I think I'm heading to L.A. in August. I haven't been there in close to 20 years, so I know nothing about accomodations. I'm going to visit a friend there, so I don't need much advice on where to go, although if there are "can't miss" places, I'm open to suggestions. I'm more interested in hotel accomodations. If/when I go, it will be myself, and possibly a few other guys, so we don't need anything ritzy. So, does anyone have any tips?
Does this mean that, because of the time difference, we'll get your drunken rant threads at 2am instead of 4am?
you got it backwards dude. i'm afraid you'll have to stay up 'til around 6am to read fatty's totally idiotic posts.
OK...here's mine: Don't go to Los Angeles. Go to San Francisco instead! OK OK.....if you want reasonably-priced, decent hotel rooms that aren't a million miles away from everything, check out the hotels in El Segundo. Near LAX, it's kind of in-between LA proper and the beach communities (Redondo, Hermosa, etc.).
Don't get me wrong. San Fran is a fun place to go, but I'm specifically going to visit someone and her friends, so locale isn't the option.
LA Hotel link that may or may not help you for your trip. Good luck... http://losangeles.nyctourist.com/los-angeles-hotels.php http://www.onetime.com/hotels/Calif...ID=1&session=86dfecde47849d2a36822ab1d58822b4 http://www.virtualtourist.com/trave...s-753836/General_Tips-Los_Angeles-TG-C-1.html
I don't know about reasonably priced or not, but I'd just as soon prefer to actual be in one of those beach communities. Have you ever tried Priceline? I've gotten some pretty good rates out of them before for 4 star hotels.
I'd personally stick to Downtown or the center of town (Wilshire district / Koreatown) for a hotel. Prices will be cheaper and the time you'll spend in traffic getting places will be less. I'd recommend dressing up rather than down, not formal, just don't dress like a tourist. Dress for the kind of people you want to meet and you'll find them, and they can tell you what's changed since I lived there nearly 3 years ago and where to go. In general: Venice Beach during the day (not night), Santa Moncia pier (carnival rides, pretty girls), Malibu (best beaches), "Old Town" Pasadena, and Koreatown/Hollywood/Downtown for bars, unless you are a yuppie who likes light beer and talking about golf. Then I'd stick to places near the coast (but they'll cost more and the girls are boring). Farmer's Market on Fairfax is cool...lots of things besides produce. Koreatown, Little Tokyo. I'm partial to East LA (can't remember the name of the main drag there-- food, music, urban decay). Gambling at Hollywood Park (horsies, poker, casino games, etc, just no slots). LA has two good art museums with respectable permanent collections, if that's your thing. Somewhere when you are there, live music will be playing that will suit your tastes. Seek it out. Silverlake is the neighborhood that seemed to have the most music I was into. I really liked a bar there called Spaceland. Has that whole future 60's-Jetsons kind of thing going on. Koreatown is where all the English schools and cheap rent is inside LA proper. If you ever wanted to meet young naive women from Japan/Korea/Russia/etc who only know how to say "I vant to be model" I'd suggest finding things to do around Wilshire Blvd, between say Western and Vermont. When class lets out of one of the bigger schools, the streets are swarming with 18 to 24 year old lonely slim foreign girls with bad English (and sometimes bad teeth). I'd avoid Hollywood except to see live music or eat, unless you want to hang out with other tourists in the day trying to take their love of Star Trek to the next level, or pick up syphilis-ravaged transsexual prostitutes at night. Universal Studios however (which is just over the hill in the Valley) is the most benign of the tourist traps (Disney/Bev Hills star tours/Hollywood kitsch/Movie studios). Also, if you stay central you'll be one of the privileged few to make LA work like a real city and ride the subway. It'll save you time and money and frustration at having to park, or worse, paying someone to park your car. The bus is about as useful as the Houston Metro, which is to say, it isn't. Can't think of a reason to go the Sunset Strip any more. It's a parody of an idea that has long passed. Also, overpriced and full of very uninteresting people. There's the Standard Hotel, but the one downtown is way cooler. It's also worth the drive to Ventura County. If you like fishing, there are great charters out of of Oxnard. Fishing in the channel islands was my favorite way to escape LA. The beaches in Venura County are much more relaxed (and clean) as well. No concrete or brown air either. Drinks: Standard Hotel downtown, the HMS Bounty on Wilshire, Lava Lounge in Hollywood...these were cool places a few years ago. But Angelinos are fickle people. Who knows. food: Asian, esp. Japanese and Korean rules here. God bless bulgogi. But your average Thai or Pho place is damn good. Otherwise there's a few obscure and famous places popping into mind worth eating: Pink's hot Dogs, The Pacific Dining Car (good steaks), The Pantry (downtown), Sut Bul Jeep (universally agreed-upon best Korean BBQ in LA), and Cassell's Hamburgers (only open in the day), best burger in LA hands down, and no one has heard of it. The street vending burrito guys are hit and miss. Take a risk and you may hit gold. Once I found one I'd make frequent visits, and ate perfectly good food for a few dollars a day. The general consensus of those in the know, the best pho in town is in a strip mall at the corner of Normandie and Sixth. Westwood is home to the largest group of Iranian exiles in the world (I think). Anyway, go there to eat. Persian food is essential in LA. Also the women can be freakishly hot...but then I have a thing for middle eastern women. Don't miss Mashti Malone's ice cream in Hollywood. Persian Ice cream. Amazing. I don't know much about the Valley or Orange County or the previously mentioned "Beach Communities" or any of the other suburban enclaves, other than I tried to avoid them as much as possible. Just not my thing. There you go.
Thanks, Deji. My friend is suggesting the Mondrian on Sunset. Anyone ever stayed there? EDIT: Screw that place. They have it at $460/night.
Went there for a night last April and stayed about 5 miles from Beverly Hills...I can't remember the place so I'll look it up, but there were a bunch of older hotels, pretty reasonable ($200 -$300/night)...It was on Hotels.com... Went to eat at some Sushi place on sunset (Karma or something with a K,) which was very good and very expensive...Good Luck...
Alright. Just booked myself for Aug. 16-18. I'll be staying at a Super 8 for $100/night, but I'm not taking a girl, so what do I care. Still, the hotels off Sunset are hellaciously expensive. Either way, anyone who's in L.A., let me know.
I'll be just moved into my new Malibu digs at that time. If I wasn't sharing a suite with 3 people I have never met before I could have offered you the old sofa accommodations. No such luck though.
