Los Angeles - Where to stay?

[Speed_69]

Planning a vacation to Los Angeles in late May or early June for 7 days.
For those who have been, which areas would you suggest to book a hotel so that it would be accessible to all the popular points of interest?

I went to LA a couple of years ago and stayed in Garden Grove, CA which isn't too far from Anaheim, CA. Definitely was not the nicest area and was semi-ghetto. It was close to a lot of good places to eat though and we managed to get to all of our destinations without too much of a hassle.

Our points of interest would be Universal Studios Hollywood, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Disneyland, Venice Beach, Premium outlet malls in Camarillo, CA & Cabazon, CA and perhaps going to San Diego for Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. Any other suggestions would be nice?

Trying to cut the costs of accomodation for the trip so Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood would be out of the question. We don't need a really nice place to stay but it needs to be decent. I was looking at a map and I was thinking perhaps Anaheim, Buena Park or East Los Angeles.

[Gorilla]

Im going tomorrow and staying across from disney at Marriott Suites.

Check out travelzoo.com and dealbase.com

[mr2mike]

I stayed here:
http://www.bestwesterncalifornia.com/hotels/best-western-huntington-beach-inn/

Location is great and price was decent. 2 blocks away from the pier and lots of resturants and shopping too. Didn't have to drive anywhere.

But probably far away from tourist destinations.
http://www.huntingtonbeachevents.com/

Parking is underground at that hotel but I wouldn't call it secure with an open garage door 24/7. No issues but if you're driving down, keep valuables out.

[core_upt]

Use Priceline and Hotwire for the best deals - especially in that area. We stayed at the Anaheim Marriott suites for under $50 a night and it's a decent enough hotel. We also stayed at the DoubleTree in Santa Monica for a few nights for $40 a night or so. Nice hotel, and Santa Monica is gorgeous, especially compared to a lot of LA!

Those outlet malls you've listed aren't really close to anywhere. There is one in Ontario, CA which is more central.

SD is about 2 hours form LA, more with traffic. The SD zoo is easily a full day - 9AM to 5PM sort of thing, Seawold would be as well. If you were to go to SD for a couple days, there is a great outlet mall at the Mexi border.

Also, a car is a must in Southern CA. There is no way around it, so rent one and get a GPS if you don't have one.

[mr2mike]

Priceline negotiator is a free app on the iphone. Works good for the US and I think Canada too.

[CRXguy]

Just look for something along Katella in Anaheim.

[Quizzes]

Originally posted by Speed_69
Our points of interest would be Universal Studios Hollywood, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Disneyland, Venice Beach, Premium outlet malls in Camarillo, CA & Cabazon, CA and perhaps going to San Diego for Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. Any other suggestions would be nice?
Dang... you're hitting all corners of Los Angeles.


Trying to cut the costs of accomodation for the trip so Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood would be out of the question. We don't need a really nice place to stay but it needs to be decent. I was looking at a map and I was thinking perhaps Anaheim, Buena Park or East Los Angeles.
How about Monterey Park because it's near both the I-5 and the I-10. If you're Asian, you'll have no problem fitting in. :)

[Speed_69]

Thanks for everyone's input! But we've actually changed our minds now and are heading to Orlando to pretty much do the same things as I've never been there.

[mr2mike]

Priceline app still works there. ;)