Los Angeles Travel advice needed!

October 15, 2012 10:35 AM

Visiting Los Angeles this weekend. In need of some suggestions and tips and tricks!

I'm heading to Los Angeles (staying with a friend in Brentwood) October 18th for about five days. I've read most of the previous threads, but I've got just a few specific things on my agenda that I have questions about.

1) I'm going to a concert at the Greek Theater on Friday the 19th. I'm assuming I'll borrow my friend's car to get there. How much time should I a lot to driving/parking. (Show is at 7:30pm.) (unless there's a mod mefite who wants to car pool!)

2) I want to go to a Korean spa to get exfoliated. The yelp reviews veer from "creepy" to "awesome." I'd love to go some place with various soaking tubs as well as the scrubbing.

3) Anything special and/or seasonal going on that is a can't-miss? I realize that I'm smack in the middle of Halloween season so there's a lot of horror stuff going on. I'm not so into horror though. (maybe just slightly spooky is okay.) Special art exhibits, concerts, shows, whatever....

4) Can you recommend someplace awesome and yet family friendly restaurant in Brentwood or Santa Monica that I can take my friend and her family to.

posted by vespabelle to travel & transportation around Los Angeles, CA (7 answers total)

1. if you're driving from brentwood, i'd probably say... 45 minutes total drive time. maybe get there a bit earlier to head up to the griffith observatory. (see you at the show, maybe?! don't miss sharon jones; she is amazing. i'm not 100% sure if i'm going otherwise, i'd offer to drive...)

2. i dig the beverly hot springs, as does my mom. great service, very courteous, even if it is a bit run-down looking. aroma spa was good the last time i went, too (about 3-4 months ago). would advise AGAINST the wi spa after a few friends complained about having stuff stolen from their lockers.

not sure about 3 or 4, though. :(
posted by raihan_ at 11:09 AM on October 15, 2012

That's a long drive for Friday during rush hour - I used to do a very similar drive, UCLA to Hollywood near Silverlake. I was lucky if it took an hour at that time of day, on surface streets.

From experience, I'd guess that it could take you 1.5 hours at that time to do that drive on suface streets. Allow an hour and 45 min if you want to be sure you're there on time.

From google maps, the freeways without any traffic (ha) take about 30-35 minutes. So I'd allow at least an hour, maybe a little more, if you want to take the freeway at that time.

If it were me, I'd check traffic around 5:30 pm and make a decision then about what route to take & when to leave.

You could also consider heading over to Hollywood or Silverlake around 1pm on Friday, the drive will be a LOT shorter (around 35-40 minutes), and there's lots of fun stuff to do here.
posted by insectosaurus at 12:03 PM on October 15, 2012 [4 favorites]

Add at least 20 more minutes to your drive time for getting to the Greek, as there is no on-site parking, and you'll likely have to take a shuttle from an off-site lot.
posted by ShutterBun at 5:22 PM on October 15, 2012

I second the idea of heading out to Hollywood/Los Feliz earlier in the day and hanging out there before heading to the Greek.

One restaurant recommendation: El Cholo on Wilshire/10th is pretty family-friendly.
posted by estherbester at 11:45 PM on October 15, 2012

I like the Olympic Spa on wilshire & crenshaw- close to brentwood, free valet parking, and hot, cold, & very hot mugwort baths (as well as steam room, sauna, and hot rock room). You pay ~30 for a scrub by a staffer & admission or ~25 for admission & your own disposable scrubby glove-thing (or, look for an "italy towel" at a korean grocery store and bring it yourself- they are ~5 dollars for 3 gloves). It is kinda homey neighborhood-ladies-chatting though, not a quiet relaxing spa. I just looked at the google reviews, not sure what those are about as it is women-only and i've always seen a diverse crowd in terms of ages/races/languages and the staff has always been kind to everyone.

Plus they have a restaurant inside that you go to in your bathrobe, in between soaks! How can you resist?
posted by holyrood at 8:58 PM on October 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Durr, Olympic and Crenshaw, not Wilshire...missed the edit window!
posted by holyrood at 9:11 PM on October 16, 2012

The drive took about 1 hour 15 minutes. I splurged on the non-stacked parking at the Greek which was easy in/out.

The Olympic sap was pretty awesome, but I 45 minutes for soaking before my scrub wasn't enough. (a lesson for next time.)
posted by vespabelle at 10:08 AM on November 15, 2012