1st time visit - LA is spread out, so where do we stay??

We plan on staying in LA for half a week, 3-4days (the other half is in Anaheim).

As I hear the city is so spread out, I have no idea where we should be staying.

We want to visit Hollywood, Universal Studios, and any main areas, for city shopping, and maybe if we have time visit Santa Monica.

So which street or town do you reccommend?

(3 of us, aged around 25). Would like a 3-4 star room with pool and easy access to supermarket too.

1st time visit - LA is spread out, so where do we stay??

We stayed at Orchid Suites at Hollywood and Highland. It is located on its own kind of cul de sac behind the Hollywood/Highland Mall, and was very quiet. Free covered parking. WiFi, I think, as well, although there is a computer in the upper lobby for guest use. They have a pool and the suite we rented had a kitchen. (The pool is not heated in the winter.)

Also right there is the Walk of Fame, the Grauman Theater, with the hand and footprints of the stars and the Kodak Theater. (Lots of character-entertainment in front of Grauman%26#39;s)

There is a nearby subway station which, I believe, is only a couple of stops from Universal.

We drove to Santa Monica one day.

We were only there for two days, meeting a daughter and her husband who had come off a cruise, so if my information about Universal is inaccurate I hope the LA folks will correct it.

http://orchidsuites.com/

There are other hotels in that area, but we were quite comfortable. If you go to the upper loevel of the Mall, at the back, there is a good view of the Hollywood sign.

Good luck, and have a good trip.

1st time visit - LA is spread out, so where do we stay??

I would look in the Westwood, West Hollywood (Sunset Blvd area) or Hollywood.

West Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. is the home to a lot of clubs (as a side note West Hollywood on Santa Monica Blvd is the heart of LA%26#39;s gay community, but it has some nice, bargin hotels).

Westwood is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) so it has a fun college vibe to it.

Hollywood has good access to the L.A. subway system and a few attractions and clubs.

Will you have a car the whole time?

West Hollywoood (Sunset Strip) and Hollywood are adjacent to one another and they both have a lot of nightlife. Sunset Strip is known more for live music venues and lounges and Hollywood for dance clubs but there is a mixture in both areas.

Hollywood is less expensive than West Hollywood and is on the red line metro rail line (what one of the prior posters referred to as the subway). The city centre station on the red line (Hollywood/Highland) is one stop (4 minutes) from the Universal City station.

Getting to Santa Monica from Hollywood/West Hollywood will take about 40 minutes by car and about an hour by public transit. (During ';rush hours'; -- 6:00 to 9:00 and 15:00 to 19:00, Mon - Fri) it will take longer.

Westwood is an interesting place to stay if you decide against Hollywood/West Hollywood. The public transit is decent and the village is cool -- nice restaurants and a few bars. No clubs, though.

You can look up hotels in the various areas on Trip Advisor: (Link and SCROLL DOWN for the list of recommended hotels, in the center column, listed in order of %26#39;traveler preference -- the first in the list is the %26#39;most preferred%26#39;, and so on)

Hollywood:

tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g32655-zfn6-Los_Angel…

West Hollywood:

tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g33252-West_Hollywood…

For hotels in Westwood, Trip Advisor does not separate those hotels into a separate neighborhood listing. It%26#39;s lumped into ';West LA'; hotels. You can look here but you%26#39;ll have to search a little. Some of the more popular Westwood Hotels are:

(You can find these easiest by looking at the ranking # which is to the right of the hotel%26#39;s photo:

Hotel Palomar (ranking #10)

Hilgard House (ranking #39) -- this is the closest to the village

W Los Angeles (#54)

Sky Hotel (#135) this hotel is a few minute%26#39;s drive (or bus ride) from the village.

Good luck!

Oops! I forgot to put the link for the Hotels in West Los Angeles:

tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g32655-zfn2-Los_Angel…

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