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Post by judy on Nov 12, 2016 18:45:02 GMT
My 11 yo and 16 yo ds's want to go to Los Angeles. We have a week open in early January before heading back to school. We want to see...
Griffith Park Observation
Universal Studios theme park
Santa Monica Pier
maybe another beach?
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Possible hotels I've narrowed my search to:
Loews hotels in either Santa Monica or Hollywood
Hilton near Universal Studios
We are only going for 3 or 4 nights so I don't mind paying more for a room at a nice hotel.
Other things they've mentioned but we're not sure about...
actual movie studio tour? any suggestions?
Lakers game
Does anyone have hotel recs?
Should we stay at the beach or close to Universal Studios?
Should we rent a car or use uber/public transportation?
Thanks!
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quiltz
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,714
Location: CANADA
Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on Nov 12, 2016 18:51:39 GMT
I like to stay at the Holiday Inn Express on La Brea, free parking, pool, walk to Hollywood & Highland. Close to getting onto freeways. Breakfast is included.
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Post by judy on Nov 12, 2016 20:24:17 GMT
I like to stay at the Holiday Inn Express on La Brea, free parking, pool, walk to Hollywood & Highland. Close to getting onto freeways. Breakfast is included. Thanks! I will check out the Holiday Inn Express. |
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Post by papersilly on Nov 12, 2016 21:24:00 GMT
Stay at both hotels instead of fighting traffic to get to the opposite location. You'll lose half a lifetime just on Los Angeles traffic. I think Paramount does studio tours.
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GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,298
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Nov 13, 2016 0:48:40 GMT
We were just there in May and did the same things as you are planning. Universal Studios (get your tix online for a discount), Walk of Fame, Griffith Park (hiking and Observatory), Santa Monica Pier. We also did the President Reagan Library & Museum in Simi Valley and we stayed one night on the Queen Mary in Long Beach.
I do not recommend the Days Inn on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. I've stayed in some questionable places and although this one was clean (sort of) I can't in good faith recommend it. It was close to Walk of Fame, Griffith Park and had easy highway access to Universal Studios. Warner Bros Studios is very close to Universal. I wish we could've fit it into our schedule.
Check out Groupon.
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Nov 13, 2016 2:26:45 GMT
We visited this summer. We stayed at the other Universal hotel....maybe a Sheraton. The Hilton was slightly closer, and it looked nice. The walk to Universal was very easy.
At Universal, we did the VIP tour. It was a great way to tour while staying out of the lines. It also had a more personal studio tour.
We also did the WB Studios tour which we chose for the Harry Potter exhibit. It was great! We're even considering the WB tour when we go to London based on how much we enjoyed this one. I walked in Lorelia Gilmore's house. Just sayin'.
We rented a car, but we also used Uber some. Uber was great for going into crowded areas during busier times, but I don't think I would have wanted to rely on it the whole time.
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Post by katlady on Nov 13, 2016 2:38:09 GMT
I would stay a couple of nights up by Universal Studios and a couple of nights somewhere down in the city, either WLA or Santa Monica. That way you don't have to fight traffic going up over the hill to the valley, it can be awful!
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Post by ahiller on Nov 13, 2016 2:40:00 GMT
We stayed at The Georgian in Santa Monica and really loved it.
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 13, 2016 9:41:52 GMT
We've stayed at Shore Hotel in Santa Monica and it really is my favorite LA area hotel and a great base for exploring the city. We ended up there when an AirBnB turned into a leaking disaster (my only AirBnB disaster). The Loews Hollywood is also a good choice for hitting Universal and is right at Hollywood & Highland, the heart of Hollywood. You can get great deals at the Kimpton Hotels if you register for their loyalty program, but they are often last minute deals. My recommendation is to go to the Griffiths Observatory early because the parking lot fills up quickly. Definitely rent a car in LA. It will take you time to get from one end of the city to the other, so cluster what you want to do. Universal is quite close to the Hollywood walk of fame and Paramount Studios tour. We've only done studio tours on weekends which means you usually get on set and it is interesting to see how the sets work for cameras and break away rooms. All the studio tours are good and interesting. On the Warner Brothers tour we were on the Big Bang Theory set (no photos allowed) and it is great if you are a Gilmore Girls fan. Other great LA places to explore are the LACMA, Farmer's Market/Grove and LaBrea Tar Pits. Just want to add it is great to be near the beach in January but you won't be swimming - the water is cold. Santa Monica Pier rides aren't really worth the money but the sunset and buskers performing are great.  If you stay in Santa Monica, wander a little further south to Venice Beach and the funky store along Abbot Kinney Blvd. If you end up in Santa Monica on a Tuesday, check out what food trucks will be at the Main Street Lot. SaveSaveSaveSave |
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Post by judy on Nov 13, 2016 23:58:15 GMT
Thank you everyone for the great tips! I have some research to do this week!
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