LA Hotels

[SAMMYR]

Need info. on LA area hotels. Booked Golden for October Mexican itinerary. Thinking of booking Marriott hotel downtown on Figueroa street. What kind of area? Anything to do in the area? Also what distance from San Pedro pier?

[Cruisin' Chick]

Need info. on LA area hotels. Booked Golden for October Mexican itinerary. Thinking of booking Marriott hotel downtown on Figueroa street. What kind of area? Anything to do in the area? Also what distance from San Pedro pier?

 

I suggest you check out the West Coast Destination forum here. Plenty of ideas of where to stay in San Pedro, Long Beach and other acceptable areas.

 

I (as a native Angeleno) would strongly suggest you do not stay in downtown LA. Usually the only people who stay there are those who need to be near the Convention Center for events there. You will not be anywhere near the coast and would have to take an expensive taxi to get to your cruise. There are really no sightseeing attractions downtown, unless you want to go to the jewelry center or the garment district.:rolleyes: It also is not safe there.

 

I was there for business reasons one day last month and my hubby works there...but it's not a place to stay.

 

San Pedro itself is a fairly industrial area. There are some hotels there. Usually those who do stay there before a cruise, stay there for just a day as there's not really anything happening, other than to go to the Ports O' Call at sailaway time and wave to the cruiseships leaving.

 

Long Beach has undergone a renaissance in recent years (used to be pretty much an industrial type of place without nothing much going for it). It has some major hotels, the Queen Mary (which serves as a hotel, an attraction, an events location -- a PR event I worked at was held there in the late 80s), the Aquarium of the Pacific (my family went there last summer and I strongly recommend it), and some other attractions. There's a free bus that goes between the Aquarium and Shoreline Village (the QM is berthed nearby; also the Carnival pier is right there too) with some restaurants and quaint little stores.

 

You can also consider staying in Santa Monica (a little more pricier).

 

Hope this helps.

[Sandy R]

I second Cruisin' Chick's suggestions... very sound advice.

[SAMMYR]

Cruisinchick and Sandy thank you for your replies. I will look into the areas you mentioned but was also wondering about the Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills on S. Beverly Drive.

[candycane823]

My hotel is the Los Angeles Marriott on Century Blvd booked by Princess. Is this hotel in the same area you were speaking of that is an unsafe area?

How would you recommend for me to find out if this Hotel is not in a good area? It never even crossed my mind thinking that because Princess booked it for me as part of my precruise package and I just assumed they wouldn't put my DH and I in an area that maybe we shouldn't be in.

We planned on doing the Hollywood, and the Beverly hills thing also, now I'm a little worried.

 

Please advise? Thank you in advance.

 

 

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[LETS PARTY]

My hotel is the Los Angeles Marriott on Century Blvd booked by Princess. Is this hotel in the same area you were speaking of that is an unsafe area?

How would you recommend for me to find out if this Hotel is not in a good area? It never even crossed my mind thinking that because Princess booked it for me as part of my precruise package and I just assumed they wouldn't put my DH and I in an area that maybe we shouldn't be in.

We planned on doing the Hollywood, and the Beverly hills thing also, now I'm a little worried.

 

Please advise? Thank you in advance.

 

 

 

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your hotel is at lax, 15-20 miles from downtown

LA

you will need a car

nothing to do by hotel, and wouldnt walk around that area at night!!

Rob

[Cruisin' Chick]

My hotel is the Los Angeles Marriott on Century Blvd booked by Princess. Is this hotel in the same area you were speaking of that is an unsafe area?

How would you recommend for me to find out if this Hotel is not in a good area? It never even crossed my mind thinking that because Princess booked it for me as part of my precruise package and I just assumed they wouldn't put my DH and I in an area that maybe we shouldn't be in.

We planned on doing the Hollywood, and the Beverly hills thing also, now I'm a little worried.

 

Please advise? Thank you in advance.

 

 

 

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I believe this is the Marriott LAX. If so, that's where hubby and I spent our first night as a married couple as we were catching an early flight the next morning to Hawaii. That was back in 1995 so I don't know how the place is now. But it's not downtown.

 

LA is a pretty widespread area. If you're planning to spend more than a pre-cruise night, you may want to go to your Auto Club office (if you're a member) and get the Southern California book plus whatever maps they're give you.

[Cruisin' Chick]

here's a good place to check out reviews of hotels: tripadvisor.com. Of course, you should take very negative and very positive reviews with a grain of salt. But it will give you an idea if there's currently problems with a specific hotel.

[Sandy R]

Sammy... I never stayed at the Crown Plaza but it certainly is in a better location than downtown. The center of Beverly Hills is about 10 or 12 blocks away. And, you're not far from Santa Monica. Again, I agree with Cruisin' Chick, log onto tripadvisor and see what those that have stayed there think.

 

CandyCane... The LAX Marriott is a nice hotel in an airport location. I had a high school reunion there a few years ago. You'll be fine at the Marriott. You really can't walk anywhere, there's nothing around the hotel but other hotels. If you're planning to do some sightseeing, the 405 freeway is nearby, which is both a plus and a minus. The plus is the 405 is nearby, the minus is the 405 is stop and go traffic during morning and afternoon hours... so give yourselves extra time. I'd be a little worried about visiting Hollywood!

[DesertDaisy]

I suggest the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro. We have stayed there the last two years. We have driven in form Phoenix, AZ. They have a great park & sail package, which we have used. Even though your flying, the rates are good, the location is also, about 1 mile from the terminal. If you'er lucky you can see the ship from the hotel. They include breakfast and transportation to the ship and back. The beds are great and San Pedro has alot to offer. Good resturants, good shopping and if you choose to go, Long Beach and the "Queen Mary" are about 10 minutes away! Get the traveling done with the day before and stay in San Pedro. Other options, I believe there is a Hyatt and a Marriot within the same block! Phyllis

[aadaneboy]

We just cruised out of San Pedro in May and stayed at the Crowne Plaza (formerly the Sheraton.) It is a very nice hotel, within walking distance to some nice restaurants. Very convenient to the pier, and they provide free transportation to it as well. We booked a suite using club points and it overlooked the harbor area. Since I was so excited about the cruise, I couldn't sleep, and watched our ship sail into port at 0300!

 

Beds are very comfortable, nice pool area as well. They do have some construction going on in the lobby/conference room areas, but never heard any noise. Staff was very friendly also.

 

Theres a great mexican restaurant across the street on the water called Acapulco's, and several seafood restaurants there as well.

[kaykay51]

Candycane, we stayed at the Marriott LAX, the one you're looking at, in Feb. We rented a car for the afternoon and drove to Hollywood. My husband was aprehensive at first, but I requested/rented a GPS for our car and we had no problems. We never got on a freeway, just took local streets. The GPS was $10 or $11 and worth every penny.

As others have mentioned there isn't much to do around the hotel. We ate at the hotel restaurant. It was okay. Saturday morning we walked to a Denny's about 3 blocks away for breakfast.

Hope this helps

Kay

[candycane823]

you people are just awesome! Thank you so much for responding. I also showed this to my DH and he said not to worry. We will rent a car for the day depending on what time we arrive in at the airport. He said we will make sure we are back before dark.

I get a little nervous when I see negative information.

 

Again, thank you so much for your knowledge!! This site is great!!!

[ocean.queen]

candycane...you don't have to be back to the hotel by dark! L.A. has tons to do in the evening and most areas are very safe. Just don't go for a walk too far from your hotel at night. You really wouldn't have any need to anyway because there's nothing there except hotels, rental car agencies and the airport.

[tbenson81]

Definitely stay at the QM and not just some run of the mill hotel where you find everywhere. How many people can say that they have stayed in the place that marks the highest level of paranormal activity in the entire world? This is argued by most as the most haunted place on the planet and is a very fun and a unique experience.

 

Not to mention its only 10 minutes to the San Pedro pier.

 

http://www.ghostsandlegends.com/gl/index.php?section=legends

[Jstringers]

I've had 2 great experinces in the area.

1. The Westin Long Beach. I was there for a convention a few years ago. This is high $ place but worth it. The area has a lot of new resturants and a lot to do. Right across from the convention center and aqurium.

 

2. The Inn at Venice Beach. About 2 blocks from the Venice Beach Pier. Lots to do and see and incredable reasonably priced. Fantastic personal service. Nice courtyard for continental breakfast. We'll be staying there if we ever go back....

[Bases5]

I just bid on priceline for a 3 star hotel in San Pedro and my winning bid was $65 plus taxes totaling $81. This was at the Crown Plaza and I have heard people winning at the Doubletree also. They both offer free shuttle to the port.

This is for our upcoming DEC cruise on the Golden, There is lots of information on the west coast board also.

[rebeccalouise]

The last time I stayed overnight in LA was in 1985! I can't believe it was 22 years ago. We stayed at L'Mertage. It was great. Located in Beverly Hills and they offered free limo service around Beverly Hills. The rooms were all suites and Dudley Moore was the only other patron in the rooftop breakfast room. I also sat next to Stevie Wonder at Carlos and Charlie's (the place the hotel conceirge recommended). It was awesome!

[aloha*grl]

I recommend checking out hotels in El Segundo. El Segundo is a small town directly south of LAX and north of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. It is one of the most, if not the most, safe towns in Los Angeles County. I tried to include links to four hotels but haven't been successful, you can search on-line if these appeal to you.

 

The Hacienda Hotel and Homestead Suites are both within a half block of a Ralphs Supermarket, El Pollo Loco, Sizzler and many little fast food restaurants. The Hilton Gardens is about two blocks from this intersection in a more ‘business office area’. The Embassy Suites overlooks the LAX south runways. The Hacienda, Hilton Gardens and Embassy Suites run airport shuttles, I’m not sure about the Homestead Suites. The Hacienda and Embassy Suites each offer car rental. Renting at a hotel saves paying additional airport taxes. Also, the Homestead and Hilton Gardens have free parking (I'm not sure about the other two).

 

El Segundo is used continuously for filming because of its small town look. If you walk up to Main Street (about one mile from the Hacienda and Homestead) you’ll see El Segundo High School which is used in what seems like every other movie and film production. Main Street and Richmond Street are also used extensively. Fans of David E. Kelley productions and CSI: Miami will recognize lots of the sites. Main Street also has an excellent selection of restaurants. While El Segundo has a 'real' population of 16,000 citizens, it has a daytime population of 100,000 aerospace and other employees (including me), which is why it has so many good eateries.

 

In addition it is also the home to the Automobile Driving Museum, the only Automobile Museum that "takes you for a ride" in one of the actual vehicles on display. They have 70 cars and give rides on Sunday (including Eleanor Roosevelt's chauffer-driven Plymouth, it’s very cool!

[SingerEsq]

you people are just awesome! Thank you so much for responding. I also showed this to my DH and he said not to worry. We will rent a car for the day depending on what time we arrive in at the airport. He said we will make sure we are back before dark.

I get a little nervous when I see negative information.

 

Again, thank you so much for your knowledge!! This site is great!!!

 

Candy -- Take what the suburbanites write with a grain of salt. I've lived in LA for 20 years. I've worked downtown for most of it. Downtown is alive with activity. Museums, Disney Hall, the Music Center, Staples Center. What's your age range? The Standard Downtown is WAY hot. My niece and nephew just stayed there and it was hopping. The roof top pool / deck is a incredible. Tons to do downtown after dark, with great restaurants (Wolfgang Puck recently opened a restaurant) and night spots.

 

As others have said, Beverly Hills is great and there's always the Sunset Strip.

 

Get in your car and drive. You'll be fine.

[SingerEsq]

Need info. on LA area hotels. Booked Golden for October Mexican itinerary. Thinking of booking Marriott hotel downtown on Figueroa street. What kind of area? Anything to do in the area? Also what distance from San Pedro pier?

 

Downtown is a bit of a haul from San Pedro .... 45 mintues to 1 hour, depending on traffic. The downtown Marriott is a beautiful hotel. It even has a movie theatre.

[aloha*grl]

Los Angeles is big fun! Get a car and drive around, you'll be amazed at all the different neighborhoods and topography. Downtown, Hollywood, Pasadena, Santa Monica, the South Bay. It's all good! : )

[Cruisin' Chick]

Unfortunately, unless you're familiar with LA, you probably should check out first if "it's all good." I think the LAPD would hope you try to avoid any gang areas.

[SAMMYR]

Thank you all for the great info. Lots to absorb. Even the downtown area seems interesting. Wife and I like to walk and shop, see musems and eat in good restaurants. will be in 2 days before cruise. Being from south Florida driving 30 to 40 minutes to a pier doesn't seem to bad. San Pedro looks good also.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Just mentioned this thread to hubby, who works downtown at the City Hall complex. He said, "why stay downtown?" If you want to go to museums, there's the Getty just west of Westwood on the west side. If you want to go to fine restaurants, they are all over, on La Cienega, in Santa Monica, etc. Shopping: Century City mall, the Beverly Center, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, the Grove in the Fairfax area next to Farmers Market.

 

Hubby also mentioned, what I was alluding to. If you are unfamiliar with this area, you can take a wrong turn very easily and end up in gang terrority. Not safe at all.