Which Hollywood hotel?

I know this topic gets done to death so I apologise in advance.

My Fiancee and I (late 20s) will be in LA for 3 nights, we arrive late on the first night and leave late on the last day so we have just short of 3 full days in LA. We do not want to rent a car at this stage as we are both a bit nervous about driving in a busy city on the opposite side of the road. We would mainly like to visit Universal Studios, the Walk of Fame and thought that Hollywood would probably be the best location for our needs.

I see that the three most popular Hollywood hotels are the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, the Hollyood Celebrity Hotel and the Magic Castle Hotel. These also range in price from (in pounds) 拢55 for the Celebrity, 拢85 for the Magic and 拢155 for the Renaissance. We do prefer to stay at nicer hotels but wondered if the Renaissance was worth the extra money? I don%26#39;t really want to go as high at 拢155 either, 拢120 would probably be our max unless the hotel was really something special. Can anyone advise on these three hotels or any other alternatives.

I can get a fairly good rate for the Omni, but as we are staying Friday through Monday I thought Downtown probably wouldn%26#39;t be the best option.

Thanks for any help.

Which Hollywood hotel?

Did you read the reviews for those three hotels? All your answers are in the reviews. Renaissance is a 5* hotel with all the amenities. Celebrity Hotel is a no-frills hotel with suites but nothing extra, nothing fancy. Magic Castle is a gimmicky hotel with a magic theme. All are central to public transportation. There%26#39;s also Orchid Suites which is all suites (meaning, you basically have a small flat, with small kitchen), but it%26#39;s bare and no character, but clean.

I urge you to read the reviews - and then make your choice.

I also think you should reconsider renting a car - you%26#39;ll spend hours getting places, otherwise. If you do rent a car, the whole city and our hotels opens to you, you won%26#39;t be limited to those 4. At your age (and with your budget), I recommend staying at one of the hotels on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood.

Which Hollywood hotel?

Check the rates for the Universal Hilton, a very nice hotel at the park. Rates there fluctuate but you might hit it right. Just a short subway stop to Hollywood. Also, Universal tickets have been priced the same lately for one or multiple days, so you could enter %26amp; exit the park at will for 3 days/nights.

Downtown is a budget-minded option but you shouldn%26#39;t pay more than 60 pounds to stay down there as rates are usually pretty low on weekends even at the high-end hotels.

Thanks for your thoughts, I have read the reviews but I%26#39;m still torn on what to do. I%26#39;ll check out the Sunset Blvd options, and try and convince my partner that we need to rent a car

If you plan on visiting during the winter and don%26#39;t plan on spending time at the beaches, then I%26#39;d discourage you from getting a car. On my first trip to London, I rented a car for a week and after the first day, I left it in the hotel%26#39;s car park. BTW, it%26#39;s not the driving on the wrong side of the road that%26#39;s difficult, it%26#39;s remembering to stay on the wrong side of the road when turning at intersections!

A few things to consider.....

1. Hollywood, the Sunset Strip, and the Beverly Grove area (east of Beverly Hills) are all fairly central and affordable.

2. The Renaissance offers a special package including tickets to Universal, parking, discount books for Universal City Walk and the Hollywood %26amp; Highland Center and breakfast at a discount compared to buying these things separately. Go to their website at: RENAISSANCEHOLLYWOOD.COM and look for ';special packages';

3. Keep in mind that renting a car can be expensive for you Brits because you have to purchase the extra insurance coverage (which can double the cost of the rental). In addition, parking is expensive, here. Parking at the Renaussabce is $29 per day. Parking at Universal is $10 or $20 depending on the distance of the car park from the entrance gates. I parked at a club on the Sunset Strip a couple of months ago for 45 minutes and it cost me $28! If I were you (again, unless I was visiting a vast expanse of L.A.) I%26#39;d rely on buses, metro rail and taxis.

4. Consider the Elan Hotel Modern in Beverly Grove This is the #1-rated hotel in all of Los Angeles but it does ';sell out'; quickly. It%26#39;s a 15-minute bus ride from the hotel to Hollywood City Centre and a 10 minute bus ride to the Sunset Strip. Five minutes to Farmer%26#39;s Market/The Grove; 10 minutes to Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive (great bus access at the corner of Beverly Bl and La Cienega Bl -- adjacent to the hotel).

Here%26#39;s the link.

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g32655-d223041-鈥?/a>

Hotels.com has an excellent rate for this hotel (at least, in March -- I do not know your travel dates so I had to pick some). Here%26#39;s the link. Change the dates as needed near the bottom of their page:

http://tinyurl.com/ylwnfo

Tell us the dates of your holiday and we%26#39;ll see if we can find you better rates.

Cheers!

Thanks for the advice HopSkipJump, I had read the reviews of the Elan Modern but hadn%26#39;t realised how central it was, I must admit I%26#39;m having a hard time getting my head around all the LA suburbs. Our actual travel dates are arriving on the evening of 20 April departing on the evening of 23 April.

Also, we would have liked to have caught a basketball game while we were in town but looking at the schedules it looks like it finishes for the season just before we arrive?

Maybe this map will help. There is an error on it, BTW. HOLLYWOOD is actually where the word UNIVERSAL (in UNIVERSAL STUDIOS) is.

visitlongbeach.com/maps/southerncalifornia.h鈥?/a>

The Elan Hotel is just to the right of the ';Y'; in Beverly Hills. LA Airport (LAX) is the small airplane pointing up at the left side of the map. I don%26#39;t think you can be more central or have better public transit access than at this hotel.

Good luck!

You can get the Hilton Universal Studios for 85 to 100 pounds, beautiful hotel and I think every bit as nice as the Renaissance if not nicer. Check the reviews here on trip advisor.

Universal is just a 7 min metro subway ride to Hollywood Walk of Fame, and since Universal park is your main attraction....consider staying there. a 1 day park ticket is currently the same price as an all-year pass so you could spend as much time as you want all weekend at the park for the same $60 admission fee, pay once and visit all weekend. It%26#39;s not just the theme park up there, check out the CITYWALK area with lots of restaurants and clubs.

There is even discount transportation to Universal now if all your luggage is wheeled and medium sized. Take the Flyaway bus from outside the baggage claim at the airport terminal, the bus is marked Union Station. 40 minutes later you%26#39;re at Union Station and you have a 26 minute metro subway ride (the red line) to Universal. All in all a 70 minute trip for about $5.00, as opposed to taking the shuttle van services from the airport for $32 per person.

I agree with the posters who have said you need a car. While it%26#39;s true you can do Universal City and Hollywood easily without a car (subway is great), to get to West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, etc., you should drive.

Buses are available, but sounds like time is of the essence.

Check into the Farmer%26#39;s Daughter on Fairfax. Recently redone, it%26#39;s quaint and across the street from the Farmer%26#39;s Market/Grove (btw, the Grove is not worth much more than a quick stroll through...the Farmer%26#39;s Market is much more happening and real LA; the name is a bit of a misnomer as you can eat your way around the world there and drink, shop, etc.

The Renaissance is quite nice. The Magic Castle is more motel-y but if it is cheaper, not a bad option. You can walk to the Hollywood/Highland complex where the Renaissance is and make that your home away from home - eat breakfast and have your nightcap at the Renaissance as if it was your hotel!

I%26#39;m a big fan of downtown, too, so don%26#39;t overlook that. MOCA is fun, there are great restaurants, etc. Have fun - LA is a great city if you know where to look.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will look into them all and have a good think about where it is we want to visit to see if we really should hire a car.