Hampton Inn Long Beach Airport

[Shelly306]

My family and I are flying in to LAX the night before our cruise.  I booked us at the Hampton in Long Beach.  Now, reading some of the posts, I wonder if we are in a safe place?  Would someone recommend a different location or are we ok?

 

Thanks

[Bruin Steve]

2 hours ago, Shelly306 said:

My family and I are flying in to LAX the night before our cruise.  I booked us at the Hampton in Long Beach.  Now, reading some of the posts, I wonder if we are in a safe place?  Would someone recommend a different location or are we ok?

 

Thanks

It's not particularly "unsafe"...It's, basically, in the middle of a very industrial area.  There is a little bit in the way of shopping (Whole Foods Market, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack) within a couple of blocks to the north...and a variety of places to get some food--though mostly fast food (In'n'Out Burger, Jersey Mike's, Dunkin Donuts, California Fish Grill, kabobs).

 

To me, it's just not a very attractive area to stay in...nor is it all that convenient.  It's sort of out of your way (I assume you are cruising Carnival?).  The Carnival cruise terminal is about 8.5-9 miles from here, depending on route--all surface streets with numerous traffic signals.  To go by Freeway is considerably longer.

 

I wholly recommend staying in the "Convention Center" area of Long Beach (and beware of hotels calling themselves "convention center" when they are clearly not in the right area)...

 

Look at the Maya Doubletree and Residence Inn Downtown--both walking distance from the Carnival port...or the Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric at the Pike, Renaissance, Westin, Hilton...All close to the pier, close to restaurants, shopping, attractions ...and in the best tourist area of Long Beach.

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Bruin Steve

[Shelly306]

Thank you so much for your reply.  I will check those others out.  I greatly appreciate it.

[Sprocket]

We stay at the Westin and really like it, price is very reasonable for our cruise in December.

[snowballs mom]

We usually stay at the Courtyard Marriott in that same location. We like it there. There are several casual restaurants with counter service across the parking lot as well as The Hanger (a food court with a bunch of counter service restaurants and seating in a central area). We buy our wine at the Whole Foods, and have shopped at the stores a previous poster mentioned. It is a quiet location that works for us, as we want a place to hang out and relax after our flight. If you are looking for more activity, attractions, or sit down restaurants I would follow the suggestion to stay in the more touristy area close to the port.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Bruin Steve is correct in his assessment and so is snowballs mom. The Hampton Inn is part of a new, very nice complex built on the site of the former McDonnell Douglas airplane factory and has some nice places to eat and the Whole Foods market. In the past, no one would have recommended the Long Beach Airport area, now it is not bad for a one night stay. Below is the website for the complex.

 

https://thelongbeachexchange.com/

[lasvegascruising]

I have three cruises booked, leaving from Long Beach.  Sept 2023 Radiance, Dec 2023 Panorama and May 2024 Firenze.  Driving from Vegas in Sept, flying from Vegas in Dec and not sure yet about the mode of transport for May.  The hotel prices in Long Beach are so expensive in my opinion.  Good luck finding a decent price!  I guess it depends on what one considers decent, yes?  Driving down in Sept and staying at a Hilton property in Seal Beach, flying in Dec and booked the Westin.  I booked a room a while back and got a basic king room for $197.  It is now over $400.  I hope that when we arrive, we don't encounter any issues.  I only say this because there was one cruise we took from Long Beach, had the Residence Inn Downtown booked.  When the shuttle dropped us off, we walked to the front desk the clerk said, "I've been trying to get a hold of you, we are sold out".  What?? I have a reservation.  Well, it turned out okay because Marriott moved us to the Renaissance, paid for the taxi ride over there and paid for the room.  My only point of posting is that depending when one is cruising, downtown Long Beach hotels, the ones listed by Bruin Steve, are super expensive.  Of course, in my humble opinion.

[Bruin Steve]

On 8/9/2023 at 6:46 PM, lasvegascruising said:

... The hotel prices in Long Beach are so expensive in my opinion.  Good luck finding a decent price!  I guess it depends on what one considers decent, yes?  ...My only point of posting is that depending when one is cruising, downtown Long Beach hotels, the ones listed by Bruin Steve, are super expensive.  Of course, in my humble opinion.

Hotel Pricing 101

 

Okay, a little background...

I am retired now...but, II had a 35+ year career as a corporate attorney and executive...and I started out, back in 1977, working in the hotel industry--for Motel 6, Inc.  Before you all laugh, realize that, at the time, Motel 6 was the most profitable chain in the hotel industry.  The guys who founded it were, for all intent and purposes, business geniuses.  They understood how to build cheaper, market more efficiently and fill their motels at a higher occupancy rate than anyone else ever.

 

But, there was one aspect of their original scheme that soon required a bit of tweaking.  The original concept sold every room, on every date at every property for the exact same nightly room rate.  Problem is that your costs were not the same at every property. You could make an incredible profit in, say, Winnemucca, Nevada in the 1960s selling rooms at $6 a night...because the cost of building that motel were extremely low--since the largest portion of your initial cost was the purchase of the raw land.  Of course a $6 room rate was merely competitive there.  However, when you built that same hotel on the beach at Santa Barbara, California--where property, even in the 1960s was EXPENSIVE, it was very hard to make a decent profit at $6 per night.  And, of course you filled to capacity every night--because no one amongst the competition could charge anywhere close to that low rate--even in the "off-season" (if there was one).

 

So, Motel 6, as it grew, learned that you could still blow away the competition and fill all of your rooms and charge a competitive price.

 

The lesson is that ALL hotel rooms, wherever you go, are priced based on several factors.  Most importantly, NO ONE is in the business to lose money.  If you build a hotel or purchase a hotel, there is a cost...and you need to make a return on that investment.  To operate a hotel, you need to have staff...and, you have to pay them a wage commensurate with wages in the area so they can afford to live there.  In Southern California...especially in Coastal Southern California, real estate prices are extremely high--especially for choice, well located commercial property zoned for hotels...and wages are high.  Building and operating a hotel in prime Long Beach requires a very large investment.  You only get that money back charging what seems to you a high room rate.  It's unavoidable.

 

Now, you also have to recognize that all hotel room rates depend on the laws of supply and demand.  If demand is very high--like when there is a major convention in town--or, in the case of Long Beach, an event like the Long Beach Grand Prix--room rates will shoot through the roof. In any cruise port, hotels near the port will have a spike in rates when there is a ship embarking the next day (and, in Long Beach, that is almost every day).

 

Now, you will see another result of supply and demand.  When hotels first open their reservations for a particular date, they have their entire room total empty and many people are not thinking about where they are going a year in advance--high supply, low demand--and prices will be RELATIVELY low.  As rooms fill and more people are closer to their stay date, supply lowers and demand raises.  Hence, higher prices.

 

BOTTOM LINE:

1)  "High Prices" is a relative term.  Long Beach prices seem high to you because, relative to wherever else you have been traveling, they ARE high...because costs are high and demand is high. Compare them to hotels in, say, Beverly Hills...and they are low.  Actually, they are exactly where the market and the realities of the business say they should be.

 

2)  Always book early--if you can.  Best to book early with a cancelable rate...that way, you can monitor your prices--if they go down (which happens, however rare) or you find another better deal somewhere, you can cancel and change.

 

3)  Be very wary of extreme bargains--especially in an otherwise high price area.  You may be looking at a hotel that is in a very bad or dangerous area or that is poorly run and maintained or both.  If you fing a $100 hotel in a $300 town, realize that there is a reason.  You did not find a great deal, you found a distressed or scary property.

 

4)  If you are spending thousands of dollars on a nice cruise vacation, don't ruin it trying to save $100 on one pre-cruise hotel night.  Start your vacation like you are already on vacation.  Stay in a nice environment in a nice location with nice nearby restaurants and places to walk and visit in your free time and with easy logistics in getting to your cruise.  It's worth a little extra money.

 

Good luck.

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Bruin Steve

[FlutePrayer]

I live 2 miles south of The Hampton Inn, and stayed in it when our house was being fumigated. It is fairly new in a very safe area. All of the construction around LBX - the Long Beach Exchange - is new, with several space companies as tenants. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there or at the Courtyard by Marriott across the street.

 

A recent development is a strike of the hospitality workers at The Hotel Maya. You might want to avoid their noisy protests.

 

As mentioned before, depending on which conventions or events are happening Downtown, the prices can be staggering. Until recently I worked across the street from the Renaissance Hotel and will let you know that the homeless situation can be a challenge. Downtown, especially around Ocean Blvd and the Aquarium, is beautiful, but can be "interesting". If you're not interested in sightseeing around Downtown, I'd recommend sticking with the Hampton Inn. Happy cruising!

Edited August 13, 2023 by FlutePrayer
Additional information.

[Hobbes67]

If I were just coming in for the night I would keep my reservations at Hampton Inn.  Lots of places to eat and it is not an unsafe area.  We never go downtown anymore, including the convention center area with crime etc.

[FlutePrayer]

47 minutes ago, Hobbes67 said:

If I were just coming in for the night I would keep my reservations at Hampton Inn.  Lots of places to eat and it is not an unsafe area.  We never go downtown anymore, including the convention center area with crime etc.

I live here and I agree. 

[qat48]

Our cruise last year we tried a few hotels. The night we arrived caught a shuttle for Holiday Inn. It wasn’t our favorite. No bottled water & few items in the cupboard. At one time it was a high end hotel. The view from restaurant was nice. Wouldn’t choose it again. We had 2 nights before cruise left and had booked early enough to get a reasonable rate $250ish a night at Hotel Maya. This is my favorite. Restaurant is good, room service has too many charges but short walk to pick up if you want to eat in room. Clean, comfortable and great service. Walking distance to & from port. They do have shuttle service. Easy to order door dash too. After cruise we stayed at Courtyard with shuttle to airport. Its nice, clean typical Marriott. Would stay again. Our next cruise we just booked the Maya nightly rate is $450+ too spendy but very affordable with loyalty points 😁. So I still get to stay at my favorite hotel! 

 

[FlutePrayer]

The Hotel Maya is lovely. Having said that, the hospitality workers are currently on strike and the picket lines are quite noisy. It might be good to check on that before a stay.

[Bruin Steve]

One note on the Maya:  At times, they have offered a special "Carnival Rate"...but they also often don't list is on the web...You have to call the hotel directly and ask about it.  May or may not get it but it's worth the call and the ask...

[doghog]

We will be staying at the LB Embassy Suites/Hampton Inn property. Are taxis readily available or should we book a shuttle service to take us over to the cruise terminal? 

Edited August 23, 2023 by doghog

[Hobbes67]

Where is the LB Embassy Suites/Hampton Inn property?  There is a Hampton Inn by the airport but I don't know of an Embassy Suites.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, doghog said:

We will be staying at the LB Embassy Suites/Hampton Inn property. Are taxis readily available or should we book a shuttle service to take us over to the cruise terminal? 

 

I assume you mean just the Hampton Inn Long Beach Airport, there is no Embassy Suites in Long Beach.

 

Uber would be my first pick. A taxi is easy too, just more expensive.

[doghog]

2 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

I assume you mean just the Hampton Inn Long Beach Airport, there is no Embassy Suites in Long Beach.

 

Uber would be my first pick. A taxi is easy too, just more expensive.

Crap, my mistake. It's the Homewood Suites, not Embassy Suites Long Beach airport. The Hampton Inn is part of the same building. 

 

Thanks for the info. 

[happy2cruise2016]

We are sailing on Celebrity out of San Pedro and flying into Long Beach Airport the day before our cruise. Would it be better to stay at one of the hotels near the airport or in San Pedro?

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, happy2cruise2016 said:

We are sailing on Celebrity out of San Pedro and flying into Long Beach Airport the day before our cruise. Would it be better to stay at one of the hotels near the airport or in San Pedro?

 

What time of day are you flying in? What is your budget?

 

As I see it you have three choices, by the airport, Downtown LB & San Pedro. By the airport is the best value, San Pedro is the most convenient, Downtown LB has the best options for dining and things to see walking around.