We’re arriving in LA by Amtrak at 9:00 on an October Friday night. We fly out the next day at 1:00 in the afternoon from LAX. Is it worth the time and money to stay away from the airport hotels to see something of LA, maybe a beach hotel, or is traffic and drive/arrival time for flight just silly to even consider? I know, poor planning on my part, but it’s too late to change the flight now. Thanks for any suggestions about where to stay if it’s not too crazy an idea!

There is a good restaurant within walking distance of LAUS called Philippe's. If you stay somewhere near the train station, you can take the Flyaway bus to the airport in the morning. I hope the Coast Starlight is not too late.

If you go to Philippe, get over there quickly...it closes at 10 p.m. By the way, if you don't like French Dips, you can skip it. If you do, it's an historic place (one of two places in L.A. to say it invented the French Dip). My review is from years ago, but really the place hasn't changed much since I was a kid.

Philippe The Original - Los Angeles, CA - Travels With Mai Tai Tom

For anyone on a salt restricted diet, never eat a french dip sandwich. My father was almost killed by one, spent a week in the hospital, no kidding. They concluded the french dip was the culprit, obviously not the first in their experience who'd nearly succumbed.

>>Is it worth the time and money to stay away from the airport hotels to see something of LA, maybe a beach hotel, or is traffic and drive/arrival time for flight just silly to even consider?

It wouldn’t be worth it to me- I never get up early enough to be out the door by 8 on a flight day. But if you could be, you could grab coffee, walk along the beach, visit a farmers Market. Then sure, it’d be worth it. I don’t enjoy airport hotels all that much.

but it depends on money, too- a nice hotel somewhere like downtown or Santa Monica isn’t going to be cheap, and I’m not sure I’d want to pay a premium on a hotel with the amount of time you’re going to have.

Should I die by eating a French Dip, I would choose Philippe The Original's French Dip.

I would love to tell you to book and hotel and spend the evening downtown -- so much to do there these days. But Amtrak is not a train company like in Germany or Switzerland that arrive and depart like clockwork. As in Italy, the arrival time is merely a suggestion. In my many years of train travel (on Amtrak and abroad), I think the Amtrak trains I've been on have only been on time twice. And both were from LA's union station to San Diego.

Based on your arrival time (9 p.m.), and even assuming it was on time, you'd have zero time to get from the train station to, say Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach, check in, then go out for the evening. Plus (and this is one of my major gripes about Los Angeles' west side), it closes down early. You might find a half-empty bar still open, or Harvelle's Blues Club on a good night, or perhaps a late movie. If you're coming on a week night, the closing is even earlier.

As for doing something in the morning, as Janis said, you won't have much time to do anything other than, perhaps, a walk on the beach and breakfast. Oh, and because there is construction work going on at LAX, some of the adjoining streets, and at a number of the Metro stations, longer time should be allotted to get to the airport.

I do very much appreciate that point of view - if it's going to kill me, make it the best! We have to die of something.

I'd head to someplace like Manhattan Beach, maybe the Sea View Inn, stay there and kill a few hours in the am visiting the beach, plenty of restaurants including The Kettle which is open 24 hours. Then take a taxi or Uber to the airport.

Thanks for the suggestions! I was thinking there wasn’t really enough time to stay out at a beach, especially not being able to count on Amtrak being on time. Any specific airport hotel to recommend?

You could modify your Amtrak reservation if you've already booked it. Take the Coast Starlight to Santa Barbara arriving about 6PM if on time. The Santa Barbara station is right downtown near the pier. There are several nice hotels including the Fess Parker nearby. The morning Pacific Surfliner train leaves SBA at 6:49AM. The view from a train south of SBA in the daytime is great. You would arrive at LAUS before 10AM and take the FlyAway bus directly to the airport.

I'd rather travel from Union Station to the Westside late on a Friday night than Saturday morning. If you wake up in Manhattan Beach (you don't have to stay in an airport hotel), you could take a morning stroll along the Strand, walk to/on the pier, have coffee or breakfast. LAX would be about 15 minutes' drive by taxi/Lyft/Uber. There are several hotels with a wide range of rates, so tell us what you want to spend.

There is absolutely no way I'd stay in Santa Barbara the night before a mid-day flight out of LAX. A few evening hours in Santa Barbara would not compensate for spending the next morning sitting on a bus.

Sorry tom . . . but to rely on Amtrak to get one to LA on time to catch a flight the same day, nope. . . . and I sure as heck wouldn't want to get up at 5AM to catch the train.

Thanks, Jean, I looked at Manhattan Beach. I like that it is a short drive away from LAX. Is Venice Beach/Marina Del Ray about the same distance?

Venice Beach and Marina del Rey would not be too far, via Uber, Lyft or taxi. We like the Jamaica Bay Inn, and the Inn at Venice Beach. Both Pacifica hotels.

Hi, JDSJBD. I live in Manhattan Beach, so right off I admit my biases....

I'm not a fan of Venice Beach, and I would not want to arrive there late on a Friday (or Saturday) night. Too many homeless for me although the Inn at Venice Beach mentioned by MoBro is away from the worst and weirdest concentrations. (But, hey, some people like weird.) Marina del Rey is a slightly longer drive to LAX than Manhattan Beach, and, depending on the hotel you choose and its location, there isn't much there there. If your Saturday morning idea was to stroll around, walk on/near the beach, peek into some shops, etc., MdR is probably not the place for you although the Jamaica Bay Inn mentioned by MoBro would be a nice place to hang out on a sunny Saturday morning. (I also like the Marina del Rey Hotel.) All of the hotels in MdR are far from the sand and waves.

Marriott has recently renovated and rebranded its hotel in Manhattan Beach. It's now the Westdrift, part of the Autograph Collection. It's close to several restaurants, but you'd need a ride or public trans to the pier/beach. There are a few hotels closer to the ocean (some very close) in a wide rate range and several moderately-priced chains in the area.

"All of the hotels in MdR are far from the sand and waves." Hmmm. "Far" might be too strong a word. Let's just say you wouldn't want to walk from a hotel to a sandy beach.

If you don't trust Amtrak to get you to Union station in the morning, there is a Santa Barbara Airbus that goes straight to LAX. It leaves at 7:20AM from the parking lot of Marabella Restaurant near the Hyatt in Santa Barbara. That saves the transfer from Los Angeles Union Station to LAX airport.
The last Flyaway bus leaves LAUS to LAX at 10:13PM. (Bus Bay 9).
It is also possible to get to LAX from the Burbank airport using public transit if you wanted to stay in Burbank. The Burbank Amtrak/Metro station is across the street from the entrance to Burbank airport.

Geez. I grew up near Burbank. There is no way in a hot place that I'd recommend the OP spend the night there just to take a bus to LAX the next morning. Nor would I trade a couple of evening hours in Santa Barbara and a bus ride in traffic the next morning to waking up at/near the beach and having a chance to relax with no worries about getting to LAX on time.