??? for Bruin Steve!

[ArizonaTracie]

Hi Steve, I see you are the guru for Long Beach hotels....we have a reservation at the Vagabond Inn on Alamitos Ave a block from Ocean Blvd. Are we going to regret this? I can still cancel without penalty...we are scheduled to stay there Oct. 9 for one night pre cruise. I'd try priceline, but they only guarantee rooms to hold 2 people and we have 3, so I can't go that route. If you recommend, I will search out rates at the other area hotels you listed in another thread.

 

TIA!

[PatriciaF]

I'm not Bruin Steve, but here are the reviews from TripAdvisor:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g32648-d77592-Reviews-Vagabond_Inn_Convention_Center_Long_Beach-Long_Beach_California.html

 

the location is better than many in its price range.

 

The Best Western Convention Center gets pretty good reviews on TripAdvisor and is probably one of the lower cost truly downtown hotels/motels. Some that advertise downtown, really aren't, or are just north in a not very good part of town or right next door to St. Mary's hospital.

[Bruin Steve]

Hi Steve, I see you are the guru for Long Beach hotels....we have a reservation at the Vagabond Inn on Alamitos Ave a block from Ocean Blvd. Are we going to regret this? I can still cancel without penalty...we are scheduled to stay there Oct. 9 for one night pre cruise. I'd try priceline, but they only guarantee rooms to hold 2 people and we have 3, so I can't go that route. If you recommend, I will search out rates at the other area hotels you listed in another thread.

 

TIA!

 

The location is not bad...it is on the edge of the area in which I would stay...

But the reason I don't recommend this one is that it's just not a very appealling hotel...it's more of an old, tacky, questionably 2-star motel...

This area has several really nice hotels...hotels you would feel really good staying in...

 

In part, it's my own personal bias...When I was younger and poorer, I was willing to stay in all sorts of tacky motels...Heck, I started out my career as a real estate lawyer 33 years ago in the employ of Motel 6, Inc...so I know motels...

 

In Long Beach, the Hyatt, the Westin, the Renaissance and the Avia are really nice hotels...they make you feel rich when you check in...the Hilton, Courtyard and Residence Inn aren't that far behind...The Maya has some charm and a nice, but different, feel...And relative to other areas of Los Angeles, they are not really expensive for what you get...

 

The Best Western Convention Center is popular with those looking for a little lower price...and as motels go, it appears to be a couple of steps above the Vagabond...

 

But, when you research hotels in this area, you'd often be surprised what you can find and what deals you can make even at the nicer hotels...The Hilton usually runs a "Carnival Cruise Deal" that includes a room rate that competes with the cheap motels...Some of these hotels are quite large and if your dates don't coincide with a convention or auto race or some other event, they need to fill up all of those rooms somehow...

 

If Priceline is out of the question, I would still advise calling a few nicer hotels and asking them about any special rates or deals they might be running...You may be able to get yourself into a much nicer property.

 

Good luck...

[ArizonaTracie]

thanks to the both of you! I will do some checking tonight!

[JJ2sail]

Also, you may want to try Hotwire, as sometimes they will let you put in 3 people or 2 beds into your search. Where priceline will only guarantee a room for 2.

[ArizonaTracie]

I did that hotwire route and ended up with the Hyatt Regency Long BEach for $89!!!!:D I'm doing the happy dance!!

[JJ2sail]

I did that hotwire route and ended up with the Hyatt Regency Long BEach for $89!!!!:D I'm doing the happy dance!!

 

 

Oh good! Glad it worked out!:) I love their rooms, and it is very close to walk to different restaurants, or just jump on the free shuttle.

[PatriciaF]

The free shuttle is called the Passport. All through downtown and over to the Queen Mary is free. You could use it to go to the port if you don't mind handling all your luggage.

 

http://www.lbtransit.com/Schedules/Default.aspx?routegrp=34&routes=The Passport&direction=South&day=today&mode=map

[Putterdude]

I did that hotwire route and ended up with the Hyatt Regency Long BEach for $89!!!!:D I'm doing the happy dance!!

 

We stayed there in May, loved the hotel and the location, lots and lots of dinning options nearby.