How to Choose a Los Angeles Hotel

The most important factor in choosing a hotel for your visit to Los Angeles is location. You may think you're getting a bargain by booking a hotel away from the tourist centers, but when you calculate in how much of your visit you will have to spend sitting in traffic to get where you want to be, it may not be such a good deal.

Of course, where you want to be depends on what you are planning to do. In some cases, it makes sense to split your trip into more than one hotel.

Disneyland

Disneyland is one of the top tourist draws to Southern California, and if you're planning to visit Disneyland, it makes sense to stay nearby. You can get a shuttle from Hollywood or Santa Monica to Anaheim, but to get the most out of a Disneyland visit, you'll want to arrive early and stay late, possibly with a break in the middle of the day.

The Disneyland Hotels are naturally the most convenient, being inside and adjacent to the park itself, but there are plenty of less expensive options surrounding the park, some even within walking distance. There is an Anaheim Resort Shuttle that picks up at area hotels and drops you at the theme park for a small fee so you can avoid dealing with Disneyland parking.

Hollywood

If you're coming to Los Angeles to see Hollywood, go to nightclubs and fine restaurants, see TV shows being taped and see movie stars' homes, then staying in the heart of Hollywood is your best bet. This is the area around Hollywood and Highland where you'll find the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

There are a variety of accommodations from youth hostels to three star hotels (trying hard to be 4 star) within a few blocks of this intersection. From here you can pick up most tour buses, use the Holly Trolley to go to nightclubs and theatres up and down the strip, or take the Metro to Universal Studios Hollywood or downtown for more options. In general, staying west of Vine Street is preferable. Hotels listed in East Hollywood are in a somewhat less desirable neighborhood for tourists.

If you're in town specifically to attend a TV show taping at CBS, like The Price is Right, there are a couple nice hotels in the Fairfax district (near Fairfax and 3rd) right around the corner from the studio. There are also hotels near NBC/Universal Studios which provide easy access by Metro to the heart of Hollywood.

The Beaches

The LA area has over 80 miles of beaches. Santa Monica is the most popular tourist beach. It has the widest selection of hotels and nightlife within walking distance and plenty of shopping. It's also convenient for accessing the quirky boardwalk at Venice Beach to the south, or the more scenic Malibu beach to the north.

If you're looking for something more low key, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach have more of a beach town vibe and are popular with surfers.

Long Beach has a nice waterfront, marina and plenty of nightlife, dining options and other attractions besides the Queen Mary. There's plenty of beach to lie on if you're not planning on going in the water. However, a breakwater eliminates any wave action and the water regularly fails health tests, so it's not the best option for swimming.

In Orange County, you'll find most of the surfers at Huntington Beach, bikini babes and resorts at Newport Beach and a thriving arts community and nicest landscape in Laguna Beach.

Downtown

Downtown is where you want to be if you're coming to town for a convention or a sporting event at the Coliseum, Staples Center or Dodger Stadium. It's also a great place for a performing arts weekend getaway at the Music Center or a visit to the historic and cultural center of LA. You can walk from El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Site, home of the oldest house in the city and a Mexican marketplace, to Chinatown and Little Tokyo. For shoppers, there's also the Fashion District, Diamond District, Flower District, Toy District and the bustling Mexican shops along Broadway among the elaborate old movie palaces. Hollywood is just a 15-minute Metro ride away.