Looking for top hotel in LA

[jane02]

Hello,

We have 3 nights in LA as a stopover before heading off to F.L and our Carribean cruise. Want to be close to the attractions (and a bit of shopping;) ). Any suggestions. Not looking for the cheapest.

Thanks

Kellie

[Bruin Steve]

Hello,

We have 3 nights in LA as a stopover before heading off to F.L and our Carribean cruise. Want to be close to the attractions (and a bit of shopping;) ). Any suggestions. Not looking for the cheapest.

Thanks

Kellie

 

If price is truly not a concern...

 

My personal pick on "where to stay" is Santa Monica...located at the beach on the West Side, about 10 miles north of LAX...nice strolling on the Third Street Promenade (shops and restaurants), Santa Monica Pier...Venice Boardwalk not far away...Short trip to Getty Villa, Getty Center, Beverly Hills...

 

Best Hotel--Loews

 

http://www.santamonicaloewshotel.com/

 

or...Shutters

 

http://www.shuttersonthebeach.com/home.html

 

The old grande dame of Santa Monica is the Miramar

 

http://www.fairmont.com/SantaMonica/

 

A little South of Santa Monica--closer to LAX--is the Ritz Carlton Marina Del Rey

 

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/MarinadelRey/Default.htm

 

Or...you could go inland and stay in Beverly Hills (a little too urban and congested for my tastes...but it is convenient):

 

http://www.thebeverlyhillshotel.com/

(Grand old hotel in residential area of BH)

 

http://beverlyhills.peninsula.com/

 

http://www.fourseasons.com/beverlywilshire/

(at Wilshire and Rodeo Drive)

 

http://www.raffles.com/en_ra/property/rle

 

http://www.beverlyhilton.com/

 

Westwood Village (near UCLA and the Getty Center Museum) would be another convenient choice:

 

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=97518

 

http://www.hotelpalomar-lawestwood.com/TheWestwoodHotel.html

 

http://www.hotelangeleno.com/

(Very near the Getty Center--one of the more reasonably priced hotels on this list)...

 

That should give you a good start on the luxury end of hotels...If you decide once you've started pricing these that price IS a consideration, come back and we can give you some more reasonably priced alternatives in the same areas...

 

Wherever you go, know that noting in LA is convenient to everything...You will need to depend on some sort of transportation to get around--whether it be rental car, taxis or tours...There are some things you may want to visit close to each of these hotels...plus, I know, for example, the Angeleno will shuttle you into Westwood Village or up to the Getty...

 

Good luck...

[jane02]

Thanks so much for all of that info Steve. I have three kids (18, 20, 21) who all want to do different things - Disneyland, Universal Studios & shopping (with me). Out of all of your suggestions - what would you recommend?

Thanks again

Kellie;)

[Bruin Steve]

Thanks so much for all of that info Steve. I have three kids (18, 20, 21) who all want to do different things - Disneyland, Universal Studios & shopping (with me). Out of all of your suggestions - what would you recommend?

Thanks again

Kellie;)

 

Ahhhh, Kellie...

Kids, Disney and Universal change the equation a bit...Mostly the distances involved...LA is a REALLY BIG place...

Disney is down in Anaheim, about an hour (or more with traffic) southeast of LA...Universal is A little to the north, over the hill from Hollywood...Santa Monica is a bit distant from both...so, it all depends on how you want to apportion your time...and on what form of transportation you are planning on using...

 

"Shopping" is also a variable term...Different people shop for different things and there are different areas of town that cater to different folks...For example, my daughters always loved shopping on Melrose--small trendy boutiques (womens' clothing, accessories, etc.)...just east of Beverly Hills toward Hollywood. The jet set shop Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills--most everyone else just window shops and gawks at the prices...Santa Monica and Westwood have nice shops as well...But, of course, some people like the BIG shopping malls--those can be found all over the area...The largest is South Coast Plaza--in Costa Mesa/Santa Ana--Orange County, a little south of Disneyland...Beverly Center is a nice Mall in Beverly Hills, near Melrose...there are many others...

 

The hotels I gave you are all on the West Side--really the premier part of LA proper...and close to "shopping" and the more "adult" attractions--like museums and art and relaxation...

You could stay there and just pick one day to do a "day trip" to Disney or Universal...But other options may be to stay at Disney (Not my thing...sort of overpriced and too tied in to the theme park thing)...or to stay near Universal or in Hollywood...There are two nice hotels right at Universal--the Hilton and the Sheraton--not nearly as high class as the hotels I gave you on the earlier list, but convenient to Universal and to Hollywood...

 

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=83

 

http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/BURUCHF-Hilton-Los-Angeles-Universal-City-California/index.do

 

I don't usually recommend staying in Hollywood--most of it is a little old and run down...But, there is one hotel I like--the Renaissance:

 

http://www.renaissancehollywood.com/

 

It's fairly new...in the "Hollywood and Highland" complex...on the same block with Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Kodak theater...with views of the Hollywood Sign and the Walk of Fame right out front...and close to the Hollywood Bowl...Universal is not far away, just over the hill...The area is "interesting"--fairly urban with all sorts of strange people (and some normal ones) walking around all day and night...

 

Really, where you stay is pretty wide open...You may have to make the kids decide between Disney and Universal or you'll be spending 90% of your time driving to each...

 

Perhaps some of the other regulars on this board will chime in...

 

Oh yeah, and if it was ME and I was just picking for the hotel...regardless of price and plans...I'd stay at the Loews Santa Monica (and a plus for me, my older daughter's best friend from high school works there)...

[Coreopsis]

Wow - that's tough. Bruin Steve has offered excellent suggestions and advice.

 

Universal and Disney are both all day affairs. Here's a crazy idea - spend one night at Sheraton Universal; one night at Disneyland Hotel. Allows you to immerse yourself in the area.

 

Besides distance - traffic is murder. I went with my DS last year for a getaway - OMG, so much time in the car.

 

Then your 3rd night at one of those locations depending on what else you want to do - or hell, go crazy and spend one night at different location altogether. It would be like a progressive tour. For those age kids - could be totally fun. If this is Tuesday . . . this must be Disney.

 

I have done the exact trip you discuss - 3 nights. We stayed at the Hyatt in Century City - and left uber early each day for our adventures. We were right next to Beverly Hills - pretty good location. But I do like the idea of staying closer to your day destination and not having to drive to/from everyday.

 

Be sure to get tix to California Adventure at Disney - as well as Magic Kingdom, of course.

 

http://www.centuryplaza.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

 

p.s. there is some good shopping and nightlife fun at Universal Walk . . . walking distance from the Sheraton.

[kenish]

Bruin Steve's advice is right on, but is geographically centered around the Westside as he states. If you decide to go to Disney (about 50km SE of downtown), there are some top-notch hotels in the Orange County area:

 

- Grand Californian in Anaheim, located right at Disneyland. They look a lot more upscale than the D'land Hotel.

 

- Four Seasons, Newport Beach about 30km south of Disney. They are at Newport Center / Fashion Island, a very upscale outdoor mall. Hard Rock Cafe is there too.

 

- Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, and Dana Point Resort all top-rated hotels about 50km south of Disney right on the beach. Nearby Laguna Beach is full of boutiques and art galleries.....Dana Point is a beach town with many surf and dive shops.

 

There is also South Coast Plaza, a group of 4 large malls and shopping centers in Costa Mesa. Everything from dollar stores to Tiffany is there. Two shopping / entertainment centers are Spectrum (Interstate 5 & 405 in Irvine) and The Block in the city of Orange, a few miles from Disney. Both are trendy and appeal to teens and 20's.

 

"Downtown Disney" is a shopping and dining area at Disneyland. The stores tend to be kid oriented, but there are good restaurants (ESPN Zone, Rainforest Cafe, House of Blues, etc)

[quepaquete]

- Four Seasons, Newport Beach about 30km south of Disney. They are at Newport Center / Fashion Island, a very upscale outdoor mall. Hard Rock Cafe is there too.

 

 

Correction, there is no Four Seasons in Newport Beach. It's called the Island Resort -or something like that.

 

I would go with any of Bruin Steve's recomendations, with an inclination for the Peninsuala Beverly Hills or the Fours Seasons Beverly Hills (not the Beverly Wilshire) if money is not object.

[jane02]

Thanks so much to everyone for their advice - I really appreciate it.

If you ever want any ideas about Australia - in particular Melbourne, feel free to let me know.

Regards

Kellie;)

[more cruises]

We have stayed at the Grand Californian at Disneyland. It was so nice to be able to walk downstairs, thru a gate and be right in the park. They have a couple nice pools too so when the lines get long in the park you can go back and swim a bit, then return to the park totally refreshed. We really enjoyed their Buffet restaurant - was it called Gepetto's?

 

If you stay there ask for a room with a view of the park and ask for a high floor. We were on the second floor, which had a nice view but felt we could have seen more if we were up higher.

 

There are plenty of hotels in the Disney area that have shuttles to the park but I feel so much more a part of the Disney experience if I stay on their property.

[alikaalex]

I grew up in Santa Monica, but for your kids' needs, I would recommend Hollywood, specifically the Renaissance Hotel at the Hollywood & Highland complex. Some benefits include the Hollywood & Highland shopping complex at your doorstep as well as access to the Metro Red Line subway that sits below the site. The Red Line has a stop at Universal City and the Universal Studios tram will pick you up across the street to take you up the hill to the theme park.

 

As for Disneyland, you may just want to rent a car that day and drive down to Anaheim.

 

As noted above, you can do some shopping at Hollywood & Highland, but there are other good shopping destinations around LA, from the high end in Beverly Hills to designer knockoffs and bargains in Downtown's Fashion District. Hollywood & Highland is relatively middle of the road. I guess it depends what you're looking for. :)

[kenish]

Sorry, I forgot that Four Seasons in Newport Beach changed ownership. Still an excellent hotel from what I've read and heard.

 

I re-read my earlier post. When I mentioned "dive shop", I meant shops with snorkel and scuba diving equipment, not a shop that is seedy and low-class ;)

[jane02]

Thanks again everyone. I have decided that DH & DD can get themselves to Disneyland if they MUST go. Been there, done that at Euro Disney and it nearly did my head in:eek: . As we are in LA for such a short time, I am going to kick back and take it easy (and sleep off the jet lag). I will look at eveyones suggestions (off to Trip Advisor now) and sincerely thank everyone again for going to the trouble of replying.

Kellie;)