Hello
We will be staying at the LAX Airport Marriott from 26-29 Dec 2000. Apart from one day at Universal Studios, the other days we plan to see some of the general tourist things (Except Anaheim/Disney which we will be after a coach tour 2 weeks later. Are there shuttle buses that run to attractions/shopping areas from the hotel or would a car be more convienient/cheaper??. The horror stories of driving in LA (We are Aussies) seem to abound and its supposed to be a RELAXING holiday, yet we also hear that a car is so essential that we might as well stay by the pool (even in winter!) without one
HELP!!!!!!!!!
also...any reports on our hotel..good places to eat nearby..is it safe to walk to them at night?????

personally, I just think having a car is the most convenient.

Ordinarily, if you are on a major freeway, Mon-Fri, during the hours 7-9am or 4-7pm it would be crowded & slow moving. BUT, since you are here between Christmas & New Years, traffic will be relatively less (but still noticably heavy). Many people choose to take that whole week as vacation, so there won't be a lot of the normal commuting that would otherwise be occurring.

But I wouldn't call these "horror stories"..to me horror would be having to drive in italy, israel, or greece..american drivers (as a whole) are not crazy or suicidal, & are more polite & less aggressive than in many other countries. Just remember we drive on the RIGHT hand side of the road here!

re "good places to eat nearby..is it safe to walk to them at night", use your car to drive to nearby (10-15 minutes by surface street) Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach. In the downtown pier areas of both HB & MB you will find many restaurants & shops. Both downtowns are very "human scaled", compact, & designed for walking around. Both are extremely safe suburban beach communities, with a lot of foot traffic in the evenings. Between the two towns, Hermosa tends to attract a younger, slightly rowdier crowd; Manhattan is a bit more reserved.

The immediate area around LAX is very drab & lifeless, I don't expect you'll be wanting to spend much time around there.

Michael,
You will need a car, there is no other way to get anyplace in LA without one. We lived there for many years and most of the large corporations close for Christmas break so traffic is considerably lighter (not non-existent, but very much lighter). With a car you can take in some of the sights easily,i.e. you will not be far from The Getty Museum, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica beaches, etc. all of which are on the airport side of the LA basin. Unless you have a real reason to stay at the Marriott at LAX I would find another place, there are some nice hotels in Marina del Rey and Redondo Beach (and they won't charge for parking the car as a/p hotels do). While we live in another state now we visit LA every Christmas and traffic is a lot lighter there. We visit in the Redondo area and there is a nice Best Western Sunrise Hotel right across from the pier beach area. Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beaches are all wonderful towns and great places to spend time. EAch has a pier and you can also walk the beachwalk as it runs from one to another. As for shopping, there is the Fox Hills Mall in Culver City, north of LAX, another Mall in Manhattan Beach (sorry I can't remember it's name!) and the Del Amo Center in Torrance - all are fairly close to LAX. As for walking around the hotel - well there is not much to see except other airport hotels! That is way I say if you are staying more than one night I'd get away from the a/p a bit. Redondo is only about 8 miles south of LAX so you are still close.

boose up joint within walking distance
what else is there?

michael, the closest shopping mall to the lax marriott is the manhattan village mall. this is a small mall with only one "anchor" or major department store (Macy's) and the usual chains (GAP, Victoria's Secret, etc.). The hotel may run a shuttle bus to this mall, i live near here and have seen some shuttle buses from some of the airport hotels in this mall. The other mall that is also about 5 miles away is the South Bay Galleria Mall. This has 3 major department stores, movie theaters, more selection. But it is doubtful the hotel runs a shuttle here. You are probably better off to try driving a car, or taking a cab to the Galleria. There are good restaurants and bars in both downtown Hermosa and Manhattan Beach. Some very nice small stores. Also North End Manhattan (Rosecrans corridor) has recently gotten built up, has movie theater complex, two bookstores, and many restaurants and also a Marriot Manhattan hotel. This section is nice if you are driving, because parking in the beach cities downtown is NOT fun especially on weekends (good news is during XMAS week they frequently bag the meters and don't fine for overdue parking).
Have a great trip, Jamie

Hello Michael -
My husband and I just recently experienced L.A. to house hunt in an area south of L.A. We stayed in a hotel 1/4 mile from the airport. We rented a car and wouldn't have done it any other way. There is not a lot to do in the area immediately surrounding the airport, and it's not really a safe area.

Hollywood is fun, and driving up to Griffith Point Observatory is a must see. You can see the entire city on a clear night. We had stayed in Hollywood back in November and were pleased with it. It's just a few miles north of the airport on the other side of Beverly Hills.

The sunsets in California will take your breath away. I do recommend stopping and just watching it drop into the ocean and melt.

Drivers in California are more courteous than anywhere else that I have driven. Just make sure that you stay on the right side of the road and use your turn signals to merge in and out of traffic, and RELAX.

There is a lot of shopping on Melrose St. A lot of vintage clothing and interesting shops. There are a few cafes along the street that serve a good glass of wine.

I hope this helps some if at all. Have fun on your trip and most of all enjoy yourself.