I'm planning a trip to the West coast, particularly San Fran and LA, where do u guys think i should stay in LA in terms of where all the shops are, such as sunset blvd. is sunset blvd near beverly hills?
I was thinking of the Westin Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, what do u guys think of that? has anyone stayed there? is tehre a pool? also, how far are the beaches from the city of LA? please help!

I would definitly stay in Santa Monica. The beach is great and there is a lot of great shopping there. You are not too far from Melrose, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip.

Just rent a car & get a map you'll be fine. Depends what part of downtown, to which beach, and at what time of day (traffic) but they are not too far as long as you're comfortable driving on the freeway.

Santa Monica would be a great place to stay, again as long as you don't mind driving in various directions like up to Malibu, down to Venice, inland to melrose, sunset blvd, hollywood, beverly hills, etc.

I will let the San Francisco experts discuss that great city. I'll try to give you some tips on the LA section of your trip. The LA metro area is vast (I mean, bigger than many countries) and you can find upscale neighborhoods all over. Shopping opportunities abound. What are you into? Super-upscale? Rocker-chic? Trashy? Goth? Vintage and consignment? Just the same shops that you have at home, but with the LA sales tax?

First thing I would do: Get a map of the LA area, then start reading the LA section of fodors.com. Mark the areas that sound interesting. It sounds like you haven't really done this yet, but you've heard of Sunset Blvd. so there must be shopping on it. Not much upscale stuff, it turns out (and Sunset passes THROUGH Beverly Hills, by the way)-- but there's a killer Guitar Center on Sunset in Hollywood that you must check out.

Santa Monica, a city that a lot of visitors just love, is an urban beach city with a real downtown, a real Pier, real good shopping areas and real Big City Problems (homelessness), but the problems won't ruin the vacation fun. Disclosure: I work here. The best lodging here is in the downtown area, which puts you right at the Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Place. No "unique" stores per se, but they're all here. For a less-mallish experience, go north to Montana Ave. (and its strolling Ladies Who Lunch) or south to Main Street (a little funkier). Venice Beach is the next city south of SM, so you can really get a good hit of Funky while in the area.

Century City is Beverly Hills adjacent and a very odd-feeling area-- more like Downtown LA (all those office buildings! The empty streets after dark!). Staying at the Century Plaza (a pretty nice place, actually, and it MUST have a pool) puts you by a mall (Century City Mall, I think they call it). It's outdoor, which is nice, but the stores are the usual ones, so it's not that big a deal.

Beverly Hills' chi-chi Rodeo Drive, and the surrounding streets, has all those boutiques you're probably envisioning. It's a guilty pleasure-- drool at the trinkets at Harry Winston's, slink into Gucci to look at clothes you wouldn't wear in your right mind (which is why you see them on stoned rock stars), walk by Bijan (and the yellow Rolls parked out front), lunch at Mr. Chow's, la dee daah.

You'll have more fun strolling Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood/LA, although you're going way downscale from Rodeo Drive. Thrift stores, trendy boutiques, Goth kids, DJ shops, the original Johnny Rocket's!

There ARE parts of LA with beach access, thank you very much. But if you're curious about how far the beach is from Century City, a drive of a little over 7 miles puts you at the Santa Monica Pier.

And I haven't scratched the surface of everything you can do while in the area. We haven't even discussed visiting points south of the city of LA. Or north, for that matter.

Thanks rjw! Ha! you're right, i haven't done much research for the LA area, but I've read about all those LA shopping from US weekly, such as Kitson, Sunset Blvd, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, etc. I cant think of historical sites to visit, but i know i can be wrong. I know there is Disney, but i think i will skip that. Hollywood is a must, right? I promise i will do research later on.
I would love to visit beaches, how far is Malibu from the Century Plaza? the beach you're talking about in Santa monica, is it nice or polluted with city locals?

OK, let's get one thing straight. If US Weekly says it's hip, chances are it's already Past Its Use-by Date. And emulating anything Paris Hilton does is already passé; in fact, Paris-bashing is much more au courant. I'd pass by Kitson and head straight to Fred Segal-- always trendy and hip.

Malibu is 20 miles from Century City. And I don't exactly know what your crack about Santa Monica's beaches being "polluted with city locals" means.... Are you sure you want to come to southern California? We citizens do actually go to our beaches (they're public), so you may actually run into locals. If we're considered to be "polluting" our own beaches, well....

hey... sorry I offended you... maybe i'll just do my own research rather than sounding stupid b/c my knowledge of LA is all from US Weekly.

Hey, I'm not offended by not knowing that "US Weekly" is not the greatest source of "real" information about the LA metro area. However, I'm just saying that you might need to cut us southern California residents a little slack. Saying a beach is either "nice" or "polluted with city locals" isn't very charitable, is it?

Thanks for the info, rjw - we're planning a brief stop in LA in June and I know my sister would love to do some shopping.

kalunchi - I hope your question about the beach being either "nice" or "polluted" was tongue in cheek - if not, it was a little rude. I suppose the less helpful California residents could always refrain from answering any of our questions for fear that certain areas of LA are too polluted from tourists.

Hollywood for touring is not a must. I hear a lot of tourist come back from the area disappointed. The main attraction is the Grahman's Theater. Down the block is the Kodak Theater (home of the Oscars) and Shopping complex where you can get a photo of the "Hollywood" sign. You can also see imbedded stars in the sidewalk from the walk of fame. All in all it might take 15 - 30 minutes at the most. To get a glimpse of how the town works get tickets to any show taping or take the Warner Studio tour as everyone
has suggested.

If the grand total of what you know is that Hollywood is a "must" plus some shopping areas, you really do have to do some major research. Hollywood is definiitely not a must.

There are some great sites in LA - historical and non. Hollywood isn't one of them. If you want a 30 min jaunt just to put your hands/feet in the prints at the Chinese theater - OK - but otherwise you should skip it.

"Polluted by locals"... I am truly curious what you mean by that. You're looking for a southern California beach without people on it? Or you'd rather it be frequented by tourists only? Or what?

Venice, Santa Monica, and Malibu are local beaches that have been popular for decades. YES, they are <nice>, they are CALIFORNIA BEACHES after all... what exactly is your question about them?

Hollywood is not a <must>. And there are plenty of historic sites in Los Angeles, just because you can't think of them doesn't mean they aren't there.

Yes, research before posting would be a good idea in your case, or at least keep your misconceptions to yourself when posting if you want to receive helpful answers. Insulting locals is not the best way to get good travel tips, as you are finding out here.

And I dare say - those beach polluting locals will be a darn sight easier on the eyes than the pasty legged snow birds from the mid-west

(no flaming please - I only meant to show kalunchi how silly that comment was)

rjw, I love your writing style - you really describe the LA lifestyle perfectly. We're New Yorkers who spent our vacation last summer in southern Calif - I just love it! I've been before but I just love the lifestyle and the funky beach towns and esp San Diego and Santa Monica. I'd love to visit Laguna Beach. Do you recommend?

And I love the locals on the beach

Hey guys, no need to gang up on me. I already apologized for the offensive remark.

I'm kind of a nut for history so I think Hollywood IS a must. Sure, it's shallow and tacky, but it's fun. I agree, it's not a day-long destination but you could easily spend a few hours there. Wander through the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (site of the first Oscars)--it's creepy. There's a nice guy who works in the gift shop who told us all about the hotel's history and its resident ghosts when we were there last month. He even let us peek in the room where the first Oscars were held. The original Frederick's of Hollywood is down there, too, and they have a little mini-museum that's free and kind of a hoot--you can see the costume worn by Austin Power's fembots and some of Madonna's old bustiers. Check out the website seeing-stars.com. It lists the dates when 'stars' get their walk of fame stars, which might be fun to see.

Oh yeah, listen to whatever rjw says--he knows his town (although I'm disappointed that you didn't plug your area--Long Beach! Everyone should see the Queen Mary at least once).

Depending on the timing of your trip...

Give it a few more weeks of rain and you may be able to enjoy quality shopping as well as beachfront vistas from the comfort of Palm Springs.

Chinatown and Olvera Street while popular tourist attractions have been around 'forever' and I'd consider them historic to LA. Also some of the older Catholic missions that are open to the public. I recently saw a documentary called (I think this is correct) Los Angeles Plays Itself which was 3 hours of history of the city, movies, water rights, architecture, etc.