Hotel and sights for 2 nights in LA

[MattOsprey]

Hi all,

 

We are flying from the UK on an 11 hour flight into LAX for our upcoming Hawaii cruise on Diamond Princess on October 19th.

 

As we have been reading this forum, we can see that downtown is out of the question.

 

There will be 3 of us. Me my wife and my mother.

 

We would like to be able to see some sights for a couple of days.

 

Any ideas would be great.

 

We did consider going to the Crown Plaza San Pedro that is recommended highly on here, but the area sounds industrialised, and maybe not enough sights for 2 days.

 

My wife likes famous people, my mother likes art and buildings. And I like them being happy!

 

If we can find a nice area, I will priceline rooms hopefully.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous Number]

If you're going to use Priceline, I would stick with the Beverly Hills/West Hollywood, Brentwood/Westwood or Santa Monica/Marina Del Rey areas. The area surrounding LAX (particularly south and west) are not the greatest.

 

I'd also recommend using a "limo" type service to get you from the airport to the hotel and to the port. A taxi would cost a fortune in LA traffic. If you're not in a hurry, and don't mind the possibility of dropping other people off before you, you could try a shuttle van.

[sunsetme]

santa monica or hollywood would be good for sightseeing altho you will need a car. you can go to beverly hills, the getty museum,etc.

[luvtahiti]

There are lots of things to see and do in LA. Check out a search for "los angeles tours". Most tour companies pick up at major hotels around the city. Leave the driving in LA to the tour company. Traffic is a nightmare! Universal Studios was a great place to visit, as was a city tour with the movie stars homes. All the tour companies do about the same tours. just pick one that picks up from your hotel. Better yet, if the hotel your staying at has a concierge, they will arrange the tours for you. All the hotels have brochures about tours in LA in their lobbies.

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Hi all,

 

We are flying from the UK on an 11 hour flight into LAX for our upcoming Hawaii cruise on Diamond Princess on October 19th.

 

As we have been reading this forum, we can see that downtown is out of the question.

 

There will be 3 of us. Me my wife and my mother.

 

We would like to be able to see some sights for a couple of days.

 

Any ideas would be great.

 

We did consider going to the Crown Plaza San Pedro that is recommended highly on here, but the area sounds industrialised, and maybe not enough sights for 2 days.

 

My wife likes famous people, my mother likes art and buildings. And I like them being happy!

 

If we can find a nice area, I will priceline rooms hopefully.

 

Thanks for your help.

First of all check out the link to this thread here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=517205

 

Lots of options to fit your criteria, and/or just get you started on specific ideas and info.

 

San Pedro I recommend (see some of my other reports) if you are just going to be there the night before the cruise.

 

More than that, and the hotels in the link above are all good choices to start for your specific situation.

CJW

[Cruisin' Chick]

If your mother loves art, she will love the Getty museum which is just west of Westwood (a suburb just west of Beverly Hills) in the Bel Air mountain area. I would imagine many of the tours will go there (the museum itself is free, but often requires reservations).

 

Usually seeing celebrities are a hit and miss thing (many of them live in quiet areas, some in Beverly Hills) that often you'll find them doing normal things (shopping, dining, etc.) as anyone else. But there are some restaurants and stores that attract them more often than others.

 

Definitely consider staying on the west side or coastal areas of LA as you'll be closer to the port of LA (San Pedro).

[RAYMORRA]

We are going 3 days ahead of time for our cruise on Vision of the Seas. We've opted to stay at the Westin in Long Beach...a little pricey but with our AAA discount not too bad and I'm willing to pay a bit more to be in a safe area at a nice hotel. There is a tour company that picks up in Long Beach at most of the hotels and takes you to all the touristy type spots. http://www.sunseekertours.us/highlights.htm (all day long tour for $79 pp) (the guy I made the reservations with was very nice and informative) From what I've read on here, Long Beach is a nice place to stay (in the convention center area) with shops and restaurants within walking distance... Never having been to the Los Angeles area before, I can't personally vouch for any of these things, but from what I've read on these boards I feel reasonably sure all will be well. We are planning on taking a dedicated shuttle from LAX to our hotel and then getting a taxi the morning of the cruise to San Pedro.

[MattOsprey]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

We think we will stay in Santa Monica.

 

Going to look at priceline.

 

Thanks again.

[flamingo3]

I think you will be very happy in Santa Monica. We haven't been there for about 5 years but my husband and I, and our then 16 yr old son, had a great time. The beach is right there, shopping, Santa Monica pier, you name it. The Promenade was good for people watching and had plenty of restaurants. You can walk down the beach to Venice and have tons of fun. LA requires a car -- duh :D -- it's huge. The Getty Museum was great. If you have time (not likely) check out the Huntington Museum and gardens.

 

Have a great time. We will be there in Jan. before our Princess cruise to Hawaii. We're staying at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

 

Susan