31570324

Hi. To do no mistake again I will ask for a safe an cheap place before I book a hotel for my girlfriend and a friend of her. They will be in LA from 06. sept. to 10. sep.
I want to try priceline and hotwire, but I dont know which area is convenient for a first time tourist. They have a car, so driving would not be a problem.
Should be at least 3 stars but not more than $100/night. Can you give me some advice?

PS: They are very big fans of the tv series "castle", maybe you know a hotel in the near of a film location?

Non-NonRev

Since you're thinking 3* star and a car will be rented (as it should), Priceline/Hotwire should be used only with the knowledge that a hotel with medium-to-high daily parking charges might be assigned. Not always, but it's a possibility.

I'd consider the LAX airport area, for the following reasons: Priceline 3* to 4* rooms can often be had for about $60-$70 plus tax and fee, the parking charges are not super-high, and the attractions are reasonably easy to reach (especially if one invests a little time to learns some quick and basic short-cuts, such as taking the La Tijera - to - La Cienega "back door" to Beverly Hills/Hollywood that bypasses freeways entirely.

To check filming locations, go to this site:

http://www.onlocationvacations.com/c...ing-locations/

As an example, the site reveals the following for today, August 31st:

Castle is filming in L.A.
CASTLE #405

506 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90014

08/31/2011, 7:00 AM - 12:00 AM


(it should be noted that filming is often indoors and/or in areas within little if any view of the general public; also a lot of time is spent of setting-up scenes etc. Still, it can sometimes be fun to see the general activity surrounding movie and TV show filming).

31570324

Thank you Non-NonRev! No one has another opinion? Airport Area didnt sound so good for a city trip, but if its the only cheap option...

TWA884

I would bid Priceline zones in the following order:

1. Beverly Hills / West Hollywood
2. Hollywood
3. Santa Monica
4. Westwood
5. Culver City
6. Universal City
7. Studio City

31570324

Thank you. What would be a good first bid? $75?
They changed the dates, want to stay from today to 06. sept. in LA so I have to book something today.

Non-NonRev

This weekend is an American holiday weekend (similar to the British bank holidays), so that may affect availability -

The list provided by TWA884 is excellent from a location perspective - these areas are a good majority of the attractions of interest are located.

However, whether you'll be able to stay under your budget once (potential) parking charges are added, is open to question.

PLEASE be sure to look at betterbidding.com and similar message boards to see the success that other Priceline / Hotwire bidders have had.

http://www.betterbidding.com/index.p...lter=all&st=50

Hint: Open a map of Los Angeles in a separate window of your computer (Google Maps or Via Michelin), so that you can get an idea where these hotel and hotel zones are located in the larger Los Angeles area. Check these resources carefully before executing your bid (Priceline takes same-day bids up to 20:00 California time).

Good luck and wishing safe travels to your friends.

31570324

There is no Downtown in your list, can you tell me why? Just because the parking fees?
So, I have a problem now. They want a pool and they want to use wifi, so I cant use priceline because I cant be sure about the amenities. And they want one of these areas: hollywood, westwood, downtown, santa monica.
The only way to stay in budget is a 3* hotel in downtown at hotwire for $88, but i cant found this one on betterbidding.com (amenities high speed internet, pool, fitness, restaurant, business center).

Radisson Midtown at USC would be available for $80 with "carlsonf", but tripadvisor has only bad reviews about it.

TWA884

Wirelessly posted (htc Evo 4G: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.3; en-us; Sprint APA9292KT Build/GRI40) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

I would stay away from the area near USC. It is unsafe at night.

With the exception of "L. A. Live," the Music Center, Chinatown and Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles is virtually deserted at night.

PokerHammy

Of the four areas, you may be able to get a 4* in downtown for around $100 on Hotwire that has a pool, and most 4* (if not most hotels) should have Wi-Fi (probably with an additional charge). There's little nightlife in downtown, but it's a short drive to Hollywood for more options. There's a lounge with 360 degrees rotating view in Bonaventure that may be of interest.

I would not stay near SC if you pay me to...

sk3

This is a pretty tall order. I just looked at all the WEHO and BH properties that I'm aware of, and ruling out the scary ones, I have so far found only one that's somewhat close to your budget.

The location is superb in that it's right between BH and WEHO but the street and building is nothing to look at. It has a pool and free wifi and overnight parking is $8. But the best rate, and it's a prepaid one, is $129 which comes to $588.24 with tax.

The Beverly Terrace Hotel:
http://www.hotelbeverlyterrace.com/

It's location on Google with street view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=469+No...209.79,,2,1.05

TripAdvisor reviews:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...alifornia.html

Yelp reviews:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/beverly-terr...-beverly-hills

31570324

Looks very good, but its sold out for today and tomorrow.
I try my luck and booked one night in the Wilshire Grand for them on hotwire.com. There was no hotel with this amenities at betterbidding.com so I didnt know what I will get.
I dont like this hotel, $35 for parking... So I have to find another hotel for the next 3 days.

Non-NonRev

The Wilshire Grand is a large business/convention hotel in downtown (Figuroea Street between Wilshire Blvd. and 7th Street). It was at one time the Los Angeles Hilton; it went independent some years ago, and at one time was going to be torn down to allow the owners to build a high-rise office building on the land; that never happened, and they decided to keep the hotel intact. I was last in the hotel when it was still the Hilton, so cannot speak to its present condition. IIRC, the ownership is Korean-based, and they do a large amount of business with Korean and Japanese tour groups

The location is very convenient to the Freeway system (entrance/exit ramps to the Harbor Freeway are very close by). A Metro station is across the street, IIRC.

There is limited shopping within easy walking distance (7th and Figueroa center, Broadway Plaza - the selection and hours may be limited, however - it's not the expansive shopping found in other areas (such as The Grove, Beverly Center and Santa Monica mall, or luxe forward-fashion boutique areas like Beverly Hills and Melrose Ave, etc).

One thing they should try before leaving the area is a meal (breakfast, maybe) at the Original Pantry, a old-fashioned "greasy=spoon" restaurant that has been open 24 hours a day since the 1920s. The food is basic but good and fresh, served by long-serving waiters (they have photos of the staff on the wall, the youngest of the waiters started 15 years ago, and the more senior staff goes up from there). The panrty is an easy three-block walk straight down Figueroa (on the same side of the street as the hotel).

SWCPHX

Oh +1 for The Pantry!

31570324

Thanks for the input. I wrote it to them.
Yesterday after arrival they told me I shoud find another one, some crazy people make a party with prostitute at the floor.

sk3

I'm confused, I thought their stay didn't begin until September 6th. What are the exact dates you're looking for? And do they need a room with 2 beds?

To keep within your budget and not be in a total dive, they might have to forego there first location choices and stay over the hill in the valley, or by LAX as earlier suggested. They have a car, right? So they'll have to be driving anyway to site see...