LA trip planning (1 Viewer)

[Tecumseh]

We’re heading out to LA either 8/1 or 8/2. Looking for recommendations on where to stay. Wife and kid are seeing Taylor Swift at Sofi on 8/3, and we’re also looking to hit Universal Studios, the beach, and something relatively close to a casino would be nice. Are these anywhere near each other?

ETA: Apparently we also want to go to Canter’s Deli.

 

[Capella]

In December we stayed at the JW Marriott at LA Live and loved it. Seemed central to everything, didn’t take us long to get anywhere. Since it’s downtown, valeting the car did take a while though.

 

[Ron Swanson]

What part of LA? There's a lot more cool stuff to see and do than just New Orleans.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

All the strip malls you can hit!

 

[Judge Smails]

If you want SoFi, Universal Studios and the beach stay on the Westside. You need to be close to the 101 and 405. To me Santa Monica would be ideal. I would not stay downtown.

 

[Tecumseh]

If you want SoFi, Universal Studios and the beach stay on the Westside. You need to be close to the 101 and 405. To me Santa Monica would be ideal. I would not stay downtown.

How hard/far is it to get to Santa Monica from LAX?

Edit- looks like a straight shot on Hwy 1?

 

[Alex P Keaton]

If you want SoFi, Universal Studios and the beach stay on the Westside. You need to be close to the 101 and 405. To me Santa Monica would be ideal. I would not stay downtown.

How hard/far is it to get to Santa Monica from LAX?

It isn’t far at all. But with bad traffic takes at least 30-35 minutes. Defer to others who live there now though.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Santa Monica is a nightmare of tourists and traffic. No idea why people go there, when there are much better options.

El Segundo is a great under the radar, affordable, very close to the freeways and also right by LAX. You can't get more convenient than that, period. It's as equidistant to all 3 events/locations as you're gonna get. There is a pretty cool low-key downtown that's emerged there now (money pouring over from nearby Manhattan Beach), with a cool microbrewery and other quaint local businesses. Speaking of which, Manhattan Beach (right next to it) blows away any beach in or around Santa Monica (and is close), Marina Del Rey, and Venice (obviously). Those are all north and make your trips that much longer and that much more crowded.

If money is no option, just book Shade in Manhattan Beach and don't think twice about it. Wife will LOVE it and you can walk everywhere, including a nice pier (without the Carnival atmosphere you'll be immured in on the Santa Monica pier and it's ferris wheel and vendors galore.

 

[Tecumseh]

Santa Monica is a nightmare of tourists and traffic. No idea why people go there, when there are much better options.

El Segundo is a great under the radar, affordable and very close to the freeway and right by LAX. You can't get more convenient than that, period. It's as equidistant to all 3 events/locations as you're gonna get. There is a pretty cool low-key downtown that's emerged there now (money pouring over from nearby Manhattan Beach), with a cool microbrewery and other quaint local businesses. Speaking of which, Manhattan Beach (right next to it) blows away any beach in or around Santa Monica (and is close), Marina Del Rey, and Venice (obviously). Those are all north and make your trips that much longer and that much more crowded.

If money is no option, just book Shade in Manhattan Beach and don't think twice about it. Wife will LOVE it and you can walk everywhere, including a nice pier (without the Carnival atmosphere you'll be immured in on the Santa Monica pier and it's ferris wheel and vendors galore.

Woah- $900/night. That’s a little out of our range.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Santa Monica is a nightmare of tourists and traffic. No idea why people go there, when there are much better options.

El Segundo is a great under the radar, affordable and very close to the freeway and right by LAX. You can't get more convenient than that, period. It's as equidistant to all 3 events/locations as you're gonna get. There is a pretty cool low-key downtown that's emerged there now (money pouring over from nearby Manhattan Beach), with a cool microbrewery and other quaint local businesses. Speaking of which, Manhattan Beach (right next to it) blows away any beach in or around Santa Monica (and is close), Marina Del Rey, and Venice (obviously). Those are all north and make your trips that much longer and that much more crowded.

If money is no option, just book Shade in Manhattan Beach and don't think twice about it. Wife will LOVE it and you can walk everywhere, including a nice pier (without the Carnival atmosphere you'll be immured in on the Santa Monica pier and it's ferris wheel and vendors galore.

Woah- $900/night. That’s a little out of our range.

I don't know how else to convey it, but I literally said "if money is no option".

I was actually advocating El Segundo, where I know there are spots that are nowhere near $900 a night and it's a very good, central location, given the spots you identified, that will work very well in navigating through traffic to those various destinations. And yes, it actually has a cool downtown area of its own that you'll like, without the madhouse of tourists you will be surrounded by from Marina Del Rey to Santa Monica. I mean, it's night and day the difference. And btw, 10 minutes from the airport. For a shorter trip, less time in the car really does matter.

Most people don't know about El Segundo, which is perfect (besides Mike Schmidt, who grew up there, lol), but that's exactly why it's a great and affordable choice (for YOUR itinerary/trip).

 

[Tecumseh]

Santa Monica is a nightmare of tourists and traffic. No idea why people go there, when there are much better options.

El Segundo is a great under the radar, affordable and very close to the freeway and right by LAX. You can't get more convenient than that, period. It's as equidistant to all 3 events/locations as you're gonna get. There is a pretty cool low-key downtown that's emerged there now (money pouring over from nearby Manhattan Beach), with a cool microbrewery and other quaint local businesses. Speaking of which, Manhattan Beach (right next to it) blows away any beach in or around Santa Monica (and is close), Marina Del Rey, and Venice (obviously). Those are all north and make your trips that much longer and that much more crowded.

If money is no option, just book Shade in Manhattan Beach and don't think twice about it. Wife will LOVE it and you can walk everywhere, including a nice pier (without the Carnival atmosphere you'll be immured in on the Santa Monica pier and it's ferris wheel and vendors galore.

Woah- $900/night. That’s a little out of our range.

I don't know how else to convey it, but I literally said "if money is no option".

I was actually advocating El Segundo, where I know there are spots that are nowhere near $900 a night and it's a very good, central location, given the spots you identified, that will work very well in navigating through traffic to those various destinations. And yes, it actually has a cool downtown area of its own that you'll like, without the madhouse of tourists you will be surrounded by from Marina Del Rey to Santa Monica. I mean, it's night and day the difference. And btw, 10 minutes from the airport. For a shorter trip, less time in the car really does matter.

Most people don't know about El Segundo, which is perfect (besides Mike Schmidt, who grew up there, lol), but that's exactly why it's a great and affordable choice (for YOUR itinerary/trip).

Yeah, I saw where you said that. Would love to be able to swing that one day, but not this time. I’ll absolutely check out El Segundo. I really appreciate the insight.

 

[BeTheMatch]

Manhattan Beach is fantastic

 

[massraider]

Santa Monica is a nightmare of tourists and traffic. No idea why people go there, when there are much better options.

El Segundo is a great under the radar, affordable and very close to the freeway and right by LAX. You can't get more convenient than that, period. It's as equidistant to all 3 events/locations as you're gonna get. There is a pretty cool low-key downtown that's emerged there now (money pouring over from nearby Manhattan Beach), with a cool microbrewery and other quaint local businesses. Speaking of which, Manhattan Beach (right next to it) blows away any beach in or around Santa Monica (and is close), Marina Del Rey, and Venice (obviously). Those are all north and make your trips that much longer and that much more crowded.

If money is no option, just book Shade in Manhattan Beach and don't think twice about it. Wife will LOVE it and you can walk everywhere, including a nice pier (without the Carnival atmosphere you'll be immured in on the Santa Monica pier and it's ferris wheel and vendors galore.

Woah- $900/night. That’s a little out of our range.

Last time I stayed at Su Casa in Venice Beach. They have these two bedroom little bungalows, with private little front area. Right on the beach. think you gotta park in a lot down the road, tho. Fun place, lots of funky bars and restaurants in that area. There are homeless there, tho, so keep a fainting couch handy.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Manhattan Beach is fantastic

Yep, that's what I was getting at. Blows the other beach cities away. But he can literally stay 10 minutes from Manhattan for half the price (maybe more), and closer access to the freeways and airport, while still checking out everything Manhattan has to offer (wife will LOVE Manhattan, btw, that's a guarantee). El Segundo is a great, much more affordable solution, as well as logistically.

 

[BeTheMatch]

Manhattan Beach is fantastic

Yep, that's what I was getting at. Blows the other beach cities away. But he can literally stay 10 minutes from Manhattan for half the price (maybe more), and closer access to the freeways and airport, while still checking out everything Manhattan has to offer (wife will LOVE Manhattan, btw, that's a guarantee). El Segundo is a great, much more affordable solution, as well as logistically.

Yes, we stayed at a place right by airport, Hyatt I think, and then just Ubered to MB. It was maybe 20 minutes and pretty cheap and easy. Hotel was a lot cheaper.

 

[Pigskin Fanatic]

Generally speaking, for Sofi and the beach, staying in the South Bay area - Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance - or the Santa Monica area are two great options as noted rather than downtown LA or even Hollywood. Staying near LAX gives you a lot of cheaper options, but there's not much there outside of Sofi and not the best neighborhoods.

Staying to the south is my preference. South Bay consists of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance and other suburbs and are cleaner than the northern counterpart imo. Beach cities here, especially Manhattan as noted, have fantastic walking areas and food options. Probably two or three specific areas I'd recommend. There are a bunch of Asian communities here, so international food options are all over the place.

To the north of the airport is Santa Monica, which also has great walking areas and food options, but is quite a different vibe and is more old school LA. Great options there too, especially the Abott Kinney area in Venice. Can't go wrong with any of these spots. I just saw there is a Canters Deli in Santa Monica-ish area, but the original spot is more central LA.

Universal Studio would be a day trip from any of the beach cities. Studio City has great dining options and some nightlife in the area.

There are casinos in LA, but they're all quite small. I think Hollywood Park is gone (?), that use to be next to where Sofi is now. Hustler is just outside of Torrance in the South Bay, there's another smaller one just a couple blocks away, I think that's called Lady Luck now (use to be Normandie Casino). Best poker action is at Commerce Casino, which is next to a huge outlet mall called the Citadel about 30 minutes to the east of the beach cities. Any big casino/hotel types are well outside of LA, about an hour drive to the east or to the south.

 

[Eephus]

We stayed at this place in Manhattan Beach. More funky than fancy but close to the beach and they do free rentals of bikes, beach chairs and boogie boards. Not $900/night either.

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