I am just starting to research hotel possibilities for an upcoming trip. We are planning to attend a wedding in mid-June in Pasadena. The wedding is on Sat, so I guess we will fly in Fri and leave on Sunday. Given such a short time, I suppose we should stay in Pasadena. I am planning to bid via PL, and have looked up on BFT.com already. Here are my questions:

1. The 3*s in Pasadena reported on BFT are: Sheraton, Westin & Hilton. Are they all within walking distance to the old town Pasadena? What about the 2.5* Courtyard Old Pasadena?

2. Are we going to be bored by just staying in the Pasadena area? (Assuming we will arrive Fri night, Wedding is Sat 3pm, and we will leave Sun afternoon).

3. If I fail bidding in Pasadena, should I try to bid to stay in Monrovia (how far is the drive and what's in Monrovia?) Or should I try Hollywood/W Hollywood, or even Downtown LA (how far is the drvie?)

Thanks in advance.

The Courtyard, for a short stay, is new and perfectly acceptable...I would rate it 3 stars...and smackdab in Old Town.

If you can't get Pasadena I'd try for Glendale. Also, if it's affordable from your departure city, you should fly into Burbank - not LAX.

I would definitely plan to stay in the Pasadena Area. It has lots to see and do and you will enjoy Old Town Pasadena. It's much easier to stay near the wedding site.

I agree with flying into Burbank, if at all possible. And stay in either Pasadena or Glendale. Either location will suit you fine.

Thank you for all your responses.

I did a little more homework. Turns out that all the 3* Pasadena hotels (Sheraton, Westin, Hilton) are all within walking distance to the wedding reception. All the better!

Now I have to look for plane tix. Thanks for the advice re: flying to Burbank. I guess my question now is:
How much more time will it take to drive from LAX to Pasadena vs BUR to Pasadena (and the reverse direction)? We probably will not arrive on Fri until 8 or 9pm, and plan on leaving Sunday around 2 or 3pm.

Non-stop plane tix are cheaper to fly into LAX than BUR, and in order to get a cheaper price for BUR, I'll have to make a stop-over - which I'm not sure if it's worth it just to avoid flying into LAX???

I would do LAX rather than a nonstop into Burbank. You should not have bad traffic from LAX to Pasadena when you are traveling.

You didn't say where you are starting from...

If Burbank doesn't work out, try Ontario Airport. Anything to avoid driving all the way from LAX to Pasadena, if you can help it. Once you get on Interstate 210, it's pretty much a no nonsense drive along 210 from east to west to get to Pasadena. Ontario is a major Southwest Airlines hub and airfares there can be relatively inexpensive.

If it's feasible you might even consider driving to a larger city for departure rather than drive crosstown on Interstate 110 to get to Pasadena. 110 goes through downtown LA and that is the MOST confusing junction to drive through. I used to work in downtown LA and even today I get disoriented going through those junctions! LOL!

If you find yourself in the wrong lane and headed off on a freeway not of your choice, it could be another hour before you get back in the correct direction. I'm not trying to scare you, having done the wrong thing several times myself. Just a thought. Sunday is not bad, but it's the Friday afternoon/night that I'd be concerned about.

We did the same trip for a Pasadena wedding last October. The trip from LAX was easy enough with a good map. For the return on Sunday Afternoon, we checked out of the hotel after breakfast and went to Venice Beach for a few hours before heading to the airport. The weather was great and it was easy to drive south the short distance from Venice to the airport.

We didn't stay there, but attended a cocktail party at the Courtyard. It seemed nice enough - 2.5 stars would be my rating also. It's on the edge of the Old Town district. Several members of the wedding did stay there. The only complaint I heard was that the partyers carried on noisily in the courtyard until late. www.pasadena .com has some good links, including a map.

I think the stopover is probably worth it. From Pasadena, it is a 15 min drive to Burbank, 2 minutes to return a rental car, and 20 minutes in the check-in lines.

To LAX, you'd have to allow a full hour for the drive, 25 minutes to return the car and shuttle to the airport, and an hour for check-in and security.

Grand Total Burbank = 40 minutes
Grand Total LAX = 2 hrs 25 min and possibly longer with freeway tie-up.

Well worth an hour stopover somewhere.

On your Friday arrival, getting to Burbank, the 5 minute car rental and 15 min drive to Pasadena will be heaven. From LAX you'll have at least a 2 hr ordeal, in light traffic.

Thanks again for all your input. I have finalized my travel details.

The plane tix I found from DFW to LAX or BUR were very pricey. I ended up using FF miles, which only let me fly into LAX. Considering that it is a free flight, I guess I'll just have to deal with the traffic.

I was finally successful in bidding for a hotel in Pasadena (after multiple rejected bids). Will be staying at the Pasadena Hilton.