TA

Hi all --

I am trying to decide where to stay for 2 nights on a family vacation, near Irvine this coming weekend. I know it's irrational, but I cannot stand paying $25 for parking at a hotel when there is street parking nearby.

But in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, this seems really hard to find. Is there such a thing as free street parking near hotels? I am specifically thinking between:

- Marriott Newport Beach
- Hyatt Newport Beach
- Avenue of Arts (SPG), Costa Mesa
- Westin Costa Mesa

If hotel prices were similar, availability of street parking might swing it for me. Any advice on where this is to be found? Having lived in Pasadena/Glendale I thought at least there would be some, but these new areas seem designed to thwart free parking...

Thanks!

DJ_Iceman

So you're wanting to stay in an upscale area where a basic room will cost ~$200 per night, but you're unwilling to add $25 a night for parking?

brodielayne

$25 is not bad in a high end area of So Cal. Many places charge $40 plus with no other option but to walk for blocks. Pay up and move on to something more important.

OskiBear

There's really no street parking in that area. It's all offices and hotels and the parking is all off-street. If you get lucky, you can try trolling some of the lots that only serve office buildings and aren't manned 24 hours. In those situations, sometimes they just open the barriers so people working late can leave. If they have a self-pay machine, you're probably out of luck. Also, not sure what the rules are on parking overnight. I imagine 1-2 nights wouldn't draw too much attention - I used to leave car at the office parking lot if I was going out of town for the weekend.

The whole thing is very YMMV and, as others have noted, $25/night in the heart of the OC is a decent rate.

TA

Thanks, much appreciated!

Need

Is the Westin the one by South Coast Plaza near the South Coast Repertory? If it is you could probably just park at the South Coast Plaza parking lot. We always park there and walk across the street to catch a show. When we leave after 11pm there are still a ton of cars in the giant parking lot near Bloomingdale's. I am sure there are employees working over night to restock items or people came to the bars/restaurants and met someone and left one car there overnight.

TA

Yes, thanks that a good idea too for the Westin. For the Avenue of the Arts design hotel (SPG brand), it turns out that after just a few minutes of looking, there are residential streets within 1-2 blocks that have overnight parking that are pretty convenient. Well worth just a little bit of walking, Stevens and Ross streets as seen here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.6937...8779081,17.01z

ajGoes

Provided you're not going to leave the car there between eight AM and noon on Thursday.

Need

Also you want to make sure the area does not require parking permit for residential street parking. I think Costa Mesa is one of the city that issues residential street parking permits to certain area.

LupineChemist

Bumping this thread. I'm going to be staying at West South Coast Plaza. Can you just park in the mall lot for free and leave your car overnight?

I'll pay the parking rate if I have to, but even if it's my company's money, I just don't like to spend an extra $100 or so if I can avoid it with a 5 minute walk.

OTD

You could probably get away with it, with the proviso that it could be broken into. If you're moving it every day, I doubt the mall cops would notice.