A few options would be:
San Pedro - Over by the Port of LA, there are a few decent hotels. Just stay away from the divey motels. But, in years past they had large chain properties (Doubletree, Sheraton, etc).
Cerritos - There's a Sheraton by the Performing Arts center
Torrance - A number of national chain hotels serving all the businesses in the South Bay. Commute back into LB is generally against traffic
Coming from Anaheim in the a.m. is a bit of a dicey proposition from a traffic perspective.
Let me know what you find or if you need any addt'l help!