Glendale - Good base or pay extra for W Hollywood/S Monica?

Hi,

This follows on from a previous post of mine.

I have been looking at the Embassy Suites in Glendale as a base for 5 nights in August. We have also been looking at accomodation in West Hollywood and Santa Monica. We%26#39;ll be visiting Universal, the beaches and having a good look around Beverly Hills, The Grove etc. I have read from a previous post that Glendale is a real community with a nice downtown, lots of restaurants and a brand new theme mall called Americana. It also said it is near to Universal but not the beaches. How far away (as in time driving) is Glendale from the beach? and would you say it was worth staying in Glendale in order to save $100+ per night or better to pay the West Hollywood/Santa Monica rates.

Thanks.

Glendale - Good base or pay extra for W Hollywood/S Monica?

It%26#39;s OK - Ignore this post! The hotel was only $100 cheaper than the WHollywood/SMonica hotels for only one of the nights of our stay so I don%26#39;t think there%26#39;s any point in considering Glendale anymore.

Glendale - Good base or pay extra for W Hollywood/S Monica?

Even if you were to get a savings, it%26#39;s not worth it. The drive is about an hour or so each way, in heavy traffic, top all the sights you list except Universal, which is about 30 minutes. And, it%26#39;s extremely hot, about 20 or so degrees hotter, in August.

An hour from Glendale to Universal? MAYBE and I mean MAYBE during rush hour IF there is an ACCIDENT/road construction. Glendale is......9 miles away from Universal.

You can drive an extra 5-10 miles and save an extra five hundred dollars on a Room over a 5 night stay.

holidaynut- If you don%26#39;t mind paying $275 to $300/per night then great. It is worth it if you are happy with it. West Hollywood has all those great Suite hotels(London, Le Parc, Chamberlin, and Le Montrose)and the area is fun, clean, lively, and safe.

Le Parc and possibly others have kitchenettes to help save on always eating out. If you get a place with a kitchenette you can easily save $50 to $75 per day instead of eating out for every meal for a family of 4.

Glendale is not to far and a nice little town with plenty of things to do at night.

That said, i would not consider it a ';base'; while vacationing here. Most attractions a visitor might want to see or experience while in town are on the other side of the hill. West Hollywood is a great place to ';base'; yor7uself, especially iof it is just a couple of $ more

Pay extra for West Hollywood or Santa Monica. You%26#39;ve listed things which are mostly on the west side. Makes sense to stay there and minimize the traffic headaches. I always prefer the beach in the morning.

I%26#39;d recommend for one day heading north on the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica and visit Zuma Beach.

HTH