United_Flyer3

So I've got a decision to make...

I'll be near Vegas in a month, and my flight in from LHR takes me to LAX.

Wanting to stay at a nice hotel for 4 days before I go to Vegas, where do I go.

I've chosen either IC LA, new IC SFO or CP Seattle.

Which one do I choose?????
I'm just interested in having 4 days of doing nothing, maybe some shopping, plenty to eat and drink and maybe sunning myself a little bit.

Jages

My personal choice would be SFO. I travel a lot to all 3 and for shopping, eating and drinking in the sun you can't go past SFO. I haven't stayed at the IC SFO though.

Anothersuitcase-anotherhall

A similar 'city' question between SFO and LAX in the Sunday Times today, The reply was to recommend SanFran as a generally more interesting city, although not sure about the hotals - suggest you check TripAdvisor for the lowdown on these.

Let us know which you go for!

sdsearch

Sunning yourself where? Are you going to rent a car in L A?

If you want to do all this in SoCal without a car, you want a hotel in Santa Monica (or one of the other beach communities), such as Holiday Inn Santa Monica Beach At The Pier. (I know nothing about it other than that it's a great location for everything you mentioned.)

The IC seems on a map (for those not familiar with SoCal) to be not so far from the beach, but it's in the middle of an office park, about a mile from the closest Santa Monica Big Blue Bus stop. The restaurant choices are mainly the food court within the shpping mall! It's quite a long walk to the Big Blue Bus (to get to Santa Monica Beach), or Westwood, or Beverfly Hills (the nearest two main shopping districts, restaurant places) in the other direction. (You can get the L A bus from there to the beach but they're not as frequent and not as nice.) All that's close is a very ordinary shopping mall, and you want to spend all your time in such a confined place?

(Of course, if you are getting a car, I take back all that. With a car, the IC is suddenly quite centrally located.)

OTOH, I presume the IC San Francisco is much better located to leisure activities (especially if you don't want to get a car).

keihin_242

A couple of recent threads about the CP Seattle (one of which I admittedly started) are here and here. It's a nice property but had serious elevator problems when I was there about a month ago. I liked the food prepared by the restaurant staff but I suggest going somewhere else for drinks. If you're not renting a car it's a better deal as parking is $30/day plus tip for the valet. We've had great weather up here recently though, and the CP does have some wonderful views.

vsevolod4

SF is probably the best city for what you want.
Obviously for sunshine, you're best off in LA and worst off in Seattle. But SF you can get to beaches even in town (Ocean beach where the Cliff House is the best, but others include China Beach, Lands End beach, Baker Beach and East Beach in the Presidio); more serious beaches if you head south to Santa Cruz, etc.
From the IC San Francisco you have more things to do within walking disctance than you would in either of the other two locations. Plus add in BART and ICSF would be my clear winner. Remember you also have the IC Mark Hopkins option; many threads will compare these two; the Mark is stingier on upgrades but it has historic character and a prime location atop Nob Hill.

The Mileage Millionaire

Unless you like sitting in endless traffic to get everywhere in LA, go to SF. We have great public transit and a beautiful city.

nicolas75

I have stayed at CP Seattle 2 days ago, and the elevator issues are still there.

I liked this hotel: very well located (only a few meters from the very nice public library designed by Rem Koolhaas, close to the great SAM Museum, and Barneys and Nordstrom department stores)

I was upgraed - on points - to a very nice club room on the 33rd floor, with a splendid view and club access (free continental breakfast, evening hors d oeuvre and softdrinks)

The service is pretty good (except perhaps the concierge who prefers speaking with the - young - bell boys than making some reservations for customers)