3 month tour of the US and am looking for a good hotel in the city centre.

Recommendations?

Our plan is to do the tourist things for two days to get a feel of the place, then pick the car hire up to start our trip.

Or would it be better to stay say at Universal and travel in by Metro.

Two days may not be enough but we have 4 spare days during our trip so we do have spare capacity.

You might want to read this -

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...days-in-la.cfm

*deep breath*

First thing: Los Angeles is a vast metropolitan area encompassing two counties, an island and over 100 separate cities. There is a "downtown" area of the City of Los Angeles, but practically speaking there is no "city center" for LA metro.

Second: I wouldn't stay in downtown LA personally-- not as a start for a lengthy tour of the US. It's not that it's awful-- but there are more pleasant places to stay in LA.

Third: LA is so spread-out that for all practical purposes a car is an absolute necessity. One CAN rely on public transportation to get around, but it becomes logistically more difficult and time-consuming.

Fourth: Having said all this, two days is an impossibly short time for anyone to try to see much of anything in this huge metro area. One has to choose one's battles. If you have assigned only two days to the LA area, here is what I would suggest:

-- Spend those days in as pleasant an area, and as nice a hotel, as you can afford. Tourists flock to Santa Monica for the overall "California-ness" of the town, and its proximity to LA sites and sights (it's on the coast, surrounded on three sides by LA City); that's one possibility. Beverly Hills has the cachet of its storied history and its high-end amenities. West Hollywood is the epicenter of LA Metro's edgy, trendy culture. All three of these cities will put you close to the stuff that tourists like to see.

-- Take one of those two days and take a bus tour of the area. An outfit called Starline Tours operates double decker hop-on, hop-off tours; I see the buses all over the area as I'm driving to and from work (my office is in Santa Monica, on the coast). I can't vouch for their quality, but they're available (www.starlinetours.com). Splurge on a good dinner, get some rest before your monumental schlepp (three months!) across the country.

But those are my 2¢. If you still want to stay downtown.... Does anyone have a recommendation other than the Biltmore (it IS still nice, isn't it)?

Many thanks for both your replies both are really helpful.

I agree, you want a car in LA, otherwise it takes forever to get anywhere via public transit. For example you can only go to Griffith Observatory via public transit on weekends, Six Flags Magic Mountain is just about impossible, taking 3 hours each way and multiple transfers, etc.

Don't think I've ever seen someone who wanted to collect a rental car AFTER staying in LA.

You might not want a car the first day simply to get over the jet lag. But otherwise, you want a car in the LA area.