Los Angeles
 

Two women need help in planning a business/fun trip. Will be fly into LA for meeting in Santa Fe Springs then flying onto Fresno for another meeting. What/where are nice safe places to stay and/or avoid staying? Places of interest in these areas? There will be time between meetings for pleasure.

I like the Westwood Area (near UCLA, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills). I think it is a nice, safe, area.
I'm not sure how convenient that would be to your business meeting in Santa Fe Springs.

Santa Fe Springs isn't immediately convenient to areas that out-of-towners would consider "fun."

But, with a car, you could get to Manhattan Beach fairly easily and quickly. Take Interstate 5 south to the 105 Freeway west. Go to the end of the freeway and continue straight to the ocean. Turn left on Vista del Mar and go 2-3 miles to Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Look for a place to park and wander up and down MB Blvd. and the two blocks north and south. Lots of restaurants.

This drive can take 30-45 minutes each way depending on traffic. There is an HOV lane the entire length of the 105.

How far are you willing to stay from your meeting? I don't know of any good places to stay in or around Santa Fe Springs.

Which airport are you flying out of? Pasadena might be more convenient and it's got Old Town, antique stores, the Gamble House, and a few nice museums (as well as a Nordstrom).

Have not made plane reservations for flight to Fresno, which airport would be better to fly out of? Will be returning to LA and onto Texas from LAX.

You could even stay in Manhattan Beach if you don't mind the commute. I love the Shade Hotel.

Either Long Beach or Burbank would be better than LAX.

Long Beach would be the closest, but they don't fly to very many destinations. There are a number of hotels in the vicinity of Long Beach airport. It's a short ride to Belmont Shore which is a pedestrian street with restaurants and small stores.

Burbank would be more convenient to Pasadena.

Even SNA (John Wayne) might work out better since you can commute up the 5 FWY. You would be Newport Beach, Balboa Island and Fashion Island (shopping).

Commuting from the "westside" to Santa Fe Springs, and flying out of LAX would not be my idea of fun.

The westside is completely opposite from where you are staying. Santa Fe Springs is on the eastside of Los Angeles. You could stay in Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, down by Disneyland in Anaheim.

Fly out of Long Beach if possible or John Wayne.

If you stay in Pasadena, fly out of Burbank.

Have fun.

If you're flying into LAX, then I agree with Manhattan Beach, since SF Springs is close to the 105 freeway.

If you are flying into Long Beach, then staying in the Long Beach area would be your best bet. In addition to Belmont Shore, the downtown area is set up for tourists & business travelers with restaurants within walking distance of the hotels. The Pike, Shoreline Village, Pine Avenue, the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific are all fairly close.

Seal Beach is also a nice little beach town.

From Long Beach, you would take the 710 north to the 105 east to the 605N to get to SF Springs.

Downtown Fresno is pretty dismal, and I would not recommend staying there. As one Fresno Fodorite advised me-- Go North!

Santa Fe Springs is 30 miles from Newport or Manhattan Beach. You don't want to worry about dealing with a 30-mile rush hour commute during a short LA trip. If you must have ocean views then look for a Long Beach hotel. However, nothing in your email indicates a desperate desire for the seashore, so my advice is to stay in a nice downtown Los Angeles hotel...there are plenty of interesting dining/tourist/shopping choices there and your commute will be half that of the other locations people are recommending.

There is a Marriot in Norwalk which is freeway close to SFSprings and to all directions for entertainment, no entertainment in Norwalk though...

Our friend drives to Santa Fe Springs everyday for work from Manhattan Beach.
He takes the 105 Freeway out and it's a straight shot out about 20 miles, depending where your meeting is. Most of the traffic is heading west to LAX in the morning while he is going east.
There is a nice Marriott Hotel in MB, close to freeways.

I think if you have to fly to Fresno the only real choice is LAX. In which case Manhattan Beach or El Segundo would be the beter choice (much better than Westwood or Santa Monica). At least you can take the 105 as Nancy says. There is a new Whole Foods food hall on the El Segundo/Manhattan Beach border (Rosecrans and Sepulveda). The promenade and pier are nice and there assorted bars and restaurants.

Thanks for the info everyone! Can anyone tell me what the drive would be like to Fresno from Santa Fe Springs? That might be an option for us.

OK, here's our plan, fly into LA on Fri night & have the week-end to play. Question: what airport do we fly to if we want to stay in a fun area in LA for Fri/Sat night? Not LAX? What area would be good to stay in, really not all that interested in the beach. Sun/Mon night we'll stay in Sante Fe Springs and then onto Fresno on Tues.
THANKS!

I would take the Interstate 5 to Highway 99, it is pleasant enough.

From Santa Fe Springs to Fresno is about 240-ish miles depending on where in Fresno. Count on about 4 hours driving time w/o stops unless you hit really bad traffic in teh LA basin.

It really would not be that much longer than flying when you factor in dropping the rental car, advance check in and security, etc.

If you can fly into Burbank, then I would stay the first weekend in Pasadena. Old Town Pasadena on the weekends is very lively. Burbank Airport is about 20-30 minutes from Pasadena depending on traffic.

If you must fly into LAX, you could still go to Pasadena, but the drive would take 45-60 minutes depending on traffic. A little closer would be downtown L.A. (Perhaps someone here can chime in on the downtown L.A. nightclub scene.)

Driving to Fresno isn't such a bad idea. Either leave very early (6/7 a.m.) or wait until after the morning rush hour (about 10 a.m.). As someone else pointed out, considering the time to drive to any airport, turn in rental car, transfer to terminal, go through security and wait at least 60 minutes for your flight, you could be more than halfway to Fresno and wouldn't have to go through the car rental thing again.

If I were going to LA for the weekend, I'd definitely stay in Manhattan Beach. Cute little beach town just 10 minutes from LAX with great stores and restaurants. I love Mangiamos.

Call Shade Hotel and tell them you want to set up a corporate rate. Easy to do and a significant discount off their typical rates. They have a great bar/lounge that gets very busy even during the weekdays. The hotel is only a year old, the rooms are spotless, the beds are super comfy, and the giant jacuzzi tub is awesome.

Guys, she said she wasn't interested in the beach. Will you drop it with the MB recs, already? It has a couple of good breakfast spots, a few busy dive/surfer bars (although nothing compared to Hermosa Beach), and the same row of shops and boutiques that can be found in 300 other places across the country. And a nice beach. But that's not what she wants, see?

Two girls want to spend a fun non-beach weekend in LA. If the girls are in their 50s then Pasadena would do fine. Plenty of ladies who lunch, home furnishing shops, and a few nice museums. But the clear best option for twobees is West Hollywood and/or Beverly Hills for world-class shops, bars, restaurants, clubs, spas, etc. Flying into either LAX or Burbank would be fine. The commute to SF Springs would be tough, hence you should switch to a closer hotel the night before the meeting.

So what kind of scene are you looking for, twobees? You've mentioned what you DON'T want, but you should get a bit more specific about what you DO want to get more helpful advice.

I'm thinking Pasadena might be nice for ladies of a certain age. The Huntington
http://www.huntington.org/ also has a tea service in the Rose Garden Cafe, and I think the Ritz Carlton is fun to walk around even if you're not staying there (Sunday Brunch?). Norton Simon, great shopping, lots of restaurants.

http://www.pasadenacal.com/shopdine2.htm
For an "adventure" you could take the Gold Line to downtown Los Angeles. Maybe tour the Disney Concert Hall? Little Tokyo? Dimsum lunch in Chinatown at CBS or Empress?

Jeez! I'm not pushing MB. I missed her comment about not being interested in the beach. Nonetheless, I hate the beach, unless I'm going surfing or such (and no, I'm not some 20-year old), but that doesn't mean I don't like cute beach towns.

I also thought it would be nice if she didn't have to spend an hour in traffic after landing at LAX on a Friday night.

But excuse me for recommending something I and all the women I work with have enjoyed tremendously.

bobludlow is spot on about LA. Twobees - what kind of "fun" are you looking for?

West Hollywood (Sunset Blvd.) has a huge night scene and great shopping (on Melrose - think Urban Outfitters), but it's young... 20s to 30s.

The Beverly Hills area also has great shopping and an okay night scene, but the shopping is more upscale (think Anthropologie or Wallpaper Magazine) and there are fewer bars. Better for 30-40 somethings.

Santa Monica
The 3rd Street Promenade area seems to be fun for all ages, and the Viceroy down there is quite a scene... good for people watching.
The Montana Avenue area is a bit more refined and sedate.

LA is basically a collection of suburbs... whatever you want, we have... we just need a bit more information.

I think bobludlow's descriptions of Manhattan Beach (where I live), Hermosa Beach and Pasadena are all pretty shallow. His descriptions of Beverly Hills (where I work) and West Hollywood are only slightly better.

MB has a couple of restaurants (Petros, Cafe Pierre) that rival anything anywhere in L.A., and most of the shopping in MB and HB is one-of-a-kind retail stores, hardly the "same row ... found in 300 other places across the country." There are great spas in each town: Glen Ivy in HB, Trilogy in MB. To describe them as merely beach towns reveals the lack of time spent in either.

My husband and I go to Pasadena at least once a month for lunch or dinner and a movie or theater performance, and I would estimate the average age of people in Old Pasadena on weekends (especially evenings) is 30-40 with a fairly equal mix of families and singles until later hours when the younger people are the overwhelming majority. To refer to "plenty of ladies who lunch" and nearly dismiss entirely the Norton Simon Museum, the Pasadena Art Museum and the Huntington Library is just plain weird. How about live theater at the Pasadena Auditorium? The enormous (and loads of fun) flea market at the Rose Bowl?

Obviously, we need to know more about what interests the twobees, but let's at least accurately describe the different areas.

I don't know if you are just directing your comment to bobludlow or to everyone, but did I not mention the Norton Simon and give a link to the Huntington?

The Rose Bowl swap meet is fun, but it's only held one Sunday a month.

I used to live in Pasadena and loved it, but I do understand bobludlow's point. Here are some generalizations that might help:

Pasadena (Old Town & South Pass) caters to a more family-oriented crowd. Mid-westerners would feel right at home here.

Beverly Hills caters to a more upscale, pampered crowd (sometimes European).

Hollywood/West Hollywood (Sunset) caters to a very young party crowd and a film industry crowd.

West Hollywood (below Sunset) caters mostly to the gay and lesbian community.

Santa Monica caters to the British and a fun, young-spirited, yet mild-mannered crowd.

Venice Beach caters to a young, hip, grungy crowd.

Silverlake/Los Feliz/Echo Park cater to a very hip crowd... often young, but at least young-at-heart, artistic and often offbeat.

These are generalizations, I know, but it gives you an overall sense of the areas' atmospheres.

I'm not sure where you get the idea that these women are "of a certain age" or "in their 50's"

bobludlow apparently has Downtown Manhattan Beach confused with Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade. :)

However, he is right in that we cannot suggest "places of interest" if we don't know what those "interests" are.

Probably from another post where she stated that her parents were celebrating a 60th wedding anniversary.

Basic math is my strong suit.

Where to begin with the most recent generalized descriptions of areas of L.A. and what type of people each area caters to?

On any typical weekend evening in Old Town Pasadena, there is an amazing ethnic, economic and age diversity reflected in the people dining, shopping and wandering around. It's unlike almost any place I've traveled and represents a microcosm of what makes L.A. one of the more unique cities in the world. OTP might feel like another planet to a visitor who lives far from urban areas of the U.S.

On any day in Beverly Hills (where I've worked for more than 30 years), I see lots of average tourists and not very many people of the upscale, pampered variety. IMO, Rodeo Drive has become a cartoon version of itself where the shops are more like museums.

FYI, the "film industry" crowd does not hang out in Hollywood. There are active studios and supporting technical providers located throughout L.A. County, including Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach!

"Santa Monica caters to the British" (huh?) and a "fun, young-spirited, yet mild-mannered crowd." The second part sounds like any town along the L.A. coastline. Not mentioned is that SM caters to a sizeable, permanent homeless population.

All this, and no mention of Culver City which has a huge film industry connection (MGM, Columbia, Sony Pictures, Tristar) and a very dynamic arts (visual and performance) scene.

Jean - that's why I prefaced them as "generalizations."

Re: the "film industry crowd," I'm speaking of the executives (with whom I hang out). The younger ones are in Hollywood and downtown (the new cool place in LA) and the older ones are in Beverly Hills.

Re: Santa Monica, I believe it's the largest British ex-pat population in America (maybe the world, but definitely America). It's packed with Brits. But also with a diverse assortment of everyday people and tourists.

Culver City is indeed experiencing a huge renaissance, but it doesn't seem to appeal to tourists as much as it does locals. Again, this is a generalization... one of my visiting friends who'd been to LA quite a few times loved Culver City. But for the most part, people who haven't been to LA before want to see areas like Hollywood, the studios, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.

As for Rodeo Drive, I personally avoid it like the plague (except to see one of my doctors who is based there), but tourists seem to love it for the people watching and high-end shops.

I apologize for upsetting you, Jean. I do think that Pasadena is a nice town. And you should note that my description did mention that it had a few nice museums. A few = 2-3. Nice = certainly worth visiting, but probably not worth planning an entire vacation around. I'm sure that there are plenty of young 20-somethings that really enjoy living in Pasadena. But would a 20-something on her first LA vacation truly prefer Pasadena to west hollywood or santa monica? I doubt it. The same goes for a 30-something unless she was a museum/gardening nut.

The same goes for Manhattan Beach. It is a great town, but pick any category of attraction and you will find something better elsewhere in LA. Sure, there are several one-off boutiques on the main drag. But their number and quality pales in comparison to what you can find along La Brea Avenue. If twobees were looking for a great weekend of shopping, would you really recommend Manhattan Beach over La Brea? Likewise for Petros and Cafe Pierre: would a real foodie fly across the country to eat their food? The answer would be "yes" for any number of restaurants in other parts of Los Angeles.

So again I have to ask twobees: what do you want to do for your fun weekend? We'd love to help point you in the right direction.

I'm not upset. I just thought we were talking about entirely different places with the same names. I'm an L.A. native of more years than I'll admit to, and your perceptions of the various areas was foreign to me.

As for the restaurant and shopping comparisons, to each his own. I doubt people fly across the country to eat in a particular restaurant, but Petros has been described as having the best Greek food in California. Twobees didn't mention shopping (or museums for that matter). The only thing we have to go on is "safe," "fun," and "pleasure." We don't even know that they are 20-somethings. Presumptions that they would prefer SM and WeHo over Pasadena because of their age are incorrect.

But, no worries. We've scared them off with our nattering.

bobludlow - I agree with you. I once suggested on this very forum that someone visit Culver City while they were here, only to realize later on that Culver City just isn't as cool to tourists as it is to me.

I may avoid Hollywood & Highland, Rodeo Drive, the clubs on Sunset or Universal Citywalk like the plague, but new visitors seem to love them. To them, those areas "are" LA.

But Jean, as a long-time resident of LA, I also agree that I personally would rather spend my time at the Huntington, one of the wine bars in Culver City, a venue in Silverlake or one of the many great new restaurants that open up in strange neighborhoods around town. It takes a while to appreciate the genuine value of LA.

Thanks again for all the great info.
Here are now the only plans we have: flying into LAX on Sat/early AM. Business: Sante Fe Springs on Mon.& driving to Fresno on Wed. departing LAX Thur. PM. The rest of FUN time is up in the air. We are 30 & 50ish! Love to shop and want to see ALL the sights! Still not sure where we will be staying....probably will stay in some fun place on Sat then move to someplace close to SFS on Sun.