artchik

My husband & I are planning a weeklong trip to LA in October. I've been shopping for hotels and have found several good deals in different parts of town. I don't know the area well enough to know if these places are inconvenient location-wise or possibly even unsafe. The candidates so far are The Grafton in Hollywood, Beverly Terrace in Beverly Hills, Barnabey's in Manhattan Beach, and The Venice Inn in Venice Beach. We are not concerned with any luxury factor of the hotel - we literally will only be there to sleep & shower - but we do not want to end up staying in or having to drive through an unsafe neighborhood to get to local attractions. Our itenerary includes the Getty, Griffith Park, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and probably one day in Hollywood doing touristy stuff like the Walk of Fame, etc. Any information or other suggestions are appreciated!! Thanks!

Derek

Beverly Hills is fine. Manhattan Beach is less expensive. Venice Beach is not scary but is less expensive than the above. Some may stay in Pasadena which is 30 min to downtown much of the day (45-60 min during rush hour). Pasadena is cheaper but not low class. Hollywood has seedy areas and no movie stars, surprisingly.

Santa Monica has expensive areas near the beach but inland isn't very ritzy.

Sherman Oaks and Encino are nicer parts of the San Fernando Valley.

A local resident would know more.

Deborah

Hi there. I live in LA, so let's see if I can help. The Grafton is in West Hollywood which is a really nice area. The only thing I want to say about that hotel is my ex recently stayed there and he told me it took forever to get any hot water for his shower. It's a small, hip hotel on Sunset Boulevard. Beverly Hills is, of course, a really nice city. I am not familiar with the Beverly Terrace, nor the other 2 hotels. If you stay in either West Hollywood or BH, you will be sort of middle to Santa Monica and The Getty and Hollywood and Pasadena (which is a little drive from WeHo, even farther from the beaches). I guess it all just depends if you want to stay at the beach or in town. Some other hotels near the Grafton, you might want to check are: The Standard, The Mondrian, Bel Age, Hyatt. It's very safe in that area.

Big_Money_D

Here is a good rule of thumb for you. Pull out an LA Freeway map, and in a nutshell you want to avoid the area south of the 10 and east of the 405. 'Nuff said.

Roccco

Artchik,

I think staying anywhere near the beach would be counterproductive since the places you listed are all pretty far from the beach.

I suggest that you consider the Huntington Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena. www.ritzcarlton.com/hotels/huntington

The Huntington Ritz Carlton is in an incredible part of Pasadena, surrounded by multimillion dollar homes. It will put you about 30 minutes away from Santa Clarita, home of Six Flags Magic Mountain, and within close proximity to Griffith Park and Hollywood. Also, there is a highly regarded museum in Pasadena, the Norton Simon Museum (www.nortonsimon.org)
Plus, Pasadena has a great area for shopping and restaurants.

JackisBack

About your subject thread question....I lived in LA for many years and been robbed at knifepoint and gunpoint. Once was near the museums of Wilshire and another on Melrose outside a restuarant. I've had several friends who have been mugged at gunpoint in Beverly Hills (so that that for the safety of Bev Hills as far as I'm concerned). One was in broad daylight too. Actually I've known people who've been mugged or had their car broken into or their apartments all over LA county......Westwood, Santa Monica, West Hollywood,anywhere in LA. And none of us go to or live in "bad areas"......all of LA is one big bad area in truth.

Roccco

Jack,

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. I, too, have lived in the L.A. vicinity all my life and have never experienced anything worse than a couple stolen stereos from my car.

Like any large city, Los Angeles has its good areas and its bad areas. What happened to you in L.A. could have happened anywhere.

I was warned by many NOT to go to Mexico City and South Africa, yet I never had any bad experiences in either place.

To warn away a potential tourist from L.A. based on high crime seems to border on paranoia.

Deborah

I have lived in LA for over 20 years and I have never been mugged, robbed or even had my car broken into. I say again that West Hollywood and Beverly Hills are really nice areas to stay in and some parts of Hollywood are fine too. I think Pasadena is a little too far for all the other things you want to do. If you have more questions, ask the LA residents and we'll try and answer for you.

ReneeS

I would choose Beverly Hills - it seems most ventrally located for your activities. I think Venice can get a little dicey at night - I won't walk around down on the beachfront there past dark. Manhattan Beach is farther away from your plans.

ReneeS

I looked up the hotel as I thought it sounded familiar. Beverly Terrace is actually in LA I think, bordering Beverly Hills and a block from the West Hollywood strip.

I haven't stayed there but have eaten at the very good italian restaurant attached (great food, great little patio). The hotel is small and funky but looked really cute. Great, great, great location at corner of Little Santa Monica Blvd and Doheny.

What price did you get there?

artchik

To Renee S.

On Expedia was quoted $89.00 per night for the first three nights and then the fourth night free. Sounded too good to be true so I figured the place was either a dump or located in a war zone, but from the responses so far it sounds ok. We don't mind if it's a little dated as long as it's reasonably clean. Having studied local maps recently, I think BevHills is definitely the place to be for convenience. Thanks for all the help!!

Deborah

Now that you & Renee talk about the hotel I know exactly where it is. The restaurant is a popular lunch spot for the entertainment crowd. The area is perfectly safe. It's on the border of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. It's a perfectly safe neighborhood. Enjoy your stay here in LA.

JohnH

The Beverely Terrace isn't a dump but it is a motel that probably hasn't been renovated in a while. It's in a great location, right on the line between BH and W. Hollywood. The only drawback to the Grafton could be Sunset Blvd. noise at night, esp. if you're there on a weekend.

Ignopre the advice about not staying east of the 405.

Pasadena is pretty but not convenient.

Have a great trip!

Quinty

Rocco,
This may sound dense, but are you referring to the real locations of Mexico City and South Africa or locations within LA?

Anyway artchik, I think you've found a pretty good list of hotels, but I too say go with the place that has the best location in relation to the sites.
Pasadena would be a good area for that list you made.
It may seem like all that stuff is in amazingly packed into a city, but LA is a monster when it comes to size and traffic!
P.S. October is a really nice time of year in LA temperature-wise. All the scorching summer *should* be gone by then.

Biscuit

That's not true, Derek. There are tons of stars to be seen in Hollywood. Of course, the odds help if you:

A. Live in Los Angeles all of your life.
B. Go where the stars go.

But, even without A or B, you can still see celebrities. You just have to be there on the right day.

I worked in a building on Hollywood Blvd. and saw many stars. Dozens of films, music videos, awards ceremonies, shows and events take place on Hollywood Blvd. (right in front of the Chinese Theater) itself every month.

Roccco

Quinty,

Los Angeles neither has a "Mexico City" district nor a "South Africa" district!

I only made reference to these two places because they are both reputed to be very dangerous places but if you stay in the right parts of the city, they seem very safe.