First, I would like to say thanks for the helpful advice on this forum for planning my whirlwind 3 day trip to LA. The stickies were especially informative, much better than most I%26#39;ve seen on Trip Advisor.
Second, I will preface this by saying that I hadn%26#39;t planned to do a trip report, since this was such a short trip, and I did a lot of the most common activities that tourists do when visiting LA. However, one thing I did do that probably wasn%26#39;t that common was attend the Gridlock New Year%26#39;s Eve Party at Paramount Studios. There wasn%26#39;t a lot of info on the web about this party, but my friend and I had wanted to go to it for a few years, so that was the main reason for this trip to LA. And I must say, the party was quite a disappointment, with false advertising. I will post a recount of my experiences as a reply, but though this would be useful information for future Gridlock NYE attendees from out of town.
(real quick, about us, my friend M and I have known each other for about 5 years, both live in the San Francisco Bay area, but she is going to Pepperdine right now. I%26#39;m in my mid 20s and she just turned 30. We both enjoy having a good time (her more than I!), spending time with friends and pets, and traveling. She%26#39;d been to LA before, but hadn%26#39;t done any of the touristy stuff since she was a kid, and this was my first time to LA, other than attending a conference in Marina Del Ray a few years back, where I only saw the hotel the conference was in).
1st Timer to LA Mini TR - Sightseeing and Gridlock NYE Party
Tuesday, December 30th:
My friend M and I got a late start out of the SF Bay area, and didn%26#39;t head out until about Pam. She is attending Pepperdine for grad school, so I drove down with her. Traffic on I-5 down was smooth the whole way, until we got to Magic Mountain, were there was lots of stop and go traffic. We got to Pepperdine at about 7:30pm, dropped off her stuff, and headed to Santa Monica.
We checked into the Ocean View Best Western, which was a decently nice hotel. It was about a block down from the Santa Monica Pier, with a partial view of the pier through the palm trees. We were on the 3rd floor, and the total cost for the room was $153.00 with tax and the AAA discount. The room featured two double beds, a pretty standard bathroom, ~27 inch TV (not flatscreen), a desk, and the balcony had two chairs and a small table. There was high speed internet, but it wasn%26#39;t wireless, so you needed an ethernet cable to use it. Also, no pool or hot tub. There is a public parking garage under the hotel, and they give you a card to put on your dashboard when you check in. However, after signing out the next morning, I noticed they charged $15 for parking, it isn%26#39;t included in the quoted price of the room. Another thing to mention about the parking garage, there is an elevator from the garage that goes directly up to the hotel room floors. While it is convenient for loading and unloading your car, we felt quite unsafe, and were reluctant to even walk down the hall for ice in the middle of the night. There was a bum hanging around the parking garage, and with nothing stopping him from coming up to our floor, it was not an ideal set up for two young women to feel safe.
After settling into the hotel room and changing, we walked down to the pier for dinner at The Lobster. We shared a bottle of Pellegrino water, both had the peach bellini, and the lobster in a Jim Beam sauce (I forget the exact name of the dish, but it was $42 for the 1 1/2 pound). The lobster had a nice presentation, and was served on whipped lobster mashed potatoes. It was an above average lobster, not the best I%26#39;ve had, as I usually prefer ones served with drawn butter, but this one had a nice and tangy, but not overpowering sauce already on it. The total bill before tip was $119.63. They also offered to validate our parking, but we%26#39;d walked.
Here is a picture of me with the lobster and bellini. …google.com/mbhinch/…5286820962396637090
Once we paid the bill, we went back to the hotel so M could grab her lighter and I could grab my camera. We then walked about 3 blocks to Harvelle%26#39;s Jazz Club, which was on 4th Street. The cover was $10 to see a great afro-cuban cabaret group. The music at this club was fantastic, both the live performers and the DJ playing in between acts. Great dance music, and the small dance floor was always crowded. Good drink prices too, with a good selection of martinis. I was drinking their ';Pride'; martini, and M was drinking Grey Goose martinis with three olives, and each round was $20.50, which wasn%26#39;t to bad for two martinis.
The only downside to this place, which wasn%26#39;t Harvelle%26#39;s fault was that my camera got stolen. M got pretty wasted (can%26#39;t hold her liquor!) and for some reason decided to move our purses and my camera, which were on a hook under the bar, under both our coats. We were only dancing about 5 feet away from our things, in perfect view to keep an eye on them, but she decided to move them around the corner on the floor, next to the garbage can, where the bartenders go behind the bar. I have no idea what possessed her to do this, but in the process of this 10 foot move, with my eyes off our stuff for no more than a minute, she dropped my camera, and it was stolen. So beware of your belongings at this club if you go!
Anyway, I won%26#39;t go into the details of the rest of the night, since they aren%26#39;t pertinent to other%26#39;s trips, but lets just say we went back to the hotel, M continued to drink, I was very angry at her, and we didn%26#39;t go to bed until around 5:45am.
1st Timer to LA Mini TR - Sightseeing and Gridlock NYE Party
Wednesday, December 31st:
We checked out of the hotel without any issues right at 11am, and went to Marmalade Cafe in Malibu for breakfast. We were seated right away, and the service was relatively fast, although they were out of orange juice, so I had to settle for apple. I had an omelet and hash potatoes, which were really good, sautéed with peppers. M had pancakes, eggs and sausage, plus coffee. The total bill was $32.58 before tax. All in all, a pretty good breakfast, nothing that remarkable, but better than a Denny%26#39;s for sure. Looking back now, I should have enjoyed this meal more, it was the only thing M paid for the entire trip!
After brunch we hit Starbucks, then I made her take me to Target to buy a new camera to replace the one she%26#39;d gotten stolen. I didn%26#39;t want anything fancy, since I like to research extensively before I buy, so I just got a little 5MP Polaroid for $60. The pictures I have posted are from this camera, and not that great, but I plan to upgrade soon to the new 14MP Canon PowerShot.
We then drove down the freeway to the Wilshire Blvd exit, and drove Wilshire to Rodeo Drive. We valet parked at Rodeo (free the first 2 hours) and walked around for a while, window shopping.
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819407722973378
We tipped the valet a couple dollars and then proceeded to drive through Beverly Hills, looking at some of the beautiful houses, then turned right on Sunset. …google.com/mbhinch/…5286819538931825650
Now I%26#39;m not sure what I really expected about Sunset, but really it was just a street with a bunch of bars, strip malls, fast food, etc. A pretty typical street, but I would learn a lot more about it the next day, making it a lot more interesting. On this day though, the highlight of driving the Sunset Strip was seeing the crazy Scientology building. We ended up seeing 3 giant Scientology buildings within like a 1/2 mile radius! I swear Tom Cruise had to be jumping on couches in one of them.....LOL!
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819599565569906
After driving along Sunset Strip, we went two blocks down and found parking on Hollywood Blvd. We did some of the touristy things there like take pictures of the stars on the Walk of Fame, saw the Kodak and Chinese Theaters, and got hit up by every other person on the street to either take a tour or buy something. I figured though it was good practice though for my upcoming trip to Puerto Vallarta, where supposedly every man, woman, and child are trying to sell you a timeshare. Walking back to the car we weren%26#39;t bothered a much, since I%26#39;d put my camera away we didn%26#39;t look so much like tourists.
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819632857735810
Next I wanted to get a picture of the big Hollywood sign. I told M to just start driving that way, since we could see it in the distance, but I wanted to get a little closer. Well, we ended up somehow driving all around the hill that the sign is on, the wrong way, away from the sign! We kept turning right though, circling the hill, and then saw a sign for the Griffith Observatory, which I%26#39;d remembered reading on this forum that you could see the sign from there.
By this time it was almost sunset, so we raced up the hill and M parked while I jumped out and took a couple quick shots of the Hollywood Sign and the sunset.
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819742223368610
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819757453395458
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819766225452386
I would have enjoyed seeing the observatory, but it was near closing time, and that%26#39;s not something M would ever be interested in, so we instead drove on to West Hollywood, to the Econo Lodge on Vine Street, about 3 blocks from Paramount Studios.
This is not the safest neighborhood, considering the check in desk at the hotel was behind glass, but check in was easy, and the room only cost us $123.12 with tax. We were on the second level, in one of three rooms with a balcony overlooking the pool (no hot tub). The room was quite big, with two queen beds, an about 27inch TV, desk, and lots of open space to move around. The bathroom was about regular size for a hotel, nothing special, and the tub seriously needed draino. But we had picked the hotel because of the location, not for the amenities or super cleanliness. Oh yeah, and there wasn%26#39;t even an ironing board or iron in the room, but luckily I always bring my own iron, so I made due ironing on a chair.
M rested for about an hour and I read my book for a bit, and then we went over to Paramount%26#39;s parking lot across from the main entrance to pick up our New Year%26#39;s Eve party tickets. We got there at 7:03pm, and the confirmation letter had said we could pick up starting at 7, but the ClubZone reps weren%26#39;t there yet. My thought had been to go early so we wouldn%26#39;t have to wait in line later to pick up the tix, but that didn%26#39;t quite work out as they told us to come back in a half hour.
So we headed about 2 blocks down the Larchmont Grill for dinner. We had reservations, but just like at the Lobster, it wasn%26#39;t crowded and we were seated right away. We started with a sparkling rose wine, and both had the Kobe Beef Burgers. M had hers with blue cheese and avocado, I had mine with cheddar and avocado. She had fries with hers, I had a nice mixed green salad with yummy vinaigrette. The burgers were $18 each, plus the toppings, so while they were pretty good burgers, they were expensive for what you got. Our total bill was $64 and some change before tip (sorry, I didn%26#39;t save the receipt for exact amount). Service at the Larchmont Grill was very fast and friendly though. The host even let us pick our own table, and offered the choice of indoors or out. We choose outside because it was nice and cozy with heat lamps and a Christmas tree.
M and I at the Larchmont Grill, you can see a little of the restaurant in the background. …google.com/mbhinch/…5286819769953869314
After dinner we went back to Paramount and picked up the tickets, and there still wasn%26#39;t to much of a line. They only asked to see my i.d. to get the tix, and not my credit card too, as had been stated on the confirmation. We had pre bought the VIP tickets, which included open bar all night for $200 each, and with all the service charges, the total for both $437.45 (I bought M%26#39;s ticket as her Christmas present).
We then stopped by the grocery store next to the hotel for some bottled water, since the hotel only had a 40 year old soda machine with sodas for $0.75 each (and only accepted coins). We got dressed up in our cocktail dresses, and wore wool coats over them, since it was cold enough to see our breath outside. I couldn%26#39;t believe how many girls were at the party with nothing but a dress on, they must have been really drunk, or freezing!
Getting into the party was no problem, we arrived at about 10pm (doors opened at 9), went through a metal detector (girls just set their purse on the table, walked through, and grabbed their purse, and cameras were allowed), and got our VIP bracelets put on.
Walking into the back lot, there was a ferris wheel going, and it looked like what I%26#39;d imagined New York streets to look like, with brownstones, similar to the Friend%26#39;s sets when they were outside. So we continued walking and went to the first bar area we saw, but were turned away! Apparently VIP ticket holders could only get drinks in the VIP sectioned off area, not at any bar. Maybe I%26#39;m missing something, but when everyone who prepaid for the open bar has a bracelet on, I don%26#39;t know what the issue was with letting us get a drink anywhere.
So we found the VIP area entrance, and boy, what a cluster-f that was. There was one guy trying to funnel hundreds of people in, and checking bracelets, all the while yelling at people to stop pushing on the gate. Now I don%26#39;t know about you, but if I have a hundred people pushing me from behind, I have no choice but to push up against the gate.
Once we finally got in to the VIP area, the disorganization continued. Outside there was only one bar set up, and everyone refused to wait their turn in line, they kept cutting and crowding up to the table. So we stopped being polite and crowded up too, and after about 20 minutes we each got two drinks. At least they gave you two at a time, but they wouldn%26#39;t let us have any champagne until 11:30. I guess they were afraid of running out, but when I paid $100 extra each for drinks, and it%26#39;s New Year%26#39;s Eve, I expected champagne.
We then tried to find a place to sit to drink one of our drinks, so we weren%26#39;t walking with both hands full. Now here is another gripe about the set up of this party. They only had a few chairs out, mainly it was two twin mattresses, covered in a white sheet, stacked on top of each other. Now, it didn%26#39;t look that bad, decor-wise, but when there are drunk people everywhere, it was a bad decision. M and I both sat down, go to take a drink, and some drunk fools plop down on the other side of the ';bed,'; bouncing us and making us spill our drinks! Luckily it was just on our coats and not on our silk dresses, but still! Unsteady seating, drinks, and sloppy people do not mix.
Anyway, shortly after that we went into what they called the Central Park area, the inside part of the VIP area (how a couple of fake trees with Christmas lights inside a warehouse = Central Park, I have no idea) to attempt to get more drinks. At least there was better music in there, but trying to get a drink was just as bad as outside. They had a giant bar area in the center of the warehouse, with probably 12-15 bartenders, and then a solid wall of people at least 30 deep circling the bar area. We spent another good half hour trying to get drinks, and finally at about 11:15 we walked out of there with two tiny glasses of cheap wine (I%26#39;d tried drinking Captain and Coke on the earlier drink try, but it was gross, definitely NOT Captain Morgan, just some cheap rum. And trust me, I know my Captain, it%26#39;s my go-to drink everywhere).
By this time I was totally fed up with the sham that was the VIP area, so we decided to go find Times Square and find a good spot to watch Katy Perry, who was supposed to play at midnight. We asked a security guard where times square was, and he directed us to just walk down the street and take a right. Well, now here is the biggest disappointment of the night. There was NO FREAKING TIMES SQUARE!!! It was an intersection, sure, where several streets meet, but that was it! No lights, no ads everywhere, no ball dropping at midnight! It was complete false advertising, and if I%26#39;d known the truth, I probably wouldn%26#39;t have gone to this party, and I certainly wouldn%26#39;t have paid extra for the VIP tickets (and if you%26#39;re following my description, if you were in the VIP area you couldn%26#39;t see the stage Katy Perry performed on, making it even more stupid to pay for those tix).
Here is my documentation of this false advertising BS. First, see the flyer for the NYE party. Notice at the top the picture of Times Square with Paramount%26#39;s arches in front of it.
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286820981233590226
Now here is a short 26 second video I took in ';Times Square'; at the main stage. The video is of some local rappers, and the sound quality is poor, but at the end of the video I do a quick camera pan around, and you can see what they called ';Times Square.'; Nothing but ugly buildings, nothing at all like the real Times Square.
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286817900822121890
Another quick shot looking away from the stage, you can see in the background how it is just random buildings, NOT Times Square.
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819800844127154
I swear, they must have made an absolute killing on this party, the place was packed, probably due to the false advertising, and I%26#39;m certain nobody was able to get their money%26#39;s worth in the drink department, and at a minimum entry price of $100 a head...wow, am I in the wrong business!
Ok, end of my rant. But I really wanted to write this down, so others considering traveling to LA just for this party will think again. Maybe if I lived there locally, had seen the real Times Square before, and drank a lot beforehand, I would feel different. But as it was, I feel ripped off and very disappointed that I choose to waste my New Year%26#39;s Eve at the Gridlock party.
Anyway, after those rappers played, everyone did a NYE countdown to midnight, and then they let off some confetti, like this:
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819834689754450
Then, finally, the only redeeming thing of the evening, Katy Perry came on. We were pretty close to stage, which was great, since I%26#39;m a big fan. She sang about 5 songs, all my favorites, but she wouldn%26#39;t stop jumping around the stage, so all my pictures turned out blurry.
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286819841006339554
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Luckily the videos I took of her turned out somewhat clear, but the sound quality is very poor.
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286818277546741394
After Katy Perry played, we sat down for a few mins to rest our feet, then decided to head back to the hotel where we had two bottles of our own champagne stashed in the fridge. We tried to get a cab because of the questionable neighborhood and tired feet, but ended up getting one only about a block and a half away from the hotel. We took it anyway though!
That is pretty much it for the night, all in all a disappointment, but Katy Perry was great.
Thursday, January 1st:
We were up by 10am, and checked out at 11am. We then headed back to Sunset Blvd, and ate brunch at IHOP, which was the only thing we could find in the area that was open and not fast food. Won%26#39;t go into to much detail, given it%26#39;s just an IHOP, but we both had juice drinks, and two breakfasts, and the bill was $29.23 before tip.
After brunch we hit a Starbucks, then headed back to the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd, found parking, and took a tour. Since M had to drive the day before, we thought it would be nice to sit back so we both could see, and learn a little about Hollywood. We took the Movie Stars%26#39; Homes Tour (Tour 1) with StarLine Tours, and were picked up right in front of the Chinese Theater (they also run the ones with the big double decker red buses, but we were in a bus similar to an airport shuttle). It was $78 for two tickets. We started the tour by driving by the Kodak Theater, then the Magic House, up to a vantage point of the Hollywood Sign, then drove the Sunset Strip, through Beverly Hills and Bel Air, down Rodeo, and then back down Sunset and Hollywood Blvd. The tour was about 2 hours, and pretty interesting, getting to see lots of beautiful houses. Our driver had little snippets of appropriate music he would play at key places, as well as pictures to pass around that really added to the tour. I%26#39;ll post a link to my full online photo album at the end of this trip report, with all the pictures from the tour that I took, if anyone is interested.
After the tour it was about 3:30, so we went back to the car and drove to LAX, since M had to pick up a friend at 5pm. We got there early, with some time to kill, so went to another Starbucks, an ATM, then picked up her friend. I didn%26#39;t need to get dropped off at the airport until about 7:30, so we went to this restaurant called Grinder, a mile or so from LAX (8521 S Sepulveda Blvd). It was pretty much like a Denny%26#39;s or Shari%26#39;s, home cooking for reasonable prices, but not that great. There was only one other table full, so we got quick service. I don%26#39;t know how much the bill was because M%26#39;s friend picked up the bill, but I had the quesadillas (that came with a side of fries or onion strings, odd combo), M had soup and salad, and her friend had the pot roast and potatoes.
To kill our last hour we stopped at Bar Melody, a dive bar right near LAX (9132 S Sepulveda Blvd) for a couple drinks. It was pretty slow, almost nobody there, but a nice little bar with space for a DJ or band, and pool and darts in the back. $9 for double Captain and Coke, not sure how much everyone else%26#39;s drinks were. But overall a good spot to grab a no frills drink or two before a flight.
I got dropped off for my Southwest flight right on time ($59.50 including tax, purchased a month in advance), and was through security and waiting at my gate in about 15 minutes. Evening on New Years Day must be a good time to fly out of LAX, the place was pretty dead, and only half my flight was full.
Well, that is about it. This turned into more than a mini trip report, but once I started writing the details just kept flowing! I apologize for my rants, and hope that some of this will be useful for others traveling to LA to do similar things.
Feel free to ask questions if you have any!
Here is the link to my full LA trip photo gallery:
…google.com/mbhinch/…5286820942305952866
Thanks for your report. I%26#39;ve never been to a New Years party like that, so it was very cool to see the pics and get the description. I agree that the advertising is really misleading. I would have expected major lights and a ball drop! The drink situation was ridiculous too.
To bad about your nye experience, sounds like the rest of your trip was fun though
Wow, that%26#39;s quite a TR. I was with you, visualizing, the whole way!
Bummer about the NYE party, sounds like a disorganized mess, but everything else sounds fun (except the camera being stolen!). Did you like Santa Monica or Hollywood better? Glad to hear you split your stay in two.
I enjoyed looking at all your photos, what a detailed trip report. Sounds like you had a good time, and I enjoyed seeing what a tour of the Star%26#39;s Homes looked like.
NYE sounds like a big rip off, good you posted about that to warn others.
Grinder is pretty grungy, if you had gone a couple blocks east on Manchester you could have gone to Truxton%26#39;s, a nice place for food and drink.
Bar Melody and restaurant was owned by family friends in the 1950-60s , and was in it%26#39;s hay days then. Now it is frequented by Loyola-Marymount students on certain nights. I%26#39;m amazed it%26#39;s still there.
Thanks for writing the report.
WOW! That was A LOT of information for such a short trip.
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