Hotels in Los Angeles

Best time to visit Los Angeles

March – May and September – November are the best times to visit LA, to avoid tourist crowds and enjoy the pleasant temperatures ranging from 15 – 20 degrees Celsius. In the peak season from June – August, you’ll be greeted by heavy smog, sweltering heat, skyrocketing hotel rates and several key festivals such as LA Pride, and LA Film Festival. If you don’t mind the occasional rainfall, and temperatures around 10 – 12 degrees Celsius, then visit in the winter months from December – February, to find attractive deals on airfares and hotels.

Getting around Los Angeles

LA’s sheer size would mean that driving is a great option to get around the city. Do keep in mind that you’ll need plenty of patience during the peak-hour road congestions, and a GPS system to help you to navigate the scores of criss-crossing highways. Maximise your travel budget by looking for some great deals on car rentals with momondo. If you wish to rely on public transport, use the Metro system’s trains or buses. 1-ride base fare starts at $1.75 USD. If you purchase a TAP card for $1.00 USD at any of the TAP vending machines, you can get a 1-Day Pass on the TAP card for $7.00 USD with unlimited use of all metro services. Taxis in LA are expensive but easily available with fares starting at approximately $3.00 USD. Ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft also operate in the area.

Best places to stay in Los Angeles

Endless sunny coasts, sandy surf beaches, Hollywood glitz and glamour, high-end shopping, and eclectic cuisine, are only a few of the things that make up the cosmopolitan city of Los Angeles (LA). LA boasts of over 100 ethnically diverse neighbourhoods which have become home to people from 140 different countries speaking close to 224 different languages. Choose from one of these neighbourhoods to stay, and tailor your visit based on your area of interest.

Downtown Los Angeles

Downtown LA is a central hub for business and commerce, transport, government buildings and department stores. With several restaurants, nightlife venues, museums and the convention centre, this neighbourhood promises to be buzzing at all times. Enjoy a luxurious stay at The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles set in the LA Live entertainment complex, offering chic rooms with views of the glittering cityscape. You can also look at the historic 1925-built, O Hotel for a stylish boutique-style stay on Flower Street, in the heart of downtown.

Beverly Hills

Like a glossy city within a city, Beverly Hills with its famed zip code 90210 is the ultimate neighbourhood to spot many a celebrity on sidewalks, in coffee shops and in restaurants. The famous Rodeo Drive shopping and dining as well as the stately mansions of popular film stars are the highlights of this posh neighbourhood. Enjoy the star-studded legacy, classic old Hollywood ambience, and luxuriously furnished rooms of The Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. Be treated like royalty when you choose the grand and luxurious rooms and suites of the beautiful Hotel Bel Air which is set on a 12-acre lush oasis near Beverly Hills. You can also look at the modern and stylish rooms of the Mr. C hotel set in an elegant all-white high-rise building on Beverwil Drive, close to Rodeo Drive.

Hollywood

This is LA’s most popular neighbourhood, and home to famous sites, such as TCL Chinese Theatre, the Paramount Pictures Studio, and the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame, among many others. The famous Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street are lined with plenty of throbbing nightclubs, bars, restaurants and hotels. Across the street from the beautiful pagoda of the TCL Chinese Theatre, indulge in a luxurious stay at The Hollywood Roosevelt. Established in 1927, this hip, upscale hotel had the privilege of hosting the first Academy Awards ceremony, and now features chic rooms and suites named after famous Hollywood artists. A 5-minute walk from Hollywood Boulevard, you have the bright, spacious and contemporary rooms of the family-friendly Magic Castle Hotel on Franklin Avenue. The Magic Castle nightclub and performance venue of magic enthusiasts is right next door.

Santa Monica, Venice and Malibu

For surf-lovers, the sandy beaches of Santa Monica and Malibu present the perfect conditions and best waves. Venice Beach is a quirky area, known for its trendy eateries, buskers, vintage souvenir stalls and walls lined with colourful graffiti murals. In Santa Monica, stay at Shutters on the Beach hotel which blends modern comfort with the ambience of Southern California, and attracts several celebrity clients. Enjoy the friendly vibe and an eclectic, diverse atmosphere of Hotel Erwin which overlooks the colourful Venice Beach Boardwalk, just an 8-minute walk from the unique and trendy shops of Abbot Kinney Boulevard. A 5-minute walk from the Malibu Pier, you have the Malibu Beach Inn, illustrious seaside accommodation with well-appointed rooms that sit directly on the white-sand beach, offering breathtaking panoramic ocean views.

West Hollywood

Home to the legendary clubs of Sunset Strip, fashion boutiques of Melrose Avenue, posh art galleries, and a proud LGBT community, West Hollywood is a hip and expensive neighbourhood. Stay at the Farmer’s Daughter Hotel, a kitschy, country-chic boutique hotel with country-inspired room décor and modern amenities. Or consider the “go-to” hotel of Hollywood stars, the iconic Chateau Marmont Hotel and Bungalows. Set in a 1920s castle-like building on Sunset Strip, you will enjoy the hotel’s refined rooms with balconies that offer panoramic views of glitzy LA.

Cheap hotels in Los Angeles

With its many diverse neighbourhoods, finding a cheap hotel or budget stay in Los Angeles is not too difficult. You have the Mama Shelter LA, which features stylish rooms and an overall ‘just like mama used to make it’ sentiment, on Selma Avenue, in the heart of the lively Hollywood neighbourhood. In Koreatown, near Downtown LA, you can look at The Line, which features industrial chic rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows offering expansive city views. Close to the Warner Bros. Studio, you can stay at The Garland, an urban oasis set on a 7-acre plot, offering Hollywood-themed suites named after the members of legendary actress Beverly Garland’s family. In the beach communities, you can look at the Bayside Hotel on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica or the modern all-apartment hotel Venice Breeze Suites on Breeze Avenue near the palm-studded Venice Beach. In the posh and expensive Beverly Hills neighbourhood, find the best deals at Hotel Beverly Terrace, a chic boutique hotel with charming rooms set around a beautiful garden-courtyard.

Home to the glitz and glamour of all things Hollywood, Los Angeles is a beautiful city blessed with a sunny climate, an unending coastline, several picturesque sandy beaches, and trend-setting, world-class entertainment. The city is vast, and the number of things to see and do makes for quite a long list. Based on the duration of your trip, try to include some of these activities in your itinerary.

• In Downtown, soak up the heady aromas of The Original Los Angeles Flower Market. Catch a Lakers basketball game at the Staples Centre. Admire the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall and watch a virtual reality show featuring a 360° 3-D performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Get your fill of modern art at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Enjoy an interactive walkthrough of the history and winners of the Grammy awards at the Grammy Museum. Gorge on delightful dimsums and woks in Chinatown, try a Mexican taquerias on Olvera Street, or enjoy the little sushi joints in Little Tokyo. Visit the Grand Central Market, a foodie haven with a lively atmosphere and scores of diverse food stalls.
• In Beverly Hills, enjoy window-shopping or indulge in over 100 high-end designer boutiques of premium luxury brands. Try a guided open-top bus tour to see the luxury houses and stately mansions owned by Hollywood celebrities.
• In Hollywood, take a tour of the Paramount Pictures Studio. Admire the beautiful pagoda-like façade of the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre. Walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame which honours over 2,600 artists with the 5-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks. Take a guided tour of Dolby Theatre, the official venue of the Academy Awards ceremony.
• Enjoy surfing or windsailing on stellar waves at the exquisite white sand beaches of Santa Monica and Malibu. Stroll on the beach, and spot the homes of several Hollywood celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres and Cindy Crawford. Head to the Santa Monica Pier for family-friendly entertainment, games arcades, food stalls, and thrill rides. Browse through quirky boutique stores as you stroll along the open-air Third Street Promenade. Indulge in hours of people-watching at the colourful Venice Beach Boardwalk. Visit the Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and check out some of the most unique boutiques and trendy eateries in this area.
• In West Hollywood, admire the massive neon-lit, billboard-lined Sunset Boulevard (called Sunset Strip). Stop by at music venues such as The Roxy Theatre and The Viper Room. Explore the lively restaurants such as The Abbey Food & Bar, or adult nightlife spots such as Whisky a Go-Go.
• In the La Brea neighbourhood, visit the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum, the world’s only active urban ice age excavation site. Wander around The Original Farmers’ Market and watch vendors hawking their best produce, flowers, and handmade crafts.

• In the Westwood neighbourhood, tour the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, including the 3 on-campus museums, Fowler Museum, Hammer Museum, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
• At Brentwood, visit The Getty Centre, set high above the LA basin, and stop by to appreciate a spectacular art collection at The J. Paul Getty Museum.
• In the San Fernando Valley (locally known as ‘The Valley’), spend a day at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. Enjoy an outdoor concert at the distinctive Hollywood Bowl amphitheatre. Visit the Griffith Observatory in the 4,000-acre Griffith Park to explore the exhibits and see live shows in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium. Take Instagram-worthy pictures of the iconic ‘Hollywood’ sign from the Runyon Canyon Park.
• Don’t miss a chance to explore the sets of legendary Hollywood movies, at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, located in Burbank.