LAX Hotels

[ashsta77]

Firstly, a wonderfully organised forum. Great information set out in a clear way. No slanging matches or immature posts like those found on other sites.

I'm after some reliable information on hotels close to LAX.
We usually only transit through LAX en route between SYD & YYZ but have a baby on the way and have organised one night stopovers between the two sectors.

We usually stay in a Holiday Inn (Priority Club Gold member) but am a little apprehensive after reading some reports on another website regarding HI LAX. (TA).

I'm looking for the following in an LAX hotel:

-Good Value for money.
-Convenience / Good proximity to the airport.
-Safe / Clean
-Baby & wife :-) friendly.
-I'm partial to a good buffet breakfast.

Thanks very much in advance for your help.

Post Note:
Ater thinking I was going to pay the earth for our rtn SYD-LAX flights Dec19-Jan 20 I picked up a great deal with STA Travel (not a student fare) with AirNZ for $2450 pp. We will book the infant fare once he/she is born in around 4 weeks.

[9V-JKL]

Welcome to SQTalk ashsta77

My favourite LAX hotels when stopping over are either the Doubletree or the Hilton Garden Inn at El Sugendo; not exactly ultra near the airport but a mere 5 mins and both have shuttles. I usually choose whichever is cheaper on that day. If there are the same, I choose the DT for the cookies. Both have garnered good review on TOF. On weekends, both can be about $99 or maybe less wo tax so quite value for money. I'm not sure of your definition of a good buffet breakfast but if I had to choose between the 2, I would go HGI. DT has a v. nice eggs benedict off the regular menu which I like.

I've stayed at the Holiday Inn too once and didn't like it so what you read is true. FWIW, you get a priority check-in queue as PC Gold/Plat

[9V-JKL]

Thinking a bit more, perhaps the HGI would be a better choice as you have a baby. The HGI rooms have microwaves so you could use that to heat up baby food.
And its got the 24hour pantry as well that you could get some food stuff.

[zander]

I have stayed at the Embassy Suites at El Segundo two weeks back and I think the property is pretty nice. The interior is very new too I would say. All the rooms there are suites so there is plenty of space. Complimentary American Breakfast is provided in the morning. The rooms there can be had for less than 200 a night. So I would say its value for money.

Another property I like near LAX is the Renaissance Montura. One of the best hotels in the area there IMHO. The breakfast there is great but the rooms cost slightly more than the embassy suites I mentioned above.

[flo]

I stayed at the Radisson in Culver City. Splendid hotel and you're at the airport in about 10 minutes. There are complementary shuttle busses every half an hour and complementary internet in every room!

Airline crew often stays in this hotel and it's very safe there. Have a look at it, I will stay there again the next time I am in LA!

[N751PR]

Indeed, welcome to SQTalk, ashsta!

I frequently stay in the LAX area and have tried out several properties myself. I've done the Crowne Plaza, Doubletree, Embassy Suites North and South (the South property being the one zander mentioned), Four Points, Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, Sheraton, and Westin as well as the Four Points Culver City (which is near the Radisson that florian stayed in).

Supporting what you've read as well as 9V-JKL's own experience: the Holiday Inn is pretty awful compared to most of the other choices in the Century Blvd. strip. The only redeeming factors for me is it's cheap rates (esp. when I want to give a boost to my Priority Club account and the CP is too darn expensive) and the fact there's a McDonalds next door.

In terms of value for money. Usually the above mentioned properties can get cheap during the weekends but out of them all, I'd say the following:
- Hilton Garden Inn - As mentioned by 9V-JKL, it has an in-room microwave, an HDTV (with HD channels!), and is right next to a Metro Green Line station (Mariposa). Indeed, the Pantry is one nice feature to have as well. Admittedly this is one of my fave HHonors properties in the area. Indeed, if you stay over the weekend, it's probably one of the best 'bang for your buck' properties in LAX.
- Four Points by Sheraton- I stay in this property the most whenever I need to be around the area overnight. It doesn't have many frills like the HGI but it usually is consistent in being cheaper but isn't as awful as the HI (the #1 reason why I stay here a lot) than most properties in the area and is nearer to the airport. Elevators can be excruciatingly slow though.


As for convenience/close proximity to the airport:
- Most of the hotels in Century Blvd. (the street leading into LAX) have a shared shuttle network with light-blue painted shuttles coming in and out of the airport every 15-20 minutes throughout the day. The closest out of the bunch is the Courtyard, Crowne Plaza, and Radisson LAX (not to be confused with the one in Culver City!) while the HI, La Quinta, and Westin being the farthest. All in all, I guess it just depends how soon you want to reach your room.
- The rest of the hotels I've stayed in have their own shuttles with frequencies that may not match the blue shuttle properties. Keep in mind that you may have to call some properties for a pick-up at the airport.

Safe and clean:
- Century Blvd. can get pretty shady at night but if you stick close to your hotel then you should be fine. Of course, there isn't much to do in Century Blvd. so that shouldn't be much of a concern.
- Haven't had any awful experiences as of yet in the cleanliness category.

Baby and wife friendly:
- Unfortunately I can't help with either since I'm still in my early 20s.

A good buffet breakfast (unfortunately I usually check-out prior to when the buffets are open so my experience is limited in this category):
- By default I'd have to say both Embassy Suites put on a pretty decent buffet.
- The HGI's buffet selection isn't as much as most of the other properties but it is still pretty good and it also has a cooked-to-order selection.
- STAY AWAY from the Westin's as it can be *very* pricey for the quality you can find in most of the other properties.

I may have left off some other details (I know, I know, after reading all that ) but I'll post it if any comes to mind.

All in all, out of the properties I've stayed in, I favour the HGI the most if I can get it at a cheap rate.

Best of luck to you in your decision making as well as the rest of your travel plans!

[HUGE AL]

STAY AWAY from the Westin's as it can be *very* pricey for the quality you can find in most of the other properties.

Actually, I find this Westin one of the best *wood properties in the LA area. Clean, nice, and very inexpensive (compared to the other *woods).

[N751PR]

Actually, I find this Westin one of the best *wood properties in the LA area. Clean, nice, and very inexpensive (compared to the other *woods).

Indeed this property has great value when it comes to rates (I love the $99 weekend rates that I could snag here and there ), however I was referring to how expensive the breakfast buffet can be among other things.

[HUGE AL]

Indeed this property has great value when it comes to rates (I love the $99 weekend rates that I could snag here and there ), however I was referring to how expensive the breakfast buffet can be among other things.

My apologies... It's been a long weekend of reading Flo's and nickbot's Opuses.

[cawhite]

...- STAY AWAY from the Westin's as it can be *very* pricey for the quality you can find in most of the other properties...

Not to mention having a reputation for inconsistency (which is actually an improvement for when it was consistently bad w/r/t service). W/R/T *wood hotels in the (immediate) LAX-area, I always pick the Sheraton followed by the 4Pts before the Westin.

[MovieMan]

Not to mention having a reputation for inconsistency (which is actually an improvement for when it was consistently bad w/r/t service). W/R/T *wood hotels in the (immediate) LAX-area, I always pick the Sheraton followed by the 4Pts before the Westin.

I agree on these *wood choices. Stayed at the Westin once and wasn't too happy.

I always enjoy the 4Pts, especially their beer bar.

[SQ LPP]

I am happy with the Westin LAX because the pleasant unerasable memories I had there...







A great welcome to SQTalk, ashsta77!

[cawhite]

...I always enjoy the 4Pts, especially their beer bar.

That seems to be a common theme among my friends and acquaintances who stay there. We also use it as a meeting point (regardless of where we're staying) for the same reason.

[Kiwi]

That seems to be a common theme among my friends and acquaintances who stay there. We also use it as a meeting point (regardless of where we're staying) for the same reason.

Indeed. Good too if you're arriving on different flights. Just walk or hop on the shuttle, grab a pint and relax.

[ashsta77]

I've booked!

Hi,

Thank you everyone for your wonderful advice.
I have booked at the Hilton Garden Inn at El Sugendo for in and outbound.
And the baby I talked about in my original post safely arrived two weeks ago.
We have a boy! Lets hope he enjoys his first of many trips abroad.

Note:
How excessive are Christmas fares from Sydney-USA at the moment!!!
-They're now double 2007 December prices now! QF are offering A$8500 for two adults+infant in lap! Thankfully I booked a few months ago with AirNZ for a much cheaper price.