aussieboy

My partner and I are looking to travel to LA in early July 2006 and I was wondering if anyone could recommend any hotels that are in a good location(safe and clean and close to tourist attractions) and is around the Hollywood area (I think this is pretty central in LA or would you recommend us to stay in another area). I have looked into accommodation at the Renaissance Hollywood 1755 North Highland Ave , LA which has received great reviews on the Internet. Is this a good hotel?

Also, would you know of any good Internet sites that are reliable and offer good rates for booking hotels and tours.

Is there particular areas of LA that you need to be extra careful of and are not safe to visit.

We are there for 4 days and would like to know what you would do if you had 4 days in LA and how you would get there.

If anyone could also recommend good places for eating that are reasonably priced and of good quality.

I would appreciate any advice on LA.

suze

I would definitely rent a car. Hollywood is a good area for your hotel, although realize Los Angeles is very spread out so you will need to do some freeway driving to get to the various places of interest.

Jean

Where you should stay in the L.A. area depends on what you would like to do when you're here. "Tourist attractions" are spread over the entire area (more than 25 square miles).

If Hollywood, studio tours and live theater and are your focus, then Hollywood is fine. If the beaches are higher on your list, then you should stay on the Westside and/or one of the beach towns. Shopping is good in several parts of the city, and museums likewise are in locations all over the area. (In fact, I've read that there are more museums in the greater L.A. area than in any other city in the U.S.)

Bottom line, don't pick the hotel first. Make your prioritized list of activities/attractions first and then choose a centrally-located hotel.

tracys2cents

Does the "what would you do and how would you get there" question in your post imply that you will not be renting a car?

aussieboy

thanks guys for your advice so far.. I haven’t thought about driving in LA but its something that I might start looking into..

We are looking to do the following activities in LA in four days

- Celebrity tour
- Paramount Studio Tour
- Universal Movie Tour
- Shopping attractions
- visit Disney world (not sure if this is possible to do in 1 day)
- Rodeo Drive
- Sunset blvd
- Hollywood
- Beverly Hills
- Beach visit (I’m thinking Venice beach) - any thoughts of a nice beach to visit

and not sure what else??


Your advice and thoughts.

mschau

We did this trip in February last year with two teenagers. We have family out there and decided to stay outside of Los Angeles in Marina del Rey at the Ritz Carlton. The hotel was beautiful. It was close enough to be able to drive with our rented car to Los Angeles and be able to explore the "Hollywood" area and towns around Los Angeles. I definitely think that you will need to rent a car to be able to explore the different areas. We spent one day in "Hollywood", saw all of the attractions we wanted to see, and ended up spending the rest of the time in Santa Monica at the quaint shops. We visted Rodeo Drive, did some shopping, and took the drive down Sunset Blvd. The studio tours book fast so get your tickets ahead. The kids were upset they didn't get to do that. You can pretty much do Hollywood in one day. Beverly Hills and Rodeo are nice to see but if you're not going to be shopping or eating, thats pretty much all it is. We also took one day and drove down the coast to Pacific Palisades and then to Huntington Beach... that was wonderful.. the views and drive were gorgeous.

Hopefully some of this helped. The trip was wonderful. The hotel was also a perfect place to stay.

hsv

With the exception of Disney (which, BTW being the California original is called Disneyland in contrast to its Florida counterpart), your planned activities focus more on the Western side of the city.
I would therefore look into lodging in either West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Century City or Santa Monica.
The latter might be your best option, although it is pricey. Look into the Georgian Hotel if you can do without a pool and are interested in medium range pricing.

The Renaissance appears to be a nice property, but its surroundings (apart from the mall to which it is adjacent) is tacky for my taste.

Talking about tacky: Venice beach is certainly fun to see once, but it, too, is tacky for my taste - and if you arrive (too) early even a bit seedy. If you just want to spend some beach time, I'd rather look into Malibu, Santa Monica or the Manhattan/Hermosa beaches.

Disneyland is doable in one day although you would likely not be able to experience every ride. It would still be fun, just make sure that you arrive early. Therefore you might want to leave real early as traffic in L.A. is heavy at all times and horrible during the rush hour.

Although there are a million more things to see and do in L.A., with your timeframe there aren't many more options, I believe, as you have to factor in a lot of time for driving from one place to another.

For what you have planned, I would suggest the following rough itinerary:

Reserve at least half a day for a drive down Sunset blvd, starting in downtown L.A. On this occasion you can do diversions for the Celebrity tour in B.H. and adjacent areas (maps are for sale on street corners, if you want to do a self guided tour), see the walk of fame on Hollywood blvd, do some (window) shopping along Rodeo Drive (and possibly the funky Melrose Ave., too). Although it is not that scenic, this will give you a pretty good feel for the city and its diversity IMHO. With the diversions, this will cover one full day. End the drive in Santa Monica and top the day with a sundowner by the beach and probably a nice dinner.

Another day might consist of seeing the Film Studios of Universal (at leat half a day here) and Paramount.

Your beach day could include a visit to Venice Beach. E.g. you could rent a bike in Santa Monica and drive down the promenade to get there. You could proceed to Marina del Rey or return in the other direction to Santa Monica for some pure beach time.
Some after beach shopping might include a visit to 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
One note: should your visit include plans for also going to San Diego, I might be tempted to skip the beach time in L.A. and rather go for the beach experience there (or on the way in Laguna Beach). You could then reserve some more time for living the big city life in L.A. Personally, I love the area around Pasadena, which offers two nice museums (the Norton Simon and the Huntington Library) and nice shops and restaurants along the easily walkable Colorado Blvd. and its side streets.

Finally, one day would have to be reserved for Disneyland should you plan to go there.

Hope this helps.

Lex1

We did Disneyland, and its sister park, California Adventure, in one day, midweek, February 2005.

One suggestion:
take a drive along Mulholland Drive at night. Sensational view of the lights and city. Also look into Griffith Park-numerous sites and activities. You might enjoy lunch at the Police Academy there.

Venice Beach is worth seeing, if only because it makes everything else you'd ever see, ever, look so normal.

aussieboy

Thanks all for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

From the sounds of things and looking around on fodors forums sounds like Hollywood is a bit of a seedy/wierd area and extra precaution is required.

Sorry, one other question does anyone know of any good places to eat around the area.

suze

I would not skip Venice Beach or Hollywood either one! While a bit edgy, they are quintessential Los Angeles and not to be missed IMO.

It's hard to suggest restaurants when we're talking such a huge area of the city and beyond, there must be literally thousands of places.

rjw_lgb_ca

There are literally thousands of restaurants and eateries of all stripes in the greater Los Angeles area. Even in the small-ish geographic region of interest to most visitors/tourists, we could come up with a list of a few hundred worthy places.

So let's narrow it down a bit:

-- Cuisines you like/dislike/want to try (all world cuisines are represented here)?
-- All pricey, or some cheap and others splurgey, or all cheap?
-- Ambience preferred (stylish, comfortable, casual, locals-only, Stars!)?

By the way, let's put the size of this area in perspective. The greater LA area is generally accepted to consist of over 4,800 square miles (some 12,400 square km)-- larger than Qatar. The neighborhood of Hollywood plus Beverly Hills is a bit under 25 square miles total, but even that is a gross simplification on several levels. This is a huge geographic area.

aussieboy

just around the Renaissance Hollywood hotel. I'm talking all sorts of foods takeaway, sit down meals, where stars eat, sandwiches, pizza etc

travisblue

I live about a mile from this hotel, and LOVE the area, nice hotel too. Great dining options! Of couse it depends on your budget and tastes. There are so many restaurants in the Hollywood&Highland complex itself. One of my favorites is 'Vert' (it's a Wolfgang Puck restaurant). Musso & Frank's which is a steak house has been around since the late '30's (pricey!) is on Hollywood blvd, 3 blocks from your hotel at most. The 217/717 bus line runs right in front of the complex your hotel is connected to. Take it going South (about 15 min or so), and you can get to the Farmers market/Grove area (thegrovela.com). Canter's Deli is also on the same bus route (on Fairfax). It's open 27/7 and is famous for it's sandwiches. For a drink, try 'Powerhouse' right across the street from your hotel on Highland. I don't drive, and take the bus/lite rail just about everywhere in LA (although I'd rent a car for Disneyland or spend a nite in a hotel there). For more info on bus/rail go to mta.net