Avoid LA area as much as possible but have to attend a nonnegotiable 8:30 am meeting.
The address is on W 4th Street Santa Ana CA 92701. It is near the Birch Park.

Looked up on Mapquest it does not show any Hotels close.
The best one I found is Doubletree Club Orange Airport Santa Ana Hotel.

Can any of our LA Fodorites help me recommendations? Is it reasonable location or something better?

I will still have to drive from Doubletree to the actual location in am rush hour traffic..am thinking of just leaving my car at Doubletree and taking a cab...but unsure of the distance and time to allow.

IMHO cabs in CA are not a reliable way to get around. they just don't have very many and never seem to turn up when they are supposed to.

We have an office in Sand diego - and when a bunch of use go there we don;t all rent cars - thinking we can share. then plans change and someone needs a cab - and it's a big crisis. Can we get one? Will it arrive? When will it come? Will it know where it's going/ Had a similar experience in both SD and LA on earlier trips for market research.

IMHO with a rental car you may hit traffic - but at least you know where you and the car are - and not spending 30 or 40 minutes waiting for a cab to turn up. Weird for me coming from Manhattan, where you just go to the corner and wave one down. - unless it's a massive rain storm or something)

Hi NY traveler,

You are right. LOL! Had that experience at a conference in San Francisco this June.

Would have to drive 3-4 hours to get to the Hotel in am rush hour traffic morning of this crucial mtg so will have my car: now going to stay overnight in a Hotel and drive the 3-4 hours the night before. The Parking is several blocks away from the mtg place.

Need to know about the neighborhood so hoping if any of SO CAL LA Foderites know of this DoubleTree Club Hotel.The htol says they can get a cab...

There are a whole bunch of hotels near John Wayne Airport. You want to be north of the airport. There's a Marriott north of the airport and a Westin(?) right in the South Coast Plaza. There are other hotels too if you google for them (Disneyland, Costa Mesa, Anaheim hotels).

Since the roads down there are laid out in a grid pattern, you don't have to get on the freeway, just take one of the surface streets like Bristol or Flower, shoot straight north, and you're about 5 miles away from where you want to be. Shouldn't take you more than 20 minutes of commute time.

Easytravel is right - there are a ton of hotels by the airport - and her tip about the side roads are true too. Traffic is not always too bad in Orange county (unlike LA) Santa Ana has some not great areas - so be mindful of the location of your hotel...
I would stay at the Westin @ South Coast Plana at 686 Anton Blvd, Costa Mesa and take S. Bristol to W. Segstrom <sp> to S. Flower. It is about 8 miles away - about 15-20 minutes with lights/traffic.
S. Coast Plaza is a beautiful mall, there are really good places to eat - I have stayed there before and been happy with the location and hotel. It is right next to the performing arts center so if you get lucky you can squeeze in a show/performance

If you are worried about traffic and want to avoid the freeways I would stay on the north side of the 405 Freeway and the Westin South Coast Plaza would be a good choice (or several others nearby).

If you are on the wrong side of the airport you can run into a lot of mess being on the wrong side of the freeway.

Txs everyone. Exact info I needed.