Folks, folks, let's chat here. If someone just wants a 'safe place', then Marina, MB, LAX, & others are ALL ok.

But crikey, if you're really talking 'things to do', Marina itself - truly not so much, especially on 'which' marina property you're chatting about.

You talking CY Marina - yeah, ok, but you're in a strip mall complex (ie, lots of kinds of shops - not literally 'strip'). That's definitely a LA experience - not. You talking FSM - ok, you're across from the beach & a couple of decent restaurants - and ok, not far from Venice, etc, so I'd give that some kudos. But crikey, you guys are making both properties sound as though they're fab & truthfully they're not, but they're ok. And both properties require cabs to get to them, so the OP needs to factor in cab fare both directions.

I truly think for a 'quick' overnight stay in a decent area w/ restaurants, bars, shops - and a free shuttle - Manhattan Beach is the place to go to when staying at airport properties.

I think for a longer stay, anyone coming in has lots of options in all parts of LA.

OVMV. Cheers.