Los Angeles

Oakster

Anyone been? Any recommendations on where to stay? Always wanted to go and now have 10 days put aside in early April...taking the family down. Yes i know its a huge sprawling city, but after months of end of nothing but coyotes and bears as neighbours, need some city living

Algarveaddick

Horrible place. San Francisco is much nicer.

SuperCliveMendonca

Hi Oakster...again - my wife has just come back from San Fran, and loves the place.....but never really heard any good things about LA unless you have pots of money? You living over the pond anyway I gather?

ValleyGary

LA - the Deptford of America

So many nicer places to go in California. San Diego my pick of them.

Charlies_a_wright_1

Newport beach is a nice area to stay on pch notts berry farm is a good amusement park not as busy as Disney any more info privately message me

colthe3rd

Another vote against LA from me. Too big, too dirty and too many rude people. I stayed at the Sheraton in Anaheim which was a decent hotel but probably catered more for those who want to visit Disney than anything else. IUt seems unless you pay big money expect to be driving quite a long time to get anywhere.

Oakster

we are thinking Santa Monica as opposed to Compton!

BowieAddick

Stayed at Holiday Inn in Santa Monica, but again I would stear clear and either go for San Francisco (much friendlier feel) or San Diego. Only stayed for a few days in each as we went inland by RV to Vegas, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and much more - great fun!!

Oakster

LA - the Deptford of America

So many nicer places to go in California. San Diego my pick of them.

Did 2 weeks in San Diego last Spring - agreed it is nice, especially the little coastal towns to the North..have also been to Seattle ,Portland & San Francisco a few times. Never been to LA....

EastStand

If you can't drive, don't go.

se9addick

LA - the Deptford of America

So many nicer places to go in California. San Diego my pick of them.

Did 2 weeks in San Diego last Spring - agreed it is nice, especially the little coastal towns to the North..have also been to Seattle ,Portland & San Francisco a few times. Never been to LA....

And these comments probably explain why !

Curb_It

I loved it. thought it was a real eye opener but i was young and backpacking. Stayed with a pal - remember one particular memorable day that will stay with me, having a beautiful Sunday brunch at Marina del Ray then walking down that crazy beach where all the nutters hang out. Spent hours down there watching. Whats it called? Cant think.

Went and saw all sorts of places. Loved it but helped that our pal was living there so knew where to go. Not sure about for children.

Leroy Ambrose

Hated it when I was there. Admittedly that was only for two weeks, but it's just a horrible place. Has a really seedy feeling to it - and don't get the attraction of Santa Monica either. San Francisco is much, much nicer - found San Diego boring, tbh

Leroy Ambrose

I loved it. thought it was a real eye opener but i was young and backpacking. Stayed with a pal - remember one particular memorable day that will stay with me, having a beautiful Sunday brunch at Marina del Ray then walking down that crazy beach where all the nutters hang out. Spent hours down there watching. Whats it called? Cant think.

Venice

Hartleypete

My sister in law lived there for many years & we have had many trips. I tried to stay in LA as little as possible.

As has been said already San Fran is good, maybe chilly in April. Great drive up coast road from LA to San Fran. Also San diago we liked (South of LA) If you must stay in LA area try somewhere like Santa barbara or going up the coast Carmel or Monteray.

If you go San Fran go to Yosemite national park its fantastic.

I would take a car and see as much as you can.

Curb_It

But he has been to San Fran a few times.

newyorkaddick

I agree it's not a particularly pleasant city, but it's fascinating to witness at least once.

Santa Monica is nice and relatively quiet - likewise Venice and Marina del Rey down the road. Worth a drive/tour around Beverly Hills and Bel Air to gawk at the homes - likewise Malibu if you can get there. Hollywood is a dump but guess you have to go there as a tourist. Manhattan Beach is a nice and hip neighbourhood close to the airport.

If you hire a car (recommended), it can literally take two hours to drive 10-15 miles around the city so don't be too ambitious about how much you want to see.

Rob

I live just outside SF (Walnut Creek) and been here for years. In that time I've visited LA twice and both times, really, to go to Disneyland and the tourist sights. We did try though. Went to Beverley Hills and Sunset Blvd which was horrible. Went over to Venice Beach which was incredibly seedy, especially with kids. Pockets of areas are nice (affluent areas like Coruna Del Mar, Newport Beach) but, generally, not much else down there imo. Much nicer areas in other parts of California. As has been mentioned, SF is nice and also the outlying areas. To the north there is Napa, Sonoma, wine country, Mendocino and highway 1 North for about 100 miles. To the South there is Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur, Hearst Castle and on down to Santa Barbara. Skipping right over LA you can enjoy yourself in San Diego. Not too much there but the weather is great pretty much all year round. Inland you have Yosemite Valley which is spectacular pretty much all year round.

Mortimerician

Universal's ok and there's some interesting places on Hollywood, but it's a shed. If I had to go again I'd stay at Santa Monica or better still San Diego

Oakster

Thanks for the advice all - so maybe not a good idea then by the sound of it....

As I already said, we have been to all the fantastic places that the West Coast has to offer - I agree San Francisco & surrounds is beautiful, especially enjoyed Monterey, Carmel & the section of the Big Sur we drove. The catch for us is wanting some sun & heat, its been a very mild Canadian winter but still....we did San Diego last year, loved it but fancy something different this year.

DamoNorthStand

I spend a lot of my life in Orange County, just south of LA. Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach are certainly not 'horrible places' and if they are, then a dank place like Charlton would be off the scale. The sun setting over the Pacific in Laguna Beach is about as far removed from South East London as you can get.

ChicagoAddick

I actually quite like it. If you are a city fiend then go. But as others have said you will need a car and don't expect to do too much in a short time because the traffic is shocking.

You can get your tourist feel as well as see some nice beachy neighbourhoods, although personally I was disappointed by Santa Monica and would visit the places that @DamoNorthStand mentioned instead.

If you are interested, I wrote this at the time:
http://chicagoaddick.blogspot.com/2006/09/los-angeles.html

supaclive

Santa Monica is very nice. Go there on business annually and spent a huge amount of time there over the past 4 years. Lovely by the beach, amazing views along the PCH which goes all the way up the coast past Malibu etc.

Venice and small places along the coast the other way (Abbott Kinney) are very nice too.

The traffic is murder - AVOID cross town journeys at peak/rush hours at all costs.

Sunshine, exercise, the beach and a car with the roof down and LA is very nice.

BDL

Ha, yeah LA. We stayed in Hollywood at the Magic Castle (real name, promise). We didn't hire a car and used the subway to go everywhere, including through downtown LA and the bit where you don't really go if you like to live.

Rob

Oakster - if you want the sun/heat then you could base yourself in one of the more upmarket coastal towns as mentioned above but trying to drive around to other areas would be murder. Otherwise, there is always Palm Springs. Not been there myself but meant to be very nice and the weather is perfect this time of year.

ValleyGary

Sunset blvd and around that area is horrible. Just full of tramps pushing shopping trolleys. Bit like Erith.

redlanered

Agree with others that SF best but LA has its attractions. Santa Monica has lots going for it - beach, shops/restaurants, walk to Venice Beach. We stayed at the Seashore Motel there and its good value esp if you take a suite (if there's a family for example). Its not fancy but you've always got the Beverly Hills Hilton for that

redlanered

Also inland from LA are the deserts - Joshua Tree and all that. Driveable from LA easily

Fanny Fanackapan

Agree with Damo that Laguna Beach is lovely - artist colony etc. Have a great pic of my kids aged 6 & 9 in the surf there - good memories from '84.

Have friends in Long Beach where the Queen Mary is now a hotel . Nice , upmarket area & worth a visit.

DamoNorthStand

So Oakster, the conclusion is (as per these eposts) that LA itself isnt really the place to go. It is the bits around the outside of it that represent that 'California Dream' we are accustomed to from movies. Just north and just south. And as ValleyGary rightly says, San Diego (the whales vagina) is lovely.

JohnnyH2

Another vote against LA from me. Too big, too dirty and too many rude people. I stayed at the Sheraton in Anaheim which was a decent hotel but probably catered more for those who want to visit Disney than anything else. IUt seems unless you pay big money expect to be driving quite a long time to get anywhere.

That is the hotel I stayed at and was perfect for Disney. LA is great if doing the parks Disney, Universal and Sea World. Hollywood is seedy and somthing that you get your picture taken in and get the hell out of there. Went to the beach where Baywatch was filmed and that was very nice.