Where to stay in LA?

Question

I'm taking my wife to LA for a few days. Never been. Where is a safe area with shopping, food, and sights? Hotel advice or side of city?

Answer 1

I lived in L.A. for 5 years and if you're visiting for a few days, then I say stay somewhere near West L.A. or up on Sunset. If money isn't an issue, then the Four Seasons on Doheny or The Beverly Hills Hotel, Le Meridian are amazing and in a very central location. There is also Beverly Hilton, Le Parc or Bel Age that aren't as expensive, but still in West L.A. There are good choices on Sunset Blvd. like the Grafton(boutique) or The Standard or Mondrian...but it can get very expensive up there. I don't recommend staying in Santa Monica unless you plan on going to the beach a lot. There is the 3rd street promenade, but that's about it in Santa Monica. Also, try not to stay downtown...there is nothing to do after business hours.

Answer 2

I can see poor Santa Clarita is taking a beating here---LOL. It's nice but too far away from everything....I would recommend somewhere between West Hollywood and Westwood (the UCLA area) ...on or near Santa Monica Blvd.........You can visit Santa Monica, the Getty Museum, pretty near studio tours, do the Hollywood tourist stuff (the new Griffith Observatory, Rodeo Drive, the star walk, tour of star's homes, Gramin's Chinese etc.) and have a nice drive up the coast to Malibu. I would get a place with free parking as that can be pricey. There really are a million things to do from that central location. Honestly if I were a cost conscious first time tourist I would stay at the Beverly Hilton.
(no joke).

Answer 3

I live in Orange County so i'm kind of familiar with LA...Santa Monica is a nice part of LA, its on the coast, there is lots to do there, Malibu is beautiful, its not too far of a drive from S.M.

Westwood, Brentwood, Century City and Beverly Hills would also be a good place to stay. there all on the west side so its pretty nice there. it might be expensive, but those are trendy areas.

Hollywood/Los Feliz/ Silverlake are east of the ocean, but these are cool areas also, they have a different feel than the above. I wouldn't stay in Hollywood, or at least anyplace i can think of, because its kind of gross.

Downtown LA is definately worth visiting, but i probably wouldn't stay down there, can be kind of ghetto.

if i were recommending an LA visit for a couple of days, I would:

1. hit up the Santa Monica area, 3rd street promenade, etc. or any of the coastal beach communities
2. do the Hollywood, downtown LA thing
3. go to Malibu, drive up the coast
4. try going to West Hollywood, Sunset strip, its fun at night, lots of restaurants nightclubs and bars and you might see celebrities

i would also get out of LA county...Orange county is about 45 minutes south. you can drive down PCH or take the freeways, Laguna Beach is beautiful, its very artsy.

as for the person that mentioned Santa Clarita, i would say no-way, she sounded like a soccer mom, its definately nothing worth visiting on a vacation!

Answer 4

Well one of the safest cities in the Los Angeles County is Santa Clarita. It's actually the sixth safest city in the United States. Almost the entire city is great and it's the home of Magic Mountain. It's just about a half hour away from Universal Studios and City Walk. The beaches are less than an hour away. And Disneyland, California Adventure is in our neighboring county, just an hour and 45 minutes away. A few of the superb resturants Santa Clarita has to offer are Olive Garden, Black Angus, Red Lobster, Islands, Elephant Bar, ect. Some of the hotels they have there are: Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn Express, The Hyatt, Best Westen, La Quinta, and many others. I hope this helps!!

Answer 5

Hi there,

I just came back from 5 months in LA. I would have to say that my favorite neighborhood was Santa Monica. It is close to the ocean has lots of little shops and restaurants on both Promenade and on Montana. On one side you have Venice, and the other Malibu, which makes for a nice drive along the coast. Go to eat at Moonshadow in Malibu. Sorry, cant comment on hotels as I stayed with friends. Enjoy!

Answer 6

First of all, you do not want to stay in Santa Clarita if you are visiting. It's far from everything. It's a nice place to live if you can't afford to live closer to the coast.

After 15 years in L.A., I would recommend staying in Santa Monica or Malibu. Both areas will really give you the "California feel" that a tourist would want.

Have a great time!

Answer 7

Do some research to determine what you want to do in LA.
Are you wanting to just hang at the beach for 2 days?

Want to take in the important museums?

Are you into Jazz, Rock, Movies, Theater, Hiking, What?

Add to your question and you'll get some better guidance.

La is a smorgasbord. There is everything, but you can't do it all in a weekend.