California Dreamin'?

[flyingdoxie]

Hello! My friend got a GREAT deal on a 4 night cruise w/RCI from LA. She would like to stay 1 night pre-cruise in a beachside hotel not too far from the port. We were browsing Santa Monica options but got sticker shock for some of the nicer hotels on Ocean Ave. Any suggestions for a decent, clean, safe beachside/front hotel in the range of $200 within walking distance to the pier? Or are we just dreamin'? :rolleyes:

[Bruin Steve]

Hello! My friend got a GREAT deal on a 4 night cruise w/RCI from LA. She would like to stay 1 night pre-cruise in a beachside hotel not too far from the port. We were browsing Santa Monica options but got sticker shock for some of the nicer hotels on Ocean Ave. Any suggestions for a decent, clean, safe beachside/front hotel in the range of $200 within walking distance to the pier? Or are we just dreamin'? :rolleyes:

 

When you say "walking distance to the pier", remember the "pier" can mean several different things...

 

The Santa Monica Pier is THIRTY MILES from the "pier" in San Pedro...where the RCI ships dock...

 

Santa Monica can be quite pricey--especially the major hotels (Loew's, Shutters, Fairmont Miramar, etc.)...But there are a few lesser priced hotels close to the SM pier (CalMar, TraveLodge, for example)...

 

But if it's the pier you are actually sailing out of that you want to be close to, well, that's a different story...It's a lot cheaper (of course, it's not quite as nice a neighborhood and there isn't as much to do...but, if you're only there for the one overnight, it works just fine)...

 

You have two options in the harbor area:

 

1) San Pedro...It's a "blue-collar town...but it's right where the pier IS...There is a Crowne Plaza fairly near the port...also a Holiday Inn...and there's a Doubletree a little ways down the Harbor:

 

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/laxpv;jsessionid=PN5GXSCMKZDSSCTGWANCHPQKM0YBWIY4?_requestid=144916

 

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/laxsp?_requestid=145595

 

http://doubletree.hilton.com/en/dt/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=LGBSPDT

 

All of these should have free shuttles to the pier...

 

2) Long Beach: Just a touch nicer than Pedro...and with a little more to do and more restaurants...in the immediate area (Shoreline Village, Aquarium of the Pacific, Queen Mary)...with free City shuttles all over the area...but not to the port...it's a six mile taxi ride...

 

Several hotels in the area...but Long Beach is a big city, make sure you stick to Hotels along Ocean Avenue, near the Convention Center (Hilton, Hyatt, Renaissance, Courtyard-Downtown, Westin) or the Coast Hotel across the channel near the Queen Mary...

 

Either Pedro or LB will put you more in your price comfort level...

 

Ps. Nothing in LB or Pedro is really "beachside" since it's more of an industrial harbor area and less of a resort/beach area...

 

The Coast Long Beach is on the waterfront:

 

http://www.coasthotels.com/hotels/usa/california/long_beach/coast_longbeach/overview.html

 

Same with the Doubletree...

 

The others are sort of "in town" but near the water...

 

Good luck...

[critterchick]

The good thing about LA is that there are lots of beaches - your friend picked the most expensive one of the lot (next to Malibu, I suppose! Try Redondo, Manhattan or Hermosa Beach as well - you'll get the same experience, be closer to the port and not have to mortgage your house to stay there. And they all have piers, too. I can't help you with specific properties, but if you do a search on these threads for posts by Bruin Steve or Curt Jerome Wild, they both have some good suggestions. Happy hunting!

[flyingdoxie]

Thank you very much for the info. It was very helpful. My friend decided to book the Double Tree in San Pedro. Looks very nice from the pics and reviews. :)

[daveco58]

DoubleTree is a good choice, and the closest to a beach you are going to get, near a port. While it is not "beachfront", if you keep walking past the hotel, on Cabrillo Marina blvd. you will get to the aquarium and finally to Cabrillo Beach, which has one beach inside the break water, and another open to the ocean. And better than a pier, you can walk out the breakwater all the way to the lighthouse.