visiting Los Angeles..... (1 Viewer)

[Brent_H]

I will be taking a trip to LA this summer and I need a place for my and my girlfriend to stay for the week. I was looking on http://www.hotwire.com for cheap hotel rates and found something for $41 near LAX...I was just wondering how this area is...I mean is it generally an okay place to stay or will I need to bring my glock? It specifies north LAX and south LAX.....I dunno what the difference is. Anyways, any help would be appreciated

~Brent

 

[Scott_lb]

The interesting thing about L.A. is that you can have a safe place to stay and a not-so-safe place to stay just a block or two away. In general, LAX isn't in or near one of the best neighborhoods, but it's certainly not the worst either. If you are looking for a room on a budget, let's see............. you might want to try something south of LAX on the PCH. I travel that route all the time and it's safe. However, I don't know how much the price will increase though. Santa Monica is just north of the airport, however, it will likely increase your price as well.

Let me know how it goes.

 

[Gary->dee]

I mean is it generally an okay place to stay or will I need to bring my glock?

LOL, you're going to want to bring that regardless. Make sure to mix the bullets in your clip between target and hollow points. Bring some kevlar too. Night vision goggles. Always keep your hands in your pockets. Don't look anyone in the eye for more than 1.5 seconds. Keep jewelry tucked underneath your clothing. Walk fast. When you hear tires screech, duck. Point only at inanimate objects. Never use the words "need" and "help" in the same sentence when talking to someone.

If you're going to stay in a hotel I'd recommend something along the coast.

 

[Brent_H]

ok you guys are scaring me

I guess theres not much I can do..the thing with HotWire is that it doesnt tell you the actual hotel you are booking until you pay for it. its kind of dumb like that. so maybe I better not do that. but it says its a 3 star which requires an onsite restaurant and business center and what not......that seems non-ghetto doesnt it? lol

anyways, i will keep looking i think.

thanks guys.

 

[Jay Heyl]

Unless you need to stay near the airport, you'll probably be happier in some other location. If you can provide a bit more detail about the purpose of your trip -- business, site seeing, plane spotting, etc. -- I'm sure there are lots of people who can help with recommendations on a place to stay. Los Angeles is very spread out, particularly if you're referring to the greater metro area rather than just the city itself. If you don't want to spend a lot of time in the car, it probably makes sense to stay somewhere near the location of most of your planned activities.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Do you have a sense of the city?

 

[Scott_lb]

Brent,
I noticed you're from Minnesota. I'm from Wisconsin and moved out to L.A. for grad school a few years ago. I had similar "fears" about Los Angeles and only found them to be true in certain areas. If your hotel is called the "Compton Inn" or the "Inglewood Lodge", you might want to check out another place. However, L.A. is absolutely HUGE with so many different parts of the city that are very unique in nature. Like Jay stated- if you can give some information as to the purpose of your trip I'm sure some of us can help you out.

 

[Brent_H]

Scott...haha Compton Inn.

Okay, the purpose of my trip:

I am going to visit UCLA and check out the campus. That is the main reason for the trip. I would also like to go see Kilborn and go to a Dodgers game when we are there. Also, maybe scope out some apartments near UCLA also...I'm not moving for another year, but I like to plan ahead.

 

[Brian W.]

I had similar "fears" about Los Angeles and only found them to be true in certain areas

Yes, I had the same impression before moving here, but almost EVERYTHING you hear about L.A. is exaggerated, including the traffic. (Though I came from Seattle, which has pretty horrendous traffic, so I was like, "This isn't that much worse.") But in general, the bad isn't as bad as you hear and the good isn't as good.

Anyhow... I'd probably stay north of the Airport, since it's closer to UCLA anyway. Couldn't tell you where to get the best hotel rate, but you'll find cheaper hotels in in West L.A. than you would in West Hollywood, Hollywood, or Beverly Hills. But Scott is right -- it's hard to pinpoint all the bad areas of L.A., because most of them are so isolated. In general, stay away from south of downtown L.A., which of course is the famous South Central.

 

[Gary->dee]

Yeah if your business in L.A. mostly deals with UCLA then there's no reason to shack up near LAX, unless you want to take the scenic route from your hotel to UCLA. There's plenty of hotels in the West L.A. area. Of course I couldn't name any with good rates because I live here and don't frequent hotels...

My suggestion would be to try and stay somewhere north of Pico(or even Wilshire) and west of Fairfax.

 

[Brian W.]

because I live here and don't frequent hotels...

Let's hope not, Gary.

 

[Mark Lee]

I suppose the W Hotel would be out of yer price range? (It's a block from the UCLA campus.)

I seem to recall a motor lodge (Best Western?) right at the intersection where the Santa Monica Blvd 405-freeway on-ramp is -- dunno 'bout their rates, but it's worth a look. Not too far from UCLA (and Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica, and Brentwood).

Other than that, I'm fresh out of ideas. (Whaddya expect? I live in Long Beach!)

 

[Scott_lb]

I would also encourage you to stay in the West L.A. area. You might even want to check with the school- they might even know of a hotel you could stay at. After all, you are not the first person to fly out and check out the school. If they don't help, let me know. I have some friends who went to UCLA who I might be able to ask, even though most of them currently live in the valley. I agree with the previous post that there's no reason to stay near the airport. If you stay in West L.A. you'll be close to the school, and yet also close enough to have some fun in Hollywood the beach.

Regarding seeing Craigers- I've seen him twice using the following method:

I live a few blocks from the Venice Beach boardwalk (Venice Beach is just south of the Santa Monica Pier) on which you can obtain tickets to certain tv shows (Dr. Phil, Craigers, and some others I can't think of right now). Anyway, there's a guy about 1/2 way down (south) the boardwalk who hands out free tickets all day. He has a big wooden board that lists which guests are on on which day, so you can choose to go on a certain day if you'd prefer to see a certain celebrity. There are also directions to CBS studios on the back of the ticket. It's easy to find, even if you're not familiar with the city. If there's a big name person on that day, be sure that you arrive early. It should be fun for you to see Craigers, especially since you're also from Minnesota. I think you usually have to arrive at the studio around 3pm, and the whole process takes about two or three hours. If you've never seen a taping before you should definately check it out. I've seen a few different shows, and I like Craigers the best.

I realize that there are likely other ways to get tickets, however, this is the only way that I know how (aside from doing directly to CBS to get tickets).

One other cool thing you might want to do is to catch a movie at the Chinese theater on Hollywood Blvd. I caught "The Beach" there before they renovated/built Hollywood & Highland, and it was neat to watch a movie in a theater with so much historical significance.

For even more fun, check out Univerisal City too. Lots of great restaurants and things to see.

Let me know how things go!

 

[Brent_H]

Scott! Thanks for the info on Craigers..I was going to go through CBS first, but if that doesnt work out, or I don't get the day I want or something, I will check this other guy out.

Although the W Hotel would be nice, I think I would rather spend my money a wiser way..haha. I can stay the whole week at some normal place for the price of one night at the W I suppose....someday I will for sure start looking more in West Hollywood. I was only looking at LAX because thats where HotWire found the cheapest rates right off the bat. I'm not flying in so its not very important I stay near the airport. Yes, thats right, driving from Minnesota. All 30 some hours of it Why, you ask? Its chaper than flying by a $100+...I'm not old enough to rent a car (21) annnnnd it what better way to get to know my woman friend better than to spend all that tiem in the car with her? oh yeah. heh

thanks for all your help guys!!

 

[Josh Lowe]

When I last went to LA I got a great deal via Hotwire. It was the Hilton Carson Civic Plaza in Carson, which is about 20 minutes from the airport. It was a in a nice, safe area. The amenities were great, especially at the rate of 32 dollars per night they offered. The location was perfect, it was easy to get anywhere in the area from there. If you can narrow your Hotwire search down to Carson, maybe you'll get a rate from the same place.

 

[Brent_H]

the cheapest Carson one was $61....oh man if I could find something as cheap as you did I will be extatic!!!

I might just end up using priceline....if I wait until a week or two before we go I bet I can get something that cheap.