Hideously bad timing...

Sigh!!

I have posted a couple times in here..

Im traveling with my husband and 23mth old son to the states in november, we are in la from the 2 - 8th.

We%26#39;d decided on the Best western sunset plaza, after some helpful advise on here.

Anyway before we booked we thought we%26#39;d see how far out budget could stretch in getting us to stay sea side at santa monica!

We have since found out that theres the massive film industry week happening later that week...

and most of our options were booked out.

We are considering spending *groan* near $2000 (US) on staying at the Georgian hotel...

Can anyone please tell me - is it worth it?!

I have read the reviews and researched it all... but i%26#39;d like a local or someone whos been in LA a fair bit to shed some light on our situation!

weighting it up, spend the extra, stay sea side.

save the cashola and stay west hollywood?

Thanks in advance (and please excuse the lack of capitals and grammar! - lazy day! and its feeding time at the zoo!)

Cheers.

Hideously bad timing...

Your question is one of the most common ones posted on this forum. It has been debated to the extreme. In my view, it%26#39;s a personal decision that I don%26#39;t think anyone can make for you -- and you won%26#39;t know how you feel about it until you get here.

Staying by the sea is, of course, LOVELY. Is it worth the extra $$ ?? It%26#39;s really hard to say. If you like being near the ocean, you can still stay in West Hollywood and transfer to Santa Monica and stay until the wee hours of the morning.

I don%26#39;t know if you%26#39;re hiring a car or relying on public transit. The drive between the two areas can take 30 minutes or an hour depending on traffic. We don%26#39;t know what attractions you are visiting. If you plan to be ';on the west side'; for a good part of your trip, then staying in Santa Monica will be very convenient. If you plan to tour all around our metro area (which is extremely spread out), then you%26#39;re going to be spending more time in the car or on buses or trains getting from place to place.

One option is to ';split the difference';: Stay in West Hollywood for part of your holiday and in Santa Monica for the other half. There: you have it!

Hideously bad timing...

Hi again!!

Thanks for your reply!

With little one in tow, the only things we really want to do are Disneyland we%26#39;ll book a day trip or something once we arrive. We%26#39;d like to do the touristy thing in hollywood for a day... and besides that its really Santa Monica and Venice Beach that we%26#39;d like to check out and 3rd street promenade.

Sees like such and extreme amount of money but then again, mmm... its once in a life time. Im kind of bummed we are really able to book anywhere else on Santa Monica beach, most around that price range are booked out! *kicks the timing!*

I guess theres no reason we couldnt do 1/2 1/2 huh!

Ta again!

There are other hotels in SM that would not be as expensive as The Georgian. Of course many are not right across the street from Ocean Park bluff. I do not know what is booked up but The Embassy Apartments are in a great neighborhood about 2 blocks from the Promenade. The reviews are mixed and I have never stayed there myself though. I think Santa Monica, being my home town, is the place to stay. Remember also that SM has a great bus system.

Should be a great weekend, I hope you enjoy,

Susan

There%26#39;s no way we can make that decision for you. I live in Santa Monica and think that it%26#39;s the best that LA has to offer, it%26#39;s gorgeous, the food/restaurants are fantastic, you don%26#39;t need a car to go out and do things (except sightsee in Hollywood or go to Disneyland).

Half and half is one solution, Sunset Plaza is also great and you%26#39;ll love that hotel, everyone does.

susie, we looked into embassy, but along with majority of the hotels in SM they are booked up for that week or part there of. So disappointed, it means we will end up paying top dollar to stay in SM.

Thanks for the replys.

Im glad to hear the public transport is decent - thats a relief.

Still unsure what to do!! hah... sigh!

Will you have a car? That%26#39;s important because if you don%26#39;t, you need to consider that you%26#39;ll probably want to spend most of your time in areas closer to your hotel. Most visitors I have and have talked to generally love Santa Monica the best. But it really depends on what you like. I think it%26#39;s more kid-friendly than Sunset Strip. It%26#39;s a lot more walkable. You can walk all over Santa Monica and all the way to Venice Beach along the beach, which is not that easy or as pleasant in central LA. There are parks, the pier, the Promenade, etc which is great for kids. Have you looked into the Holiday Inn, DoubleTree Suites, Cal Mar Suites, and SeaShore? All booked?

The bus ride to central LA will involve 1-2 buses and an hour. Hollywood itself only takes 1-2 hrs to see. You%26#39;ll spend the rest of that day seeing West Hollywood and probably Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive area.

Just checked for you. There is availability for your dates at Travelodge on Ocean for $189 and DoubleTree for $309.

Hi,

Thanks for that.

The previous poster, prompted me to see where i was at with the embassy, i emailed them again and we can get a room with them... for 219-244

I wasnt able to find anything out about the doubletree thanks for that... and we were steered away from the travel lodge!

I think that Santa Monica will be better for us, for the reasons you%26#39;ve mentioned - we can just go for a stroll, lex would be stoked to see the parks etc.

We wont have a car, so i guess we%26#39;d to 2 tours. One to disneyland and one to hollywood. Then spend the rest of our time hanging about SM. We%26#39;ve considered hiring a car - i guess we can deal with that when we get there, all a little daunting driving on the ';wrong'; side of the road!!

So at this stage, we%26#39;ve ditched the Georgian will more than likely go the Embassy - cant seem to fault their reviews!!

Thanks again!

Yes, do not stay at that Travelodge. Yuck

Why not stay near Disneyland, visit the beaches in Orange County and visit the Hollywood area from there. Just an idea!?!?!