first time single visitor to l.a. in march for 7 days would like comment on the following hotel picks: cal mar hotel, magic hotel,hollywood hills hotel, del capri hotel, figueroa hotel, marina pacific hotel.should one stay in the south bay,santa monica, hollywood, airport or a downtown hotel for a vacation for someone who is coming from n.y.c. also, is flying into ontario or john wayne airport a better choice than l.a.x. thanks for your response and have a great day.

LAX is your best choice if you're intending on staying in the LA area.

What do you plan on doing in your 7 days in LA? Are you coming for pleasure or business? Do you prefer beach or city? We need more info to help you with your decision.

Hollywood and West Hollywood are two good areas.They're touristy but you're a tourist. The Hollywood Roosevelt is a beautiful old hotel with lots of history, it's right on Hollywood Blvd. but Hollywood is really getting cleaned up. In West Hollywood the Grafton On Sunset is nice. It's next door to the House of Blues, lots going on in that area.

my trip to l.a. is a first time vacation to the west coast.

So, Ira,

If you tell us more about what you would like to do and places you would like to see, we can give you better advice on the hotel and airport selection.

You see, LA is nothing like NYC in that it is a huge, sprawling city. Hardly anyone here walks or takes public transportation. Everyone has a car and drives everywhere.

In terms of airports, John Wayne is in Orange County (SE of the city) and Ontario is far east of the city. LAX, while crowded and busy, is a better choice if you're going to be hanging out on the Westside with no car.

So, give us more to go on here, okay?

Deb in LA

I like the Roosevelt, too. Of course, it depends on what you want to do. The Magic looks a little run-down to me.

As the other posters have written, what do you want to do? LA is spread out.

if you are considering other airports, you must be planning to rent a car. Don't stay downtown, because you'll pay for parking.

Hotel Del Capri is a step up from the others you mention, if it is in the same price range it should be your choice. Well located in the middle of everything, easy drive to the beach, to Hollywood, Universal Studios. And right next to Westwood and Beverly Hills for shopping, dining, etc.

if you are in la for pleasure/vacation, i would recommend against downtown la. downtown is pretty much where all the financial/corporate/business high rise buildings are. it's busy 8 am to 5 om for the five weekdays, but after 5, and on the weekends, it is dead.

stay in the area where you plan to hang out at night time the most, so you don't have to worry about trying to get back home after you are out all night (that is, if you plan to party at night). if you're a beach person, stay in manhattan beach or santa monica, and you can enjoy the beach, and a decent nightlife.

thank you so much sam, deb, michele, jbj, sarah, and xxx for your quick response to my questions on l.a. i did not plan on doing much while in l.a. except take it easy and lay back. a little time at the beach,walking around downtown, a movie studio and some good mexican food. just want to lay low and relax from a tough year back east. living in nyc you need a big rest at the end of the year. last year went to fort lauderdale florida but found it to be too boring with the spring break kid's ruuning around.

if you want a relaxing rest, a suggestion i'd make if fly into john wayne airport and go to laguna beach for a few days. it's beautiful and very laid back. rather small so you could walk to a lot of restauants etc. however, it is rather pricey. then you could go to l.a. for the remainder and do the "busy" stuff you want to do there.

I go to LA about twice a year and last summer I flew into Ontario and I was very glad I did...it is about 43 miles from LA, but it is so far removed from the chaos of LAX...I didn't encounter a typical freeway traffic jam though and that made it even nicer...your choice of hotels is pretty interesting...the last time I saw the decor of the Figueroa Hotel it reminded me of Morocco...there was a bar adjacent to it, but I can't remember the name of it now...the Del Capri is in a west end residential area and it's retained its 1950's style...I think the Hollywood Hills Hotel is next to or part of the Magic Castle...I heard it was remodeled...anyway, that's in a pretty busy area, but you can walk to some of the tourist attractions from there...next door there's a Cal Asian restaurant, but I can't think of the name of it now...I agree with the other poster about not staying downtown...Santa Monica would be a great location especially if you love the ocean, but if you want to be in the middle of everything such as restaurants, clubs, and tourist attractions check out some of the properties on Sunset such as

I meant to add such as The Standard or the Best Western Sunset Plaza...the Best Western Sunset Plaza his ideally located on Sunset...it's right across the street from the Comedy Club and you can walk to the Laugh Factory, House of Blues and other restaurants and clubs...I stayed there once and I had a very nice room that faced Sunset...The Standard is pricey for drinks.

The Best Western Sunset Plaza is a good deal for the location. I had to stay there recently and I was happy with my room and the staff. They even have a parking lot. I got a kick out of watching the young women parade up and down Sunset trying to get into the clubs.

thanks to lainie, merilee and x. i will consider your recommendations.

If you plan just to relax by the beach, I agree with x. Laguna is far nicer and less crowded. It would be a nice central location if you have the time to drive down to San Diego and take a look around, as well as seeing downtown L.A. and the west side. But get an early start, traffic is unpredictable.