Help, Cali locals!

[grannyminnie]

We're planning a summer trip to the LA area and I'm trying to find a good, safe motel location. I see a Courtyard in El Segundo, very close to LAX. Is that a safe area? It looks like it would be fairly easy to drive in either direction. We are going to do a whale watching cruise off Santa Barbara, and of course see as much as we can in LA, in addition to a day in DL.
Any comments would be welcome. I had looked at the Courtyard in Burbank, but it charges a hefty daily parking fee. ($15 is hefty to me, especially when you're paying to rent the car as well..).

 

[fairycat]

I am going to be completely honest with you and say that using El Segundo as a home base for your whole trip is probably not the best idea. Burbank is even worse idea. If you do stick to places like these you will spend all of your time driving and in terrible traffic.

To give you some ideas on a good day Santa Barbara is probably 1.5-2 hours one way from El Segundo, and probably a bit more from Burbank. In a dream world Hollywood (most likely the area you will visit most) is about 1 hour from El Segundo, and 30 minutes from Burbank. But with traffic either can take closer to 2 hours one way.

My personal suggestion is to just get hotels as you get to an area, you will be far more relaxed, see more and probably enjoy your trip much more.

Santa Barbara is a beautiful area with lots to do, the ocean, a small zoo, Solvang (a small dutch town) is not far out of town and it has great weather. I would feel pretty good about almost any hotel I stayed in there.

If you plan on doing a whole day in Hollywood, try the Renaissance at Hollywood and Highland, or one of the Universal Hotels (a Sheraton and one I forget the name of the other). The Universal Sheraton I have heard is very nice, is right outside Universal Studios, which even if you don't visit you can go to CityWalk (like DTD but more Studio Focused with Hard Rock and theaters for IMAX, movies and concerts), there is also the redline subway that will take you from Universal City to Hollywood and Highland where you will find the Shopping Complex that houses the Kodak theater, the Walk of Fame, The Chinese Theater and El Capitan/Mickey Malt Shoppe. The subway is really nice cause you won't have to drive and since no one uses it really its very clean haha! (bad LA Driving joke) You can also drive to Beverly Hills from Hollywood as well. Los Angeles itself is really a skip unless you want to go to Staples.

For Disneyland look at all the great hotels listed in the Disneyland section of the board, there are lots of great ones within very close walking distance from the parks. Or if you want to can splurge and stay at one of the onsite hotels (think Deluxe prices).

If you give us your rough trip schedule maybe we can help you even more. California is a very large state with lots of traffic and it can kill a vacation if you don't plan for it, but with some careful planning and preparedness it won't bug you at all.

 

[grannyminnie]

How very helpful you've been! I really appreciate your candor. We are in the early planning stages so do not have an itinery as of yet, but I will be back in a while when I do. I need to rethink our accomodations now!

 

[grannyminnie]

Ok, here's my updated thought process....
Since we want to see things that are not close, and based on some helpful hints by fairycat, maybe we will do a split stay, half in or near Santa Barbara, and half somewhere in the LA area. (maybe on the coast)
The only things I really want to do are go whale watching, see Disneyland, and do a tour of the stars homes.
Any thoughts on a good company to use to do that? One that some of you have used, and enjoyed?
I only plan on one day at DL. That's all the time I have; wish it was more, but with so much to see in the area, I have to include my husband's wishes too.

 

[fairycat]

Ok some suggetions

Santa Barbara see the whales, the ocean, if you like wine maybe do some tastings, maybe the zoo (is small but beautiful with a stunning view of the ocean). Relax and enjoy, its a stunning city and one of my favorites.

Depending on cost I still suggest skipping the ocean cities and staying at one of the Universal City or Hollywood Hotels. I would probably skip the home tours and instead focus on Studio Tours and TV show tapings. These can be great fun and you get to see the real thing. Lots of people really like the Warner Brothers one.

I love TV show tapings you can get free tickets ahead of time for Game Shows (Price is right etc), Sitcoms and Late Night TV. I have done several sitcoms years ago (Roseanne, 3rd Rock and two that died horrible and quick TV deaths so no idea what they were called), Jay Leno, Mad TV, that INXS one and a few others. Over all they were so much fun! Sitcoms are quicker and you have a better guarentee IF you arrive early to get in, Talk shows can be tricky if they have a super popular guests (I waited over 13 hours once to get into Jay Leno), and for something like Price is Right arrive early, early cause its very popular.

If you want to do a taping look at the schedule since not everything tapes year round and chose established shows you like. They tend to move faster and be a lot more fun. Roseanne and 3rd rock were amazing cause we saw they towards the end of their run, Mad TV and others were TERRIBLE because they weren't as used to the process.

For Disneyland I suggest if its at the end of your trip switch to a hotel down there since its so much cheaper for some of the off site hotels. Also it will put you a decent distance from the airports and help you avoid the whole back and forth trek.

I think you will find lots of great things to do. Just keep in mind traffic and Rush Hour starts early (sometimes as early as 3pm) but by 8pm things start to move along. When you are going somewhere keep in mind its better to kick back and have a late dinner then to get out on that road.

 

[wendyinoc]

Why don't you look at Long Beach. The downtown area is really nice and your still not far from LA.

 

[grannyminnie]

Why don't you look at Long Beach. The downtown area is really nice and your still not far from LA.

I'm considering anyplace you locals suggest! Actually, the Long Beach area would be nice in that it is close to the Queen Mary, another attraction I'd like to visit. I read on another site that certain areas of the metro area might be safer than others, which is of course true of any large city.
How does the Long Beach area score on the safety factor?

 

[wendyinoc]

If your in the downtown area of LB you would be fine. I stayed at the Hyatt with a view of Queen Mary for a convention. We could walk across to a really nice shopping center. If I was a tourist I would stay in Long Beach, Marina Del Rey, or maybe the hollywood area like where the Oscars are filmed. If not I would stay in Anaheim and commute to LA. You must try our freeways
Another thing I would do on your way to Santa Barbara is stop at the Reagan Museum. Get your picture taken outside airforce one waiving is classic.

 

[grannyminnie]

Ok, now I'm looking at a Courtyard in El Segundo. How about that?

 

[fairycat]

Ok, now I'm looking at a Courtyard in El Segundo. How about that?

Are you going to switch up hotels or are you still trying to stick with one? I hate to see you wasting so much time driving. Are you used to lots of driving in heavy traffic??

BTW I think while Long Beach has some nice shopping and sites its not my favorite beach city because of the bay set up you tend to look across at the Queen Mary or Industrial stuff instead of open beach. The 710 also makes many of your trips seem very long!

Just to help you with your hotel search with sightseeing Googlemaps is great because it gives you the travel time and possible travel time with traffic

Courtyard, El Segundo to Hollywood- 31 minutes with traffic 1 hour 20 minutes
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Courtyard to Disneyland- 36 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Courtyard to Santa Monica- 17 minutes to 1 hour
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Courtyard to Beverly Hills- 24 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Long Beach would bring you closer to Disneyland but farther from Hollywood

LB to Hollywood- 38 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

LB to Disneyland- 33 minutes to 45 minutes
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Since I don't know what your experience is with Los Angeles Traffic I just want you to have some frame of reference for size and travel distance. I hope this info is helpful to you.

 

[VillianGeorge]

I don't know what your experience is with Los Angeles Traffic...

Yeah, LA Traffic can be really nasty at times. No matter where you stay, mentally prepare yourself for the possibility of crawling along at 5 miles per hour.

Bring along some favorite CDs or books on tape or whatever.

I work in El Segundo, and I'm there every day. If you decide to stay there, feel free to ask any El Segundo questions you might have.

 

[grannyminnie]

Yeah, LA Traffic can be really nasty at times. No matter where you stay, mentally prepare yourself for the possibility of crawling along at 5 miles per hour.

Bring along some favorite CDs or books on tape or whatever.

I work in El Segundo, and I'm there every day. If you decide to stay there, feel free to ask any El Segundo questions you might have.

Thanks much! As I plan, I will feel free to ask.
We are not familiar with LA traffic. The plan is to switch hotels, and the El Segundo choice is based on my reading up on Marriott properties (we have points to use for free stays). So we will stay in a Marriott in Oxnard for the whale watching part of the vacation and move closer to LA for the rest. I have decided to be shuttled by a tour company to DL. I'm going alone, and don't wish to spend half the morning in traffic!

 

[grannyminnie]

fairycat, it was thoughtful of you to do the map/directions regarding mileage to and from the El Segundo Courtyard!!!

 

[fairycat]

fairycat, it was thoughtful of you to do the map/directions regarding mileage to and from the El Segundo Courtyard!!!

Glad they helped

 

[VillianGeorge]

fairycat, it was thoughtful of you to do the map/directions regarding mileage

Yes, I agree.

BTW, I wonder if there's a site where you can choose what hotel you're thinking about staying at, and it'll tell you driving distances and driving times (not just simply "as the crow flies" distances) to the popular landmarks in the area.

I gotta imagine that there's lots of people out there with a "if I stay at X hotel, how long will it take me to drive to Y and Z?" question.

 

[grannyminnie]

Yes, I agree.

BTW, I wonder if there's a site where you can choose what hotel you're thinking about staying at, and it'll tell you driving distances and driving times (not just simply "as the crow flies" distances) to the popular landmarks in the area.

I gotta imagine that there's lots of people out there with a "if I stay at X hotel, how long will it take me to drive to Y and Z?" question.

I have noticed a little bit of that as I research which Marriott property to stay at. I'm also looking at a Residence Inn in El Segundo. The reason for that area is that it's near LAX, but also might be one of the pick-up points for tour companies. That is what will help me make up my mind.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

The Residence Inn is on a street called El Segundo, & is nice. A co-worker friend of mine & his wife stayed there for a couple of weeks when they sold their house & were getting ready to move to Nebraska.

Where the drive to LAX is six minutes (I drove it & timed it on Friday) from the Doubletree, Courtyard by Marriott, & Hilton Garden Inn, it is more like 7-8 minutes from the Residence Inn. So, they are all close to LAX. You really can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[fairycat]

Yes, I agree.

BTW, I wonder if there's a site where you can choose what hotel you're thinking about staying at, and it'll tell you driving distances and driving times (not just simply "as the crow flies" distances) to the popular landmarks in the area.

I gotta imagine that there's lots of people out there with a "if I stay at X hotel, how long will it take me to drive to Y and Z?" question.

The best suggestion to get these times is just to use googlemaps. The great thing is that Google reconizes locations without street names. I actually types in "Courtyard, El Segundo California" and the name of a park and it gives you directions, time and time with traffic. I wish there was more direct system but found this one worked pretty well.

BTW- Many hotel sites tell you distance or time to famous locations on their sites, but they never include traffic so they are next to worthless.

 

[grannyminnie]

The best suggestion to get these times is just to use googlemaps. The great thing is that Google reconizes locations without street names. I actually types in "Courtyard, El Segundo California" and the name of a park and it gives you directions, time and time with traffic. I wish there was more direct system but found this one worked pretty well.

BTW- Many hotel sites tell you distance or time to famous locations on their sites, but they never include traffic so they are next to worthless.

That Googlemap info is something I need to do. Never have. I do understand your comment about them not factoring in the traffic. My desire is not to have to drive much of anywhere that would put me in it, but to use shuttles, tour companies, etc.