Los Angeles hotel, which area?
 

I'm going to be in Los Angeles for four days this fall and I won't have a car. I'm planning to rely on public transportation and taxis.

This is my second trip there, so I've seen some of the main sights. I have a few specific things I want to see this time: the Santa Monica Pier, Warner Bros. Studio tour and downtown - The Broad, Grand Central Market.

I'm in my 50s, a solo traveler and have no problem exploring cities on my own.

At first I was going to stay downtown, but I've been told it gets uncomfortable to walk around after dark. A friend suggested Santa Monica, but that's kind of far from the other attractions I want to visit. Someone else suggested West Hollywood or Beverly Hills.

Price isn't a big obstacle I'm willing to spend $400 to $500 a night. I like a hotel where I can walk outside and be in the center of restaurants, shops, near public transportation.

Thanks in advance!

I think DTLA makes the most sense for the sightseeing you mention. FWIW, I'm an L.A. native and, generally, I'd rather stay in DTLA than Santa Monica. West Hollywood and Beverly Hills are not as well covered by public trans.

From DTLA, you can take the Metro Expo line to the SM Pier. For Warner Brothers, you could take the Metro Red line to Universal Studios and then Lyft/Uber the last couple of miles. At your budget level, you'd have your choice of almost any hotel, including the newly renovated, hip and trendy, Figueroa Hotel and possibly the new and very hot NoMad Hotel.

September and parts of October is usually still pretty hot (Sep. is usually our hottest month) so I would stay in Santa Monica which has the Metro Expo line to DTLA for the Broad and Grand Central, etc. You can take a combo of the Expo and Red Line to Warner Bros for the tour, but Google Maps is currently showing the time at just under 2 hours a bit before 3pm on a weekday, so I would probably take an Uber instead.

Just to be clear, the Red Line won't take you all the way to Warner Brothers.

The Lyft/ Uber fare from DTSM to Warner Brothers could be $40 one way unless you are willing/able to pool.

Thanks. Like I said, my initial plan was to stay downtown, and it seems like the most convenient option. I like to be centrally located. I've been to lots of cities on my own and I know what to expect. I think I'd be fine. But my friend sounded pretty dire about downtown Los Angeles.

And Santa Monica does seem nice. I didn't think about how hot it would be. I'd be on the water. It seems like I can get a pretty direct public transportation route to downtown if I want to spend a day there.

A $40 Lyft/Uber fare each way is fine for Warner Bros.

I'd stay in Santa Monica and day trip into downtown. Although I have a friend who adores "the Fig" hotel.

Just to muddy the waters with a third option: I've been reading about how Culver City is on an upswing. The blue line stop is halfway between Santa Monica and downtown LA.

The Culver Hotel looks much nicer now than what I remember, and it is walkable from the station. The rates I saw on Kayak were within your budget (the hotel's rack rate is not).

https://www.vogue.com/article/culver...s-travel-guide

Culver City Hotels | Boutique Hotels in West Los Angeles, CA | Culver Hotel

Culver City is higher on the hipster scale than both SM and DTLA. The Culver Hotel is about half a mile from the Expo Line station.

I drive through CC on the way to and from work but haven't been to all of the places in the Vogue article. We sometimes see a production at the Kirk Douglas Theater (you might want to check their calendar) and have dinner or drinks before the curtain. Restaurant Akasha and Cafe Vida are favorites, and both offer a small discount if you show your ticket to a performance at the Kirk Douglas. I like the evening vibe in this area.

There was a lot of buzz when the Culver Hotel re-opened after the extensive renovation. Reviews on booking.com are very positive.

Agree, Hotel Fig is FABULOUS and very close to the Metro's Expo/Blue line station at Pico. The Fig is across Olympic from the DTLA Staples Center complex, which includes the Grammy Museum, Microsoft Theatre, as well as the Staples Center.

When the Culver Hotel was first renovated some years ago, it was relatively inexpensive. But once it was re-renovated, prices went up. It is certainly in the thick of a number of restaurants and bars. The Expo Line is a little bit of a trek, but the Culver City bus service is great and you can take the bus to the Metro. As Jean mentioned, the Kirk Douglas theatre often has innovative theatre . . . was just there last week for the last performance of Mutt House. Kirk Douglas is part of the Center Theatre Group (Ahmanson, Mark Taper), and you can often get discounts on their website.

If you want to stay in Santa Monica, my cousins always stay at Loews in Santa Monica on Ocean, and many of their rooms do overlook the Pacific Ocean (pricier, of course). Stone's throw from the SM Pier. And stone's throw from the end of the Expo Line at Colorado and 4th Street. My other cousins have stayed at the Georgian, also on Ocean, an historic building. Again, close to the SM Pier. An alternative might be the Huntley on Second, which has a nice rooftop lounge/restaurant with spectacular views.

The other thing I should have mentioned, the same friend who loves Figeroa Hotel does her LA trips without a car. And does spend time downtown, but also in Venice and Santa Monica. Not sure the details but she gets around by bus or tram.

4 nights is a lot for downtown. Stay downtown only if you find some things that you want to do there in the evenings (a concert at Staples Center, a show at the Ahmanson?)...otherwise yes you'll be out of sorts at night and probably traveling away from downtown 3 of the 4 nights anyway so why stay there if you're going to spend most of your time elsewhere?

You could do The Broad one morning followed by the (rather lame in my opinion) Grand Central Market, and get to a late afternoon WB Tour same day if you wanted to stay in Santa Monica and cut your "travel days" a bit. Then you'd probably Uber back to Santa Monica or just Uber down to an expo station and then take expo rail back to Santa Monica.

What time do you arrive and depart LAX and what day of the week? Easier transpo to and from the airport is another reason to consider Santa Monica or Culver City....especially if you arrive early morning or late afternoon.

We have friends from Europe who are here right now and when they arrived to stay with us today they told us that the one place they did not feel safe walking around too much was Santa Monica. They stayed at an upscale hotel which they liked, but they saId everywhere they were walking around they were approached by homeless or people begging for money and they did not feel safe. They also spent time in other places in Southern CA and felt safe there but she made a point about how unsafe they felt there. I have not stayed in Santa Monica in ages, but I live in the LA Area and I was surprised to hear their thoughts on their time there. I have to admit I have not been to Santa Monica in a couple years so I can't say if I would think it had changed for the worse. I didn't used to feel safe in downtown LA but in recent years they have built up many of the areas (Especially around Staples Center and the Convention Center and I feel much safer in that area now. I have never stayed at the Hotel Figueroa but friends have stayed there in recent weeks and loved the new remodel and said they felt totally safe in that area.

"4 days is a lot for DTLA."

I disagree.

Ahmanson Theater
Mark Taper Forum
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Disney Hall
REDCAT Theater
Microsoft Theater
Grammy Museum and Stage
Ace Theater
Staples Center
Broad Museum (closes 8:00p Thursday thru Sunday)
MOCA (closes 8:00p Thursdays)
Japanese American Museum
Grand Central Market
Angel's Flight
Central Library
The Last Bookstore
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The comments about Santa Monica don't surprise me at all.
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I wonder if the complaints about Santa Monica are mostly related to the oceanfront areas, where homeless tend to congregate.

Comments about Santa Monica would apply to any commercial areas as well as along the beach. Areas where a tourist would likely be visiting or staying, especially someone using public transit as opposed to a private vehicle which allows you to isolate yourself.
Santa Monica has a long, long history with homeless populations. The library for example is often described as "a homeless shelter with books."

As to the OP's question, although the Hotel Figueroa is kind of cute, I intensely dislike the area around Staples Center (soul-less Gensler architecture).

Since you are planning to visit the Broad and Grand Central the ideal hotel for you IMO would be the Omni. MOCA is also right there and Angel's Flight connects you with Grand Central Market.

The area is more active during the workday, or on Thursday through Saturday early evenings when some of the museums stay until 8pm (eg the Broad all of those days, MOCA on Thursday) . Check their website for your dates and go to the Broad when it first opens so that you can signup for the Infinity Mirror Room. If you want to sightsee elsewhere in Downtown I'd recommend the interior of the Cathedral, City Hall, Public Library, Biltmore public areas, and Union Station (allow some time for a walk through if you use the Metro system). And yes, the Japanese American Museum and Little Tokyo's First Street (Fugetsu-Do and Suehiro Cafe).

Check out the Conservancy walking tours for possible (not guaranteed) access to one of the theaters.

https://www.laconservancy.org/upcoming-events
https://www.laconservancy.org/tours

There are restaurants in the Omni and at the Broad, as well as in the surrounding area where you can eat dinner or you can use a taxi. The cafeteria at the Colburn School is another option when it's open. During the day it would be fun to go to Grand Central Market for lunch.

What would you want to do at the Santa Monica Pier? Personally I wouldn't waste my time going to the Pier if that's all you were interested in. If it's just a beach visit, I'd recommend Manhattan Beach instead. Since money isn't a concern, look into staying at the Shade (maybe the night before your return flight, or when the Broad is closed). Although it's a few blocks from the beach, it's a safe area to walk by yourself. If you want to visit SM from DTLA, the Santa Monica Big Blue bus does have a weekday only Freeway flyer service so check the schedule to be sure you catch the last bus back. (to be revised after summer is over..https://www.bigbluebus.com/Routes-an.../Rapid-10.aspx Otherwise you would have to get to transfer at 7th and Fig Expo Line/Silver Line I believe...

For Warner Brothers, you could take the Red Line from Downtown LA (Pershing Square) to Universal City and from there a Taxi/Uber/Lyft. However I imagine you can find a package tour from Downtown including transfers. There are a couple of hotels up in Universal City but I don't think I would stay there for just a day trip.

I’m not very familiar with the Metrolink, but know that my son, who lives in Pasadena, uses it ALL the time to go to LA. And Pasadena fits your preference for a place with restaurants, easy walkability, etc.

just throwing it out as as an option - there are lovely museums and parks (the Norton Simon, the Huntington Library), and its a great city.

Since The Broad has been mentioned a few times, I'll point out that a timed entry ticket should be confirmed before you plan your day/time in DTLA. Reservations are open now for dates through September. On Sept. 1st, tickets for October will be released. On Oct. 1st, tickets for November will be released.

I agree with mlgb about the Omni Hotel. I also like the location of Checkers Hotel adjacent to the Central Library, a couple of blocks from the Broad, Disney Hall, MOCA, Music Center, etc., and closer to the 7th Street metro station where multiple lines connect.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I'd forgotten since my first trip there 30 years ago how spread out everything is in Los Angeles, how much time it takes to get from one place to another.

I'm thinking about staying at the Loews at Hollywood and Highland. It's more in the middle of things, which I like. It looks like I can take the 222 bus from there to Warner Bros. It's near the starting point for a daylong tour of Los Angeles that I want to take - A Day in L.A. Tours. It's touristy but I think I'd be more comfortable there than downtown or someplace farther away, like Santa Monica. (I stay in Times Square when I go to New York.)

I really just want to see the end of Route 66 sign at the Santa Monica Pier! I've seen the beginning sign in Chicago.

The neighborhood around Loew's will get old after a day or two but I suppose it's central to what you want to see and do. Not really a comfortable area for roaming around alone at night but if you're used to Times Square you'll be okay. Loteria Grill is good, and the burger place at the Roosevelt hotel. Don't expect Times Square though, it's more like two blocks worth of Times Square. You'll probably want to head to West Hollywood for dinners and window shopping on a couple of nights.

The bus to and from WB is quick n easy, get off when the bus turns left onto Hollywood Way, walk right on Riverside and turn right at the 2nd light (Avon).