My friends and I are thinking of going to the Rose Bowl this year. Should we try to get a room in Pasadena or is it better to stay elsewhere in LA? We want to be near the action...where the fans will be partying.

Downtown Pasadena seems like a safe bet.
The neighborhood around Colorado Blvd. is is great area to stay in anyway, I think, as it sports a vast amount of restaurants and bars and (rare in L.A.) is really inviting for a stroll at nights.
For accomodation you might want to look into the Courtyard Marriott, for example. The Westin lokks pretty nice, too.
Mi Piace on Colorado Blvd. has a pretty nice bar and a good happy hour starting at 5 p.m. if I recall correctly.

Dina,

Can we all assume that you are a Michigan fan?

Isn't Pasadena pretty booked up now? Unless you're part of a group which has made a block booking, you may be out of luck.

We're not actually Michigan fans, but we do love to be around Michigan fans. The Michigan crew always seems to be lots of fun. We just like football and are looking for a good New Year's destination.

There are actually a few hotels still available in Pasadena so it is an option.

I'm originally from New Orleans, so I've experienced enough Sugar Bowls to know how much fun the bowl games can be. I'm just not familiar with where to find the party for the Rose Bow.

You might also look to the east of the Parade route--Arcadia/Monrovia area. There are a bunch of hotel options there and they are usually crawling with parade and game revelers for New Years.

The party will be on Colorado Blvd the night before! Arrive early and camp out or just spend the night before strolling the blvd for a while.

as a follow up to here_today_gone_2maui's (BTW that sure is a long screen name!) suggestion of Arcadia/Monrovia: The FourPoints Sheraton Barcelo Hotel on Huntington Dr. (formerly Wyndham Garden, formerly Howard Johnson) is a decent property and IMO preferable over the neighboring Holiday Inn.
If indeed availability should become an issue, you might also consider looking into the Glendale area, which is resaonably easy to commute to. I cannot advise on that specifically, though.

I cant imagine that you will be able to get a Pasadena hotel room at this late date unless you are part of a package deal.

Anyway, if indeed there is availability then by all means stay in Pasadena as close (as close as possible to Old PAsadena. Its a really fabulous place to be the week after Christmas. I just drove up Orange Grove yesterday and some of the grandstands are already in place for the parade,

We went last year and stayed at the Westin. It was a great hotel with a beautiful pool and great rooms - and VERY close to the action in the area. Just walk a few short blocks or ask the hotel driver to take you and you are right there. The hotel is by the bars and some fun eateries/restaurants Easy access to the freeways as well. You can't go wrong here in my humble opinion. : ) Have fun!

The Westin is, unfortunately, sold out. Our options are the Sheraton and the Ritz Carlton -- opposite ends of the extreme. The price difference is only $130 between the hotels, so we may just go with the Ritz.

Thank you for your advice. It sounds like we'll find quite enough to do in the Pasadena area, so we will definitely stay there as opposed to somewhere else in L.A.

Dina,

do keep in mind that the Ritz Carlton Huntington, while a gracious classic hotel, is located rather in the direction of South Pasadena - and quite a bit from the action around Colorado Blvd.
The Sheraton would be closer to that - so I guess you've got to evaluate what's more important to you: being in the middle of things or staying in a beautiful and luxurious mansion.

To me the Ritz Carlton Pasadena is more in San Marino but I still would stay there. It is gorgeous and you can easily get to Pasadena and Old Pasadena.