jamie99

Well, we still do not know the OP's budget per night so hard to make recs for hotels.

mlgb

Here are some hotels that have already been recommended

Andaz, West Hollywood\
Biltmore, downtown LA
Hotel Figueroa, dtla (not an upscale hotel)
Kimpton Palomar, Westwood/West LA
Renaissance, Hollywood

For someone who puts the Getty Center as a priority, Westwood is the best hotel location. A taxi will run you about $15 each way. Or you can take the 761 bus which stops at the Getty. Westwood Village also has excellent public transit service to Santa Monica via the Big Blue Bus Route 2 (takes approx 30 minutes).

Another option is to use the Hop On Hop Off bus system, have a look here at the Red/yellow route maps.

http://www.starlinetours.com/images/SL-HH/HHmap.png

pcobbpowers

You will need to book in advance to visit the Getty museum if you are arriving by car, but if you take a bus I don't think you have to book. The Getty villa is well worth a visit but quite a long way from the museum - to get there take the coast highway north towards Malibu. Westwood Village would be a good area to stay and there are public busses.

sf7307

>>

We walk everywhere when we're in a new city (we just returned from Europe and logged many miles of walking). The difference between LA and other cities, like San Francisco, or New York, or London, Amsterdam, Istanbul.....is that you can walk within an area, but you absolutely cannot walk from area to area because of the vast distances. I'm sure you CAN get from place to place by public transportation (
Never been there without a car myself) but it will definitely take more time and be less flexible than driving your own vehicle.

isa75

We spent 3 days in LA last summer, before going to Arizona. We stayed at the Orlando, West Hollywood, which was fine. There's a bus stop close to the hotel. We used a taxi once & then public transportation during the 1st two days. We rented a car 1 day before leaving LA and went to santa monica and venice, then parked the car at the hotel for the last night.
http://www.theorlando.com/

suze

mlgb, Correct I have not lived in Los Angeles for a long time.

What I was passing on is from a Seattle friend who goes down on business a couple times a year, stays at the Figueroa (she is a budget traveler and thinks it is a good value), and manages to get around using only public transportation (blue bus? including out to Venice and Santa Monica). This is as recent as a couple months ago.

IMO driving in LA is actually easier than San Francisco, because it's a city built around car transportation.

Tabernash2

migb, my post wasn't clear. I named the place where we prefer to stay, but with a car.

sharona

<And I'd like to know the location of all that free parking someone referred to.>

I have no advice on visiting without a car but I can tell you I just returned from a 10 day visit to Southern California with a car and I did not find free parking anywhere. Parking prices are much cheaper than Boston parking, where I live, but it's still not free. Expect $15-20 for a few hours just about everywhere.

Tabernash2

We've always been able to find street parking for a couple of hours in different areas of LA. I believe there are parking meters, but I really don't remember.

mlgb

Um, how long has it been Tabernash2? Within much of the built-up parts city, where tourists would wish to visit, the streets are not only metered, they have upgraded the meters to those that take credit cards.

Of course there are still many neighborhoods that don't have meters, but not near the typical tourist attractions.

A few places don't charge for parking, often in the public parks such as Griffith Park Observatory, the LA Zoo, Autry, etc.

For the Getty it's now gone up to $15. If you take a taxi or bus, there isn't any fee.

Sometimes if you do research ahead of time you can find garages that validate (or charge a small amount) for the first 1 or 2 hours. Parking at the beach lots in Santa Monica is $10 to $15 for the day.

hollywoodsc

From your list of places you want to see, I'd recommend you stay in Santa Monica, nearer to the beach or mall area. From there, you're close to the beach, pier, restaurants. Downtown Santa Monica is an area that actually is walkable. You're not far from Venice Beach and I wouldn't think it's too hard to get public transit or a taxi to Hollywood for an afternoon sightseeing trip. And you're not far from the Getty, or at least on the right side of the freeway Sorry I can't recommend a hotel without knowing your budget but at least that's a place to start looking.

Tabernash2

mlgb, we visit LA every year.

We park on the street in the Venice Beach area, and in Culver City, and in Westwood, and in Santa Monica, and at beach towns like Manhattan and Newport and Malibu, etc. etc.

Yes, most have parking meters. I don't understand your challenging my statement.

clarkgriswold

The Renaissance is not the Renaissance anymore, it's the Loew's Hollywood.

I don't know why people are worried about you having a car. With just 2 days, pick 3 or 4 attractions and center yourself well in a convenient hotel. Whether you sit in traffic in a car and then look around for parking for ten minutes, or take the bus and have a ten minute wait here and there doesn't really make much difference.

With all that is on your list to see, you're going to be spending a lot of your time transferring from one end of the city to the other without any time to "enjoy long walks and take in the vibe of the neighborhoods". Nice idea but no time for it.

If you had a week, then we could argue about it.

ita

so far we are still not talking about hotels. My budget is $200.

Tabernash2

Ita, try the hotel group called Pacifica. They have a number of moderately priced hotels, of different types, and they run specials regularly. The Jamaice Bay Inn I mentioned above is one of them. $200 might be tight, though.

We also like the Inn at Venice Beach, which is vintage LA, and some people don't like its vibe. But I have walked alone to and from the Inn to the boardwalk several times without fear. The Inn offers comp continental breakfast, in the inner courtyard. Ask for a room facing the courtyard, for more quiet. This hotel has recently been renovated, but we have not stayed there since.

We also have stayed at the Courtyard Marriott at Marina del Rey which is unattractive looking from the front, IMHO. But has a nice lobby opening to a very pleasant garden pool area.

Tabernash2

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...alifornia.html

We have never stayed here, but it looks cute. It's shaped loke a motel, on busy Sunset, but I'd think there could be bus stops easily walking distance. The Brentwood also provides free parking.

Jean

ita, did you not like the Palomar Hotel?

propita

Having grown up in the LA area and visiting NYC and DC for the first time fairly recently, no, LA is nothing like those cities. In those other cities, you walk and take public transportation in those cities. In LA, you drive where you want to go and walk around a while, then drive somewhere else and walk around there, then...well, repeat.

There really isn't much to see on Hollywood Blvd, having just been there, again, last week for a specific purpose. If you want the Getty (either of them), plan your time around staying on that side of town. And we never booked a time for the Getty in West LA, just parked and ate and walked around--the restaurant there is just so nice to sit and relax at.

I'd suggest that, without a car, just stay in one area and arrange transportation to the Getty.

Remember, distance is measured in units of time in LA:
"How far is it to Disneyland?"
"When are you going?"
No, Disneyland doesn't move, but the drive can take 30 min, 40 min, 90 min...all depends on what time of day.

ita

thanks, Jean. I just rechecked the Palomar and with my CAA discount it is a good deal. I will probably book if I don't have to pay in advance. Is it a good location for the Getty, Skirball, transport to LAX? Also are there nice things to see walking outside the hotel? The Angeleno appealed to me but one poster said that it is in a construction zone.

Tabernash2

The Palomar looks very nice. The Kimpton properties are well-respected. Please let us know how you like it, if you stay there.

BTW, the statement that "There are shuttles between the airport (or port) and hotels, and back again" isn't correct. You can get free shuttles if you right stay by the airport, but I've never seen any other hotel that offers a shuttle. So be sure to ask at the hotel you are choosing, in case you are counting on a free shuttle.