Los Angeles Hotel near the upscale activities
Feb 23rd, 2005, 07:23 AM
#21
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GLMDesigns: Glad you enjoyed the scene out here. As far as Laguna-- YES! It's quite different from Santa Monica, quite different from San Diego. The best way to describe it would be to combine La Jolla with the stretch of La Brea in West Hollywood with all the art galleries, then drop in some loopy artists from Venice Beach and Silver Lake. Lovely city-- well, after all the rains, what's left of it will still be lovely.
kalunchi: Well, apology cheerfully accepted. Hollywood is a large part of the area's history, but there is more. Architecture tours of downtown will show you some of the most ornate, baroque movie houses of the turn of the 20th century that you'll ever see. If you want a good & dirty tour of the most scandal-ridden parts of LA's sordid celebrity history, try Dearly Departed Tours (dearlydepartedtours.com). Tess and suze have noted other notable historical sites. And yes, the Queen Mary sits in drydock in my hometown, Long Beach. I only hesitate to mention it because LB is a considerable side trip, and since you've mentioned shopping as a big goal, you don't have good options right nearby (the BEST option, South Coast Plaza, is 20 minutes to the south of Long Beach).
kalunchi: Well, apology cheerfully accepted. Hollywood is a large part of the area's history, but there is more. Architecture tours of downtown will show you some of the most ornate, baroque movie houses of the turn of the 20th century that you'll ever see. If you want a good & dirty tour of the most scandal-ridden parts of LA's sordid celebrity history, try Dearly Departed Tours (dearlydepartedtours.com). Tess and suze have noted other notable historical sites. And yes, the Queen Mary sits in drydock in my hometown, Long Beach. I only hesitate to mention it because LB is a considerable side trip, and since you've mentioned shopping as a big goal, you don't have good options right nearby (the BEST option, South Coast Plaza, is 20 minutes to the south of Long Beach).
Feb 23rd, 2005, 08:36 AM
#22
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kalunchi: I agree with earlier post in that rjw gives great info. We were in southern CA in Dec and made Santa Monica our base for LA area. rjw is spot-on so heed advice. I would suggest SM as a base. We signed up for an all day tour. We were picked up at hotel and spent the entire day touring. It's a great way to see some of the things that you are curious about (like Hollywood or the Hollywood sign)and get them checked off your do-list. It also gives you a much better idea of where you would like to return for a more in depth visit the next day, or whenever.
The beach at SM is huge. Pier is great. You can use the boardwalk to head to Venice for a look-see. I think you can to up to Malibu also, but I'm not sure about how far the boardwalk goes. Anyway, the good thing about SM is that for evening, it's great because it is pedestrian friendly. On a nice night a walk over to the pier or to 3rd St Promenade (restaurants, street performers, even a rather grubby little comedy club) is nice once you have the car parked for the night. There are some hotels that are well located during the day, but not so good once night falls. Keep that in mind.
The beach at SM is huge. Pier is great. You can use the boardwalk to head to Venice for a look-see. I think you can to up to Malibu also, but I'm not sure about how far the boardwalk goes. Anyway, the good thing about SM is that for evening, it's great because it is pedestrian friendly. On a nice night a walk over to the pier or to 3rd St Promenade (restaurants, street performers, even a rather grubby little comedy club) is nice once you have the car parked for the night. There are some hotels that are well located during the day, but not so good once night falls. Keep that in mind.
