For a special hotel, I can go to about $400/night. I don't want to switch hotels but am thinking of using Hollywood as a base. This would be my last scenario if you please.

The only hotel that would be recommended for Hollywood would be the Hollywood Renaissance right in the Hollywood & Highland Center. The hotel would be more convenient for Warner Bros and a little closer to Beverly Hills. There are pros and cons about staying in Hollywood. You definitely won't get to experience the beach, though.

Where are you coming from? Do you get to the beach very often? I think you will need to talk with your daughters and see what is most important for them. If it's shopping and checking out Beverly Hills, hoping to see some celebrities, then Hollywood might work out better. If they want to be at the beach, then stick with Hermosa.

I was in Hermosa Beach yesterday for work. It was so beautiful there-what a gorgeous day. I hadn't eaten lunch so I had my DD meet me around 4pm to eat. We tried Creme de la Crepe on Pier Ave because I was right across the street calling on the day spa and I have been seeing the restaurant everytime I am in Hermosa. We really enjoyed our meal. We sat outside and were almost the only ones in the restaurant. I know they are busy on the weekends but we hit it just right.

Anyway-sorry to digress but Hermosa is nice. What hotel are you staying at there? If you are staying at the Hermosa Beach Hotel and your daughters really want to experience the beach, I would still stay there and see about a car rental.

Did you decide where you are going to stay? Happy 4th of July!

I thought your original plan wasn't that bad. I liked the limo idea because otherwise you will be spending half your time looking (and paying) for parking spaces and you won;t spend all that much time at each stop, anyways.

Hermosa Beach has a nicer ambience than Santa Monica. I would just enjoy the beach there and not bother with Santa Monica or Venice, particularly since you'll see a sampling of freaks in Hollywood. It's also convenient to LAX.

Try the Sidewalk Cafe in Venice Beach for breakfast.

Thank you all for your input. We had a wonderful trip. Got back Sunday. Here is what we did. Landed at Burbank Airport about 1:30pm. Got picked up by a limo. Toured around Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Rodeo Drive. Got dropped off at Doubletree Suites in Santa Monica. That was about 6pm. At about 7pm, we walked to the Santa Monica pier and ate at Bubba Gump's. We walked around the pier then back to the hotel. Early the next day (7am) we picked up a rental car from Hertz at the Loews Hotel in front of the SM pier. We took the car into Hollywood to take the Warner Brothers VIP tour. That was about 9:30am. After the tour, which was extremely interesting, we took the car to UCLA and got t-shirts in the bookstore. Then we parked the car at Venice Beach. Here we rented bikes and rode from Venice Beach to the Santa Monica Pier and back. Along the way we stopped to see some of the street performers. In the evening, we walked to the 3rd Street Promenade, shopped and ate at one of the restaurants there. On the third day, we took the car down along the coast from Santa Monica to Manhattan Beach. We took pictures at the MB pier. Then we headed to Redondo Beach pier. For my two daughters, here was the highlight of our California trip. When they stepped into the Coffee House at the end of the pier, their mouths dropped and their eyes opened wide. They had found the diner that was used in so many scenes in the show "The OC." We couldn't take enough pictures. We ended up eating there although the food was so so. The pier and the closed building on the pier that was made to look like the "Bait House" in the "OC" were a source of sheer delight for my teenage daughters. It was great fun. After loads of photos, we took the car down through Palo Verdes Estates (I think that was the name). Some of this was along the PCH. It was a beautiful drive. Finally, we headed up toward Marina del Rey and finally to LAX for our flight to Hawaii. I think that in 2 1/2 days that we spent in California we got to see and experience both the city and the beaches. It was exactly what we wanted. It really turned out to be a great itinerary and it all evolved through conversations held here. Again, thank you all.

Glad to hear that you had a great trip!!!

Thanks for reporting back. You sure packed in a good amount of fun in your 3 days. I hope the traffic wasn't too bad for you!

The coastal road you describe sounds like The Esplanade in Redondo Beach and maybe Palos Verdes Drive. PCH does not go near the ocean in that part of the South Bay.

I believe that the coffee shop on the Redondo Beach pier is called "Polly's on the Pier". Isn't it funny, you just never know what will turn out to be the highlight of a trip. I'm glad you and your girls had fun. :)