Taking three teenages to LA at the end of July (for a week) and cannot decide which area to stay in. Looking for some advice on whether to actually book in the Beverly Hills/Hollywood area, Anaheim or at one of the beaches (Laguna, etc.). We'd like to do a mix of things (Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Warner Studio tour, Rodeo Drive), but waking up to the surf would be really nice. Please offer your advice ---- appreciate it!

First things first-- take a good look at a scale map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It's huge. My first hints:

1. You will pay for easy beach access, either in room rates or in time spent traveling between beach community and any points outside said community. Laguna Beach, for example, is gorgeous, but it's a long drive to get there and a long drive to leave. Even Santa Monica can be a pain (and I know-- I work there). Of the beach communities I'd even consider for a visitor to the area that wants to see the sights, I'd put Huntington Beach at the top of my list (Surf City!!). If you're just planning to chill on the sand, Laguna Beach is my favorite. Santa Monica is the most "city-like" of the beach cities and pretty pricey. Hermosa Beach (south of LAX) and Redondo Beach could be nice-- the Strand and the RB Pier are quite fun.

2. That said, there are hotel bargains to be found everywhere in this fair city. Beverly Hills, Westwood, and West Hollywood (WH hotels on Sunset Blvd. or Melrose Blvd/Place ONLY) are good areas to look. If you're going to focus on theme parks, look around Anaheim, for Disneyland, Knott's, and easy freeway access to Universal and Warner Studios (it isn't a short drive, but it's not difficult).

My advice would be to stay in a nicer hotel in Beverly Hills or Westwood and plan on a day of Venice and Santa Monica, then a later day down in Huntington Beach (it IS a cool town!).

Hey rj, sorry to jump into this thread...but now i'm having second thoughts myself about our LA stay.

After lots of great advice, (much from you), we've have oceanfront ressies in Laguna Beach, sandwiched between two nights in Palm Springs and three nights next to Wallyworld. (in a 3+ wk road trip)

But from this post, i'm now thinking maybe Huntington would be better for teens? We're doing Capistrano Mission and the Newport Beach fun zone stuff, then staying in Laguna Bch...unless its 'too' nice? Is Huntington hipper and trendier for teens?

Sigh...maybe i'm freaking because we leave soon, so i'm re-checking everything for the best deal etc. (after all, Anyone can pay full price lol)

Thoughts? Thanks!

Hi ellen-- I think you can relax. Laguna is upscale from Huntington Beach, but it's fun for kids too. And this is a big road trip, right? I think YOU will appreciate a bit of relaxation and mellowness, which you will get from Laguna (despite summertime crowds-- which reminds me, I must get down there this summer!). You can day-trip it up to Huntington and "Audrey" and "Sparky" can get their Surf City fix-- but why not indulge yourself? Calm, nice beaches, art galleries, great restos-- send the kids to Main Beach Park, let them watch the volleyball and basketball players. They're getting Wally-World, don't forget-- you deserve some quality time too.

Hey rj, whaddya MEAN theyre getting their wallyworld??! We're going for ME! I need my mickey fix Hmm...beach volleyball, eh?! We're supposed to have a great VIEW from our oceanfront balcony....woohoo! kidding.

Seriously, i kwym and we'll stick with our plan. Just wanna be there NOW! Its 95, almost as humid; i need a nice tall one with the ocean breeze in my hair.....ahhh.....

Thanks, rj. Hey, if you're in laguna bch, be sure to say Hey! You'll recognize us, i'm sure!

Thanks a million RJ - okay so Beverly Hills / Westwood it is. Now for my next question. Not having much luck with hotel rates for 5 people (using your advice from a previous post, I checked on Travelocity) unless we get a suite and then I'm paying more than $1200 for the week. Any advice there? Again, appreciate it.

Hmmmm.... Not so sure. Since I live here, I'm not really up on the hotel scene like I should be. I have fond memories of the Holiday Inn Brentwood-Bel Air from when I first moved here and was teaching at UCLA-- but I don't know what kind of deal you might get (it's on Church Lane, I believe). You might break down and look into Santa Monica/Venice hotels-- of the beach communities, they will be the least inconvenient for driving to the sights. Also, Marina del Rey is another beach-type option, though probably pricier. The LAX area is not great (you can never forget you're near an airport), but hey.... If you can get a deal and you can handle driving, you can make it work.

ellen, today's coastal weather was sunny and comfortably in the 70s. Perfect weather to drop the top on my Sebring and drive home blasting the tunes! You're gonna have so much fun!

You can try Priceline, although I don't know if you'll have much luck this close to the travel date. Use biddingfortravel.com for guidance on the properties that you'll be most likely bidding on.

Also bear in mind that quoted rack rates are a starting point for negotiation. Pick your dates, settle on a couple of acceptable properties, call the reservations agent and see if they can cut a deal based on staying more than 4 nights. I'm getting 10% off a room in Miami Beach for a 6-night stay, which almost pays the hotel tax, so I'm happy. Look for any discount plan you can get-- AAA, for example. Worse comes to worse, hit a travel agency. You'll find a deal.

To find rooms that will sleep 5 use Expedia. It's the only one I've found that easily lists how many people the rooms will accommodate.

I forgot about that little Expedia feature! Good call, BarbaraS.

A few observations from a former resident, now frequent visitor and hotel occupant in the LA/Orange Co. region:

1. The end of July is by no means too close to get good savings using Priceline, regardless of the area in which you'd want to stay. There are plenty of recent posts (last few days) on www.biddingfortravel.com for rooms ranging from next week through August, with very similar prices being cited. Getting 2 rooms on PL can be significantly cheaper than one room using Expedia, and usually the hotel will be happy to make them adjacent and/or connecting rooms for families. If you do use Priceline, once you've gotten a room, sign up right away for the hotel chain's "frequent user" card (Hyatt Gold, etc.) and show it at check-in; often you'll get upgraded or at least better service.

2. Choosing an area in greater LA in which to spend a week is no easy task, especially if your interests include beaches, Hollywood, Disney, Beverly Hills, etc. Regardless of where you stay, you'll be anywhere from 5 minutes to over an hour from something else on your list - the area's just too big and trafficky for a one-place-serves-all location.

3. That said, I'd also consider other factors for an end-of-July trip. First among these would be climate. Places like downtown LA or areas like Universal City, even Beverly Hills some days, can get pretty warm compared to the beaches, and dear old Mr. Smog has not vanished entirely, but seldom visits the beach communities. The beaches are pretty gloomy in June, but by late July they come into their own.

4. Although there's nothing walkable nearby, you might actually find that the LAX area is surprisingly well-located for various outings. It's only a few miles from (IMO as a former denizen) the best beaches in the region at Manhattan and Hermosa; Venice, Marina del Rey and Santa Monica are very close, and Beverly Hills is not that far either. Plus, if you use Priceline, you can get some really good deals at the "four star" level (Sheratons, Hiltons, etc.) at the airport, e.g., $40-$50 per night per room, vs. $150-$250 per room in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica using Expedia or the ilk.

5. Newport and Laguna Beaches are lovely areas, but if you want to get into "LA" (meaning, locally, anything north of Long Beach) you have to be prepared for long drives in heavy traffic on I-5 or I-405. The result of staying in some "peripheral" area is that a big chunk of your time is spent looking at some guy's tail lights for hours per day. Is that what you want on a vacation?

So my suggestion is to use Priceline and try for something in the airport/Marina/Beaches/Santa Monica zones (Santa Monica unlikely to come up on PL) as your first priority.

If price isn't a decisive factor, look for hotels on the Santa Monica cliff facing the pier and ocean. Not on the sand (unless you want to pay a zillion bux for Shutters) but the next best thing.

Gardyloo makes some great points-- and if you don't want to do the Priceline crapshoot, staying in the LAX area is not a bad option at all. The rack rates at LAX-area hotels are quite low. And you're right in-between Marina del Rey/Venice and Hermosa/Redondo Beach, so you're covered for beach access.

We have stayed at the Embassy suites at LAX South. Rooms were great for 5, and there was an indoor swimming pool. It is very easy to get to the beaches from here. The free breakfast and afternoon cocktails were good too!. There is also the doubletree suites in Santa Monica-haven't stayed there though so can't comment on the rooms. You are within walking distance to the pier and 3rd St. Promenade.

It may be out of your price range but Hotel Oceana in Santa Monica is an all suites hotel and in a great location near the water, easy access to Venice, Malibu and back into Hollywood, Beverly Hills and L.A. The Doubletree will be cheaper but the location is a few blocks off the beach.

Everyone has given you excellent advice esp Gardyloo. We split our time btw Huntington Beach and Santa Monica. HB was a 1 hour ride from the parts of LA you mention. HB is a great place for teens; they can take surfing lessons there. Maybe consider splitting your week between destinations.

we are in the same situation 2 teens with us from WI
So HB is the place to be with teens what about Santa Barbara?/
JG

Santa Barbara is lovely, classy, and about 2 hours north of Los Angeles. Not a hotbed of cool teen stuff, just a beautiful beach community. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

HB is cool in general, but it's in coastal Orange County. For your first time in SoCal, if you're not planning on spending your whole time in Orange County, I'd think of points north (west LA area, LA county beaches).

Santa Barbara is a beautiful residential area (at least some parts), but it's beaches are far from the best. The beaches are full of tar, seaweed, pesky sea gulls and the water is not as warm as some beaches that are further south