Where to stay in LA?
January 25, 2018 4:01 PM Subscribe
Me and my SO are going to LA for a few days in February and we are trying to figure out what neighbourhood to stay in.
We know what sights we want to see. We are going to rent a car. We just don't know where to look for a place. We are thinking of Santa Monica maybe. Thoughts?
We know what sights we want to see. We are going to rent a car. We just don't know where to look for a place. We are thinking of Santa Monica maybe. Thoughts?
Response by poster: not interested in nightclubs and partying, but not wanting to stay in a ghost town. restaurants nearby are good. Either hotel or airbnb.
posted by aunt_winnifred at 4:18 PM on January 25, 2018
posted by aunt_winnifred at 4:18 PM on January 25, 2018
I think an Airbnb in Santa Monica could be good. I stayed in one just off Montana Avenue not far from the beach, and it was easy to walk to restaurants, shops, and the park along the bluffs overlooking the ocean. I used to live on the other side of the city and love that neighborhood, but think that Santa Monica is great for a short trip, especially if you want to enjoy one part of the city without driving all over the place. If you do drive, you're close to the Getty Villa in Malibu, more great beaches, the canals in Venice, etc.
posted by pinochiette at 4:26 PM on January 25, 2018
posted by pinochiette at 4:26 PM on January 25, 2018
Santa Monica is great if you plan on mostly hanging out in and around West LA. If there's a bunch of stuff you want to do east of the 405, I would not recommend staying in Santa Monica. The Expo metro line makes it easier to go east and get downtown, but it's still a fair amount of travel time you might not want to deal with.
I'd say Santa Monica or Venice for easy proximity to the beach, restaurants, shopping, etc.
posted by yasaman at 4:35 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'd say Santa Monica or Venice for easy proximity to the beach, restaurants, shopping, etc.
posted by yasaman at 4:35 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
If the sights you want to see are mostly in one area, I'd look for a hotel or Airbnb in that area. The less you have to drive, the less stressful your vacation will be. If you're thinking you want to do Beaches AND Disney AND Hollywood in equal measure, those are all about an hour drive away from each other, for example.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 4:43 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Pandora Kouti at 4:43 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
We liked staying in Glendale a couple years ago and also didn't care about bars or the nightlife. I do agree about staying close to the things you want to do. There are a couple things we couldn't do just because we couldn't drive there in time.
posted by getawaysticks at 4:47 PM on January 25, 2018
posted by getawaysticks at 4:47 PM on January 25, 2018
LA is huge, as you probably know. Best idea is to check a map and see if there's a central location and maybe ask us about that spot. Or let us know what sites you're aiming for and we can give you more specific advice.
Caveat: don't take Disney into consideration when looking for a place. Just resign yourself to the fact that it's a schlep to get there and back.
Santa Monica is good -- very lively, and parts are very walkable. In February, though, be advised that it's not super warm and can quite often be overcast, especially in the mornings. Further inland = more sun and generally warmer.
Also, when staying in LA with a car, the Waze app is your friend. LA traffic is atrocious and highly variable.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:49 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Caveat: don't take Disney into consideration when looking for a place. Just resign yourself to the fact that it's a schlep to get there and back.
Santa Monica is good -- very lively, and parts are very walkable. In February, though, be advised that it's not super warm and can quite often be overcast, especially in the mornings. Further inland = more sun and generally warmer.
Also, when staying in LA with a car, the Waze app is your friend. LA traffic is atrocious and highly variable.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:49 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Los Angeles is mightily short on ghost towns, even the unfashionable ghosts have huge mortgages these days. The thing is, Santa Monica is happening and busy and touristy with all the good services that go with that but it's on the West Side and if you were wanting to leave/return to the immediate area on weekdays between 7-10am and 2-7pm that's not a great place for it. It can take me 45 minutes to get the 4 miles from one of my customers onto the 405 in the afternoon, and then I get to creep on the 405 for another 45-90 minutes. I would look on a map at where you actually want to go and consider whether maybe Fairfax or DTLA or regular/West Hollywood or even Los Feliz/Silver Lake/Eagle Rock are going to give you a better launchpad.
Most of LA has restaurants and bars and movie theaters. Not as much of LA has beaches but it's going to be cold AF (I mean for us, but that can mean in the 50s with a constant 5-15mph wind, near the water, it's unpleasant even for a quick stroll) and maybe wet (if not rain then fog) at the beach in February. Jan-Feb are the heart of indoor weather here.
For the most part, even though it's helping destroy our economy, Airbnb is generally a much better and more comfortable stay (we have a lot of hotels around $100 that would be motels in any other town, and then there's low-end business hotels that run in the low $100s/night with crappy amenities, and then nice hotels start around $180, and also we have vast hotel deserts in very good parts of town, where you can get a little apartment with a kitchen pretty easy). Don't go too far out to the edges, we're sleepier out here in the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys (though I love Pasadena and we used to stay there when we were visiting if our activities were more on the east side of town) as far as hip hot happenin' spots go, but if you stay middle-ish you'll be about as well off as you can be for freeway choice and a decent array of restaurants/groceries/delivery.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:11 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Most of LA has restaurants and bars and movie theaters. Not as much of LA has beaches but it's going to be cold AF (I mean for us, but that can mean in the 50s with a constant 5-15mph wind, near the water, it's unpleasant even for a quick stroll) and maybe wet (if not rain then fog) at the beach in February. Jan-Feb are the heart of indoor weather here.
For the most part, even though it's helping destroy our economy, Airbnb is generally a much better and more comfortable stay (we have a lot of hotels around $100 that would be motels in any other town, and then there's low-end business hotels that run in the low $100s/night with crappy amenities, and then nice hotels start around $180, and also we have vast hotel deserts in very good parts of town, where you can get a little apartment with a kitchen pretty easy). Don't go too far out to the edges, we're sleepier out here in the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys (though I love Pasadena and we used to stay there when we were visiting if our activities were more on the east side of town) as far as hip hot happenin' spots go, but if you stay middle-ish you'll be about as well off as you can be for freeway choice and a decent array of restaurants/groceries/delivery.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:11 PM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
When I was in LA for vacation recently, we split our trip between staying in Santa Monica and staying downtown. We did all the Echo Park, Silverlake, downtown stuff while we were downtown and then went to Venice and did stuff in Santa Monica while we stayed there. It worked out really well for us - almost everything felt convenient since we only rarely had to drive for more than 20 minutes or so.
posted by snaw at 6:44 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by snaw at 6:44 PM on January 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Don't assume anything about the weather when you're here. The last few years climate change has been hitting us pretty hard and we have roller coaster winters where it's cold one day and then literally summertime hot the next. (According to the Weather Channel downtown LA is supposed to be 66 degrees tomorrow but then zoom into the upper 80s over the weekend.) It will always be cooler right along the coasts, so I'd say get a place there and pack for both cold and heat. You might be looking at days where it's 100 degrees or 55 degrees.
Santa Monica itself may be a little dense and hard to get in and out of, so I'd suggest someplace like Venice, Marina del Rey, Manhattan Beach or El Segundo. But as others have said, a lot depends on which sights you want to see. The more South you go along the coasts the more affordable things will be, until you hit OC.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 6:46 PM on January 25, 2018
Santa Monica itself may be a little dense and hard to get in and out of, so I'd suggest someplace like Venice, Marina del Rey, Manhattan Beach or El Segundo. But as others have said, a lot depends on which sights you want to see. The more South you go along the coasts the more affordable things will be, until you hit OC.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 6:46 PM on January 25, 2018
If you update with the sights you want to see, you'll get better recs. My fave place is the W on Hollywood & Vine. There is a metro station right below it. It's in Hollywood which is crazy and insane, but very fun. And it's easy to get to almost anywhere in LA. You can take the train straight from the airport to it, and get around most of LA's best sights via the red line. It's a fun hotel, too, and relatively affordable. Harder to get to the west side but there is much more classic LA to see on the east side than the west. I am from LA and regularly stay there when I visit because it's the best place to access the valley, west and east sides.
Disneyland is about a 2.5 hour drive from LA. It's about 45 mins to an hour depending on traffic to get to the beach from Hollywood. If you rent a car and stay in Hollywood, memail me and I'll tell you a surface street shortcut.
posted by pazazygeek at 7:45 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Disneyland is about a 2.5 hour drive from LA. It's about 45 mins to an hour depending on traffic to get to the beach from Hollywood. If you rent a car and stay in Hollywood, memail me and I'll tell you a surface street shortcut.
posted by pazazygeek at 7:45 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Disneyland is about a 2.5 hour drive from LA
????
I’ve gotten from Pasadena to Disneyland in less than an hour pretty regularly. You could probably get to Tijuana from LA in 2.5 hours. (Waze is telling me 2:28 if I left right now.)
posted by mr_roboto at 10:34 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
????
I’ve gotten from Pasadena to Disneyland in less than an hour pretty regularly. You could probably get to Tijuana from LA in 2.5 hours. (Waze is telling me 2:28 if I left right now.)
posted by mr_roboto at 10:34 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Whoa yeah, Disney can be a hassle to get to, but during the worst traffic rush it's taken me at most 1.5 hr (coming from good ol' Burbank).
Agreed that it would help with suggestions if you could give a list of what you're planning to see. And if you have the time I think the suggestion above to split your stay between east and west side is great. I grew up around here so I'm used to the driving and traffic but sometimes I feel quite bad for visitors..getting around can be such a hassle compared to other more centralized spots. If you can split your stay you can divide and conquer more easily vs spending your time sitting on the 405 cuz ain't nobody got time for that.
posted by sprezzy at 1:26 AM on January 26, 2018
Agreed that it would help with suggestions if you could give a list of what you're planning to see. And if you have the time I think the suggestion above to split your stay between east and west side is great. I grew up around here so I'm used to the driving and traffic but sometimes I feel quite bad for visitors..getting around can be such a hassle compared to other more centralized spots. If you can split your stay you can divide and conquer more easily vs spending your time sitting on the 405 cuz ain't nobody got time for that.
posted by sprezzy at 1:26 AM on January 26, 2018
I stayed at this hotel's West Hollywood location last year. It was extremely conveniently located and very affordable.
posted by cakelite at 9:15 AM on January 26, 2018
posted by cakelite at 9:15 AM on January 26, 2018
Santa Monica would be pretty nice (especially if you're not looking to do much east of the 405 like yasaman said.)
Los Feliz is a neat neighborhood, and it would put you in a pretty good central location to branch out and explore Hollywood, Griffith Park, the Valley (Ventura Boulevard through Studio City and Sherman Oaks is worth exploring) and Pasadena.
posted by Funeral march of an old jawbone at 9:24 AM on January 26, 2018
Los Feliz is a neat neighborhood, and it would put you in a pretty good central location to branch out and explore Hollywood, Griffith Park, the Valley (Ventura Boulevard through Studio City and Sherman Oaks is worth exploring) and Pasadena.
posted by Funeral march of an old jawbone at 9:24 AM on January 26, 2018
Absent any further information on what you plan to do, I'd pick Culver City. Very centrally located with good access to the Expo Line, which can take you downtown or to Santa Monica without having to drive, worry about parking, etc.
posted by mr_roboto at 9:54 AM on January 26, 2018
posted by mr_roboto at 9:54 AM on January 26, 2018
Response by poster: thanks for all the tips! We are a middle aged artsy couple, not posh but not skint. not interested in Disneyland.
posted by aunt_winnifred at 5:35 PM on January 26, 2018
posted by aunt_winnifred at 5:35 PM on January 26, 2018
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posted by outfielder at 4:08 PM on January 25, 2018