Accommodations for Asian Festival, Traditional Chinese Shopping and Best Chinese Food
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 351
Accommodations for Asian Festival, Traditional Chinese Shopping and Best Chinese Food
My 21 yr-old son and 16 yr-old daughter wish to attend a fairly big Asian music festival for young people in Pasadena on August 20 & 21. My daughter is bringing along a 16-yr-old friend who will arrive in Los Angeles on August 18. My son & daughter are half-Chinese, so there is no real issue with them fitting in at the festival. I graduated from high school in Santa Barbara (now live in Ohio) and have little interest in doing much in LA. My daughter and her friend are fairly typical teenagers who would like to get a taste of Hollywood and celebrities as well as attending the festival. Will be in Los Angeles, at least the 18th through the 22d. (Arriving in Santa Barbara 8/14) I am the father, so I would like the 2 girls to have their own separate room and may have to get adjoining motel rooms so they will have their privacy. I am thinking that an Airbnb might be a more effective solution in terms of privacy and would like any suggestions people might have with respect to that.
Will add that my son has friends in LA as well as other connections, so his logistics are easy. He can stay with the family or go his own way. Just mentioning him as background. Also, will add that I am not financially strapped, but want to avoid spending a very large amount of money on accommodations. Would welcome any suggestions or insights that people have.
Will add that my son has friends in LA as well as other connections, so his logistics are easy. He can stay with the family or go his own way. Just mentioning him as background. Also, will add that I am not financially strapped, but want to avoid spending a very large amount of money on accommodations. Would welcome any suggestions or insights that people have.
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 12,597
Almost anywhere near a Red Line or Gold Line station would probably work well - they wouldn't need a car if they're going to go off separately from you for part of a day, and you can get to Hollywood on the Red Line. But, FWIW, Hollywood is a bit on the dumpy side and anticlimactic. I tell that to visitors, they go anyway and report back that it's dumpy. In 25 years here I haven't really run into celebrities on the street. Cap'n Crunch once in a bar. Got seated at a table with a famous Hong Kong actor at Din Tai Fung (I wouldn't have recognized him, but my film-editor friend did). A few are regular bike riders, but with bike riders you can know someone a decade and not know what they do because you just talk about bikes.
Pasadena has a few of the major chain hotels reasonably close to the Rose Bowl (Courtyard, Hilton, Westin, Residence Inn, etc and at least the Marriott properties are in categories that don't cost outrageous amounts of points), and then a bunch of motels (rooms open onto upper level walkway or parking) further east on Colorado. The motels aren't fancy, but I've had visitors stay in them and they seem to be ok. I last stayed in one 25 years ago when I moved to Pas. Airbnb's look like they're mostly in decent parts of town, but I don't know of any in particular. It's a little early in the year for summer-intern rentals to be ending, but there might be places near Caltech and PCC that are reasonably priced that are opening up around then.
Pasadena has a few of the major chain hotels reasonably close to the Rose Bowl (Courtyard, Hilton, Westin, Residence Inn, etc and at least the Marriott properties are in categories that don't cost outrageous amounts of points), and then a bunch of motels (rooms open onto upper level walkway or parking) further east on Colorado. The motels aren't fancy, but I've had visitors stay in them and they seem to be ok. I last stayed in one 25 years ago when I moved to Pas. Airbnb's look like they're mostly in decent parts of town, but I don't know of any in particular. It's a little early in the year for summer-intern rentals to be ending, but there might be places near Caltech and PCC that are reasonably priced that are opening up around then.
#3
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Redondo Beach, Ca
Posts: 30,745
Almost anywhere near a Red Line or Gold Line station would probably work well - they wouldn't need a car if they're going to go off separately from you for part of a day, and you can get to Hollywood on the Red Line. But, FWIW, Hollywood is a bit on the dumpy side and anticlimactic. I tell that to visitors, they go anyway and report back that it's dumpy. In 25 years here I haven't really run into celebrities on the street. Cap'n Crunch once in a bar. Got seated at a table with a famous Hong Kong actor at Din Tai Fung (I wouldn't have recognized him, but my film-editor friend did). A few are regular bike riders, but with bike riders you can know someone a decade and not know what they do because you just talk about bikes.
Pasadena has a few of the major chain hotels reasonably close to the Rose Bowl (Courtyard, Hilton, Westin, Residence Inn, etc and at least the Marriott properties are in categories that don't cost outrageous amounts of points), and then a bunch of motels (rooms open onto upper level walkway or parking) further east on Colorado. The motels aren't fancy, but I've had visitors stay in them and they seem to be ok. I last stayed in one 25 years ago when I moved to Pas. Airbnb's look like they're mostly in decent parts of town, but I don't know of any in particular. It's a little early in the year for summer-intern rentals to be ending, but there might be places near Caltech and PCC that are reasonably priced that are opening up around then.
Pasadena has a few of the major chain hotels reasonably close to the Rose Bowl (Courtyard, Hilton, Westin, Residence Inn, etc and at least the Marriott properties are in categories that don't cost outrageous amounts of points), and then a bunch of motels (rooms open onto upper level walkway or parking) further east on Colorado. The motels aren't fancy, but I've had visitors stay in them and they seem to be ok. I last stayed in one 25 years ago when I moved to Pas. Airbnb's look like they're mostly in decent parts of town, but I don't know of any in particular. It's a little early in the year for summer-intern rentals to be ending, but there might be places near Caltech and PCC that are reasonably priced that are opening up around then.
#4
Join Date: Feb 2022
Location: LAX
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Posts: 1,532
Definitely agree with above posters; staying in Pasadena will be the best, and it actually has interesting things to do. Hollywood is nowhere near as glamorous as it's made out to be as well, but I guess the kids won't care and they'll go and be disappointed, but such is life.
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 351
Re: Comments about Hollywood. We visited Hollywood about 3 or 4 years ago, so I know how dumpy it is. On the other hand, I very much enjoyed the Paramount and Warner Bros. tours.
One quick question. Are the La Brea tar pits worth visiting?
Thanks very much for the suggestions above.
One quick question. Are the La Brea tar pits worth visiting?
Thanks very much for the suggestions above.
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 12,597
Re: Comments about Hollywood. We visited Hollywood about 3 or 4 years ago, so I know how dumpy it is. On the other hand, I very much enjoyed the Paramount and Warner Bros. tours.
One quick question. Are the La Brea tar pits worth visiting?
Thanks very much for the suggestions above.
One quick question. Are the La Brea tar pits worth visiting?
Thanks very much for the suggestions above.
#7
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#8
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And the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is right next to LACMA on the other side.
#9
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#10
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Great pasta restaurant a block away if you do go...not much to look at & small menu but amazing pasta. Plus they validate at the garage next door.
https://uovo.la/locations/location-mid-wilshire/
https://uovo.la/locations/location-mid-wilshire/
#11
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#12
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The closest to me is the Marina. Odd that they would have one on Montana and I think there is also one on 2nd street in SM. I really need to try one besides Wilshire.
#13
#14
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It would appear as if they no longer have a location on Montana, I suppose that it was replaced by the one on 2md Street. If I remember correctly, it's owned by the same people who own HiHo Cheeseburger. They are located in close proximity both in Santa Monica and Studio City.
#15
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