Thank you for your input. I have asthma so air quality is a concern.
We will have a car, I appreciate your input. We will stay at the Hyatt Century City.

Hello, if you're still considering hotels, Santa Monica is for me a really nice option at the end of the day, especially if you like to walk. Good restaurants, fresh air, and not far to Beverly Hills via surface roads (Olympic). The Doubletree and the Sheraton Delfina often have internet specials. Le Montrose off the Sunset Strip is also a great family option, with larger suites, with lots of shops and restaurants within walking distance. Safe travels.

Hi Stephanie--we have stayed at the century plaza about 6 times--most recently in May and the air there is lovely and fresh. The breezes out behind the hotel in the lounge area are just heavenly!! You would think you were on a Caribbean isle and not the city of LA!!

We are doing our annual hang out in LA. Before kids we used to live in LA, but now our 14 year old daughter really enjoys LA. Of course her idea of LA is Beverly Hills and Century City. Our favorite hotel in Century City is the Park Hyatt which was unfortunately sold to the Intercontinental in Jan 07. They have the complimentary limo service to drive you to Beverly Hills. We like taking the limo to the great Italian restaurants run by the Drago brothers in Beverly Hills (and one in Santa Monica). The restaurant would then order us a taxi back to the hotel. The Intercon (ex Park Hyatt) has fantastic large & bright view corner suites where we can all stay as a family in one unit.

Being a loyal Hyatt member, we are going to stay at the current Century City Hyatt tomorrow. Last year we stayed at this hotel for the first time. While it's a lesser hotel(used to be an old Marriott), it still has a great balcony with fantastic distant ocean view. Our daughter loves it because it's very close to the Westfield mall and every room has an Ihome for her Ipod. There must be some teenager stores that she likes there. She walks on her own to the mall as it is practically across the street if you exit through the side of the hotel. She also enjoys shopping on Robertson mainly due to the Kitson stores and lunch at the Ivy restaurant which now seems to be one of the Hollywood celebrity restaurant, at least that's how it appears on TV. The food is not as good as it used to be or our taste buds have become spoiled, but the crowd is still fun for our kids. Reserve ahead.

You must visit the two Getty museums. The one in Malibu is an ancient Italian villa that was discovered under the volcanic layers and transplanted by Getty. You must book ahead otherwise you have a very slim chance of getting in at the end of the day. The other one is the major museum in west LA with a gourmet restaurant and city view. Getty museum is all free by the way, except for the parking fee. You can google to reserve.

Another place to go is the Grove which is connected to the Farmer's Market. It is the most interesting mall in LA, though my wife & daughter say that the stores are just OK. But as a family it's fun to be there as it is like a movie set of a perfect town USA with a singing fountain and old trolley. In December they spray fake snow flurry from the building tops, it's kitsch definitely but still interesting to see the movielike effect. There is a few French and Italian bistros with authentic ambiance and good food. Plus you can wander into the Farmer's Market for some Argentinian barbeque (simple joint).

We are currently staying at the OMNI hotel in downtown because it's only a block a way from the Disney music center and Dorothy Chandler/Mark Taper center. My daughter is into Broadway musicals so we're here for the Jersey Boys musical. Last night we ate at the Kendall's Bistro just below the Dorothy Chandler, very good food at reasonable prices. Their flagship restaurant is the Patina at the Disney Music center just across the street.

Downtown LA is not bad if you stay north like at the OMNI. There is the modern museum and musical events Chinatown a short drive north, and Pasadena is a good lively destination. Huntington Gardens is also a rewarding destination. Yesterday we walked to the Bonaventure hotel which used to be a landmark hotel but now it's a dump. Hope you'll have a great time in LA.

I would hold out for Santa Monica and research for less expensive hotels. It's possible.

We used to stay in Santa Monica for our annual trips as well. Shutters is the nice resort hotel to stay at, worth the splurge if it's just the two of you, but with kids probably just go to Lowes or Marriott, all of them have direct access to the beach. The Fairmont is probably the nicest resort hotel for family stays, though it's a bit removed to the north. The rest, more inland hotels are not that great even the so called Doubletree suites, Holiday Inn, Miramar Hotel. Santa Monica is only nice along Ocean Blvd, the rest is just another boring town USA. We like Century City better as you can access both the beach and BH.

The big tourist trap in Santa Monica is the boardwalk,which is good if you have preteens. I used to spend part of my summers in Santa Monica as a teenager. You can rollerblade or rent bikes to go down to Venice beach which has its own funky culture with all the tattoo shops which may be fun for your teens. I suppose you can also opt for some of the old motels along Ocean Blvd if you don't mind those accomodations. The beaches to go are in Malibu not in Santa Monica. You can combine a Malibu Beach with the Getty Museum in Malibu.

We went to Pasadena yesterday morning and had lunch at a very popular Italian kitchen and bakery called MI PIACE just across the street from the old timer Louise's Tratoria which is nowhere as good as Mi Piace. My son and I went to Barnes & Noble bookstore waiting for the women to finish their shopping. Later we went to the Caltech university to see if my son likes it.