Where to Stay in LA?

November 18, 2004 6:20 AM

Los Angeles Geography: I need to figure out where to stay...

In a couple of weeks, I will need to be in Culver City at 8:30 a.m. on a weekday. I will be driving from wherever I'm staying and my last experience driving in the Los Angeles area proved it to be a somewhat nerve-wracking thing outside of rush hour. (And the hotel wasn't in such a keen place, either.)

Are there reasonably priced, reasonably safe places to stay in or fairly near Culver City? Would a woman travelling alone want to stay in such places? Are the surface roads less insane than the freeways?

And anyone want to have drinks or dinner while I'm out there? (December 8-10.)

posted by Dreama to Travel & Transportation around Los Angeles, LA (5 answers total)

Where in Culver City are you going? The area isn't bad, and considering the time of day you're travelling (morning rush) and freeway you'll most likely have to deal with (405), I'd consider staying in Century City at one of the myriad hotels near the airport. There are hotels in Culver City proper, but there's definitely a good selection near the airport.

Leave at least 30min if you're going from Century City to Culver City. The 405 is abominable in the morning.
posted by fet at 7:25 AM on November 18, 2004

Like Fet mentioned, Culver City isn't too bad traffic-wise, but it can be a bit squirrly to navigate because many of the streets veer in strange directions. All told, though, it's not too bad.

Given your need to be in Culver City at 8:30 am, I take it this is a business trip. No time (or interest) in sightseeing? If not, then I'd just find a Courtyard by Marriott (or some other similar chain) close to wherever it is you to go, hopefully situated so that you don't have to get on the freeway. You probably already know this, but tripadvisor.com is a useful place to read about individual hotels across the country.

However, if you'd like to visit LA while in town, Culver City probably isn't the place to stay -- not much to do there. If you want to take in a little local culture while you're here I'd look around Santa Monica -- you can probably get to Culver City from Santa Monica in 30-40 minutes in rush-hour traffic (without using the 10 Freeway).
posted by herc at 10:23 AM on November 18, 2004

Santa Monica is your best bet for a decent place that's not too far from Culver City...but it will be a somewhat hellish drive at 8am through rush hour. But at least you'll be by the water, which always manages to have a calming effect on me ;)
posted by rooftop secrets at 1:19 PM on November 18, 2004

I lived in Culver City until August and there are a lot of decent chain hotels in the area. I don't recommend Santa Monica because even the flea-bags are expensive there. Staying by the airport isn't a bad idea if you can figure out how to get to Culver City on streets. I'd say you'd be about 10-20 minutes away depending on traffic.

A good way to search for hotels is do a yellow pages search from the zip of where your meeting is and compare rates.
posted by Kimberly at 1:34 PM on November 18, 2004

Best answer: I live in Culver City, and there's a big grouping of hotels about two blocks from my apartment (all of them are on Bristol, Green Valley, or Sepulveda right next to those streets). It's a pretty nice area, as long as you don't go too far east on Centinela =).

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT attempt to drive between Santa Monica and Culver City during rush hour. I work in Santa Monica, and if I try to drive home at 6:30 PM, it takes me about 50 minutes (7 mins with no traffic).
posted by DoomGerbil at 5:48 PM on November 18, 2004