SWISSBOBBY

Hi

I am going to LA in May with my bf, I am looking for a suggestion of a good hotel (under 200 USD) which is clean in not to bad an area, can any of you suggest some places?

Thanks

SB

wharvey

What part of LA will you be visiting? Or want to stay in? Do you want to be near the gay areas? Or touristy areas?

SWISSBOBBY

As i know nothing of LA advise me...

I do not want to be in a knocking shop, the place must be clean, bf's interest is in plants so we are aiming for a number of Botanic Gardens in the area, we will have a hire car, so parking important.

KenJohn

If you want to general advice about LA there is another forum.

If you want to be close to the gay restaurants, bars and clubs, then somewhere near West Hollywood would be a good location and for various other parts of LA as well.

This link to Tripadvisor would be fairly useful in seeing the range of Hotels in the area which list everything from glamorous high end to motels.

We are going to try The London, West Hollywood for the first time in early April. Heard that Gordon Ramsey is going to host the Disney-Miramax Oscar party there tonight so it must be an "IN" place. A car is essential to get around in LAX. Parking is always available (its LA) and usually for a fee (its LA).

The Ramada Inn and the Best Western is at the top end of your range. With the economy the way it is, you might be able to get some decent discounts.

itsaboutthejourney

pitbrian asked a similar question last year, and he got some pretty good advice in this thread and came back to tell us how it went. From my perspective, the advice is still good/current.

itsaboutthejourney

The Huntington Gardens in Pasadena/San Marino are a must.

wharvey

I wholeheartedly second this recommendation.

Breathtaking!

eclipse_boi

I've also stayed at the Le Petit Hotel (formerly The Valadon Hotel) in West Hollywood. While not as upscale as The London, it's also not as expensive and I've found some good rates for prior trips. Here is a link to their site: http://www.valadonhotel.com/home.php

NOLAnwGOLD

The Chamberlain in W Hollywood is great, amazing rooftop pool and deck, central to all the WeHo spots but just off on a quiet little street.

chamberlainwesthollywood.com‎

Msclelovr

I totally agree about The Chamberlain in West Hollywood. I've stayed there many times.

The location is great as it's just a block from SMB when you want to drive, but also you can walk to many places - cafes, restaurants, foodstores, bars - nearby. The hotel food is decent. The rooftop pool is a good space for relaxing and getting some sun. The staff are cute and gay-friendly. (They once commented amusedly on my great taste in boyfriends)

As I recall, last time the hotel charged $18 for parking overnight; this is considered reasonable in LA. Walking means you can drink alcohol when you go out and avoid paying for valet parking, which at $8 (typical fee) adds up quickly.

The rooms are also unusually spacious. Essentially they are suites, except that they do not have a full dividing wall between the bedroom area and the sitting area; there's a waist-high cabinet with a large flat-screen TV that swivels between the two areas. The room I usually get has a fireplace (automated gas fire) and a balcony. It's NOT a "view" hotel as it's a low-level building in a residential area.

The price is a little outside your indication - about $250 - but IMHO you get what you pay for, and it's worth it. That said, they do have "special offers" so check the website.

FWIW I stayed at the Ramada once 3 years ago for 1 night. The room was large but it's a dump IMO, tho I'm told it's been remodelled recently.

Nado

You may also want to consider the Andaz hotel (Hyatt) in West Hollywood. It opened in January 2009 and from what I remember in the email I received, was offering introductory, discounted rates. Not sure if those are still around.

NOLAnwGOLD

It was once an apt building so each room has lots of space, like an open 1 bedroom/studio

aeo

I've stayed at most of the major hotels in WeHo, and I have to say the options are roundly very good. Le Petit, Chamberlain, Standard, Mondrian, Grafton on Sunset, London, etc are all solid hotels. Of them all, the London is surely my favorite, with the best rooms and best rooftop view/scene. Note that it shows up on Hotwire now and then, too.

If you're interested in the Mondrian, I have a very generous discount code. Happy to give it to you over e-mail.

hotturnip

Priceline it.

I'm currently staying in the downtown Marriott for $65.

I have another crazy idea. I bought a weekly Metropass and have been using the mass transit. It's a really interesting way to see the city. They have a lot of express buses now, so it really doesn't take that much longer than going by car, and you don't have to worry about parking. I also find that riding the bus allows me to soak in the city much more than if I'm driving.

It would be a challenge to get all the way to the Huntington, but I bet it's possible. You could take the Gold Line train all the way to Pasadena, and probably get a bus from there.

getsaround

I made the mistake of staying there last week ( just for 1 night thankfully) and what was once a chic little gay guesthouse is now a decaying dump.

Nothing works properly, they obviously spend little to maintain it and the "guests" and others hanging out are low rent. No wonder they post signs about locking the room door when in it.

The location is superb, in the heart of Weho, but it now looks like a single room occupancy facility for the unemployed.

Avoid.