Weekend trip to Hollywood for 5 - Orchid Suites or Holiday Inn Express & Suites?

jpessa

Addicted to Disney
Joined
Oct 26, 2012
Hi everyone,

my sister is coming to visit me in Phoenix and wants to go to LA for a weekend in February. We'll arrive late evening Friday and leave in the afternoon on Monday. We have a party of 5 (my sister, her 2 teenagers (15 & 17) then me and my 7yo). We want to do:

Day 1 - Saturday: The touristy stuff in Hollywood (walk of fame, Chinese theater, studio tour, maybe tour of stars' homes, maybe Rodeo Drive, maybe observatory).

Day 2 - Sunday: Universal Studios Hollywood

Day 3 - Monday: Beach until after lunch, then drive back to Phoenix (thinking Venice/Santa Monica)

Because we'll mostly do Hollywood area stuff, I'm leaning towards staying there and currently have the Hollywood Orchid Suites (Deluxe 2 king suite with a rollaway) and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hollywood Walk of Fame (2 queens and a sofa bed) booked.

Any recommendations on the best between the two? Location is great for both. Won't use the kitchenette much, not a factor. With parking included Holiday Inn is cheaper by $150. Trying to keep costs low which is why we're all sharing 1 room. It will be tight but I'm not too worried. Orchid has a separate bedroom with 1 king, 1 king with cot in living room. More privacy/separation.

Any suggestions appreciated!
 
We are planning a trip to Hollywood as well. We are booked at the Holiday Inn Walk of Fame as we plan to do touristy stuff to. We are planning to do a Warner Bros tour then go to Universal Studios. Also planning a day to visit Venice Beach as well as Santa Monica Pier. And being booked at the Holiday Inn we plan to visit the Hollywood & Highland Mall.
 
We stayed at the Holiday Inn last November for 4 days. The rooms seem a decent size, nothing special though and the breakfast is very basic. There is a small pool if you want to swim. The hotel was quiet and has a couple of small restaurants and a convenience store just across the road. It was a 5 minute walk to the walk of fame and the Metro Station where you can catch the red line direct to Universal if you don't want to drive. You can also take the red line and transfer to the Santa Monica line as well.

It looks like the Orchard Suites is very central and with the size of your group I'd probably want some separation, but that's just me, you wont be spending much time in the hotel.

If you want great shots of the Hollywood sign, go to the observatory, You'll get them from there no problems at all as well as shots of the city if it's a clear day.

We found that USH was really only a 1/2 day park for us, we rope dropped and did not need front of line passes, rode everything we wanted. If you buy your tickets on line from USH and you'll get in to Harry Potter an hour early and probably have ridden everything in the top lot before they open the bottom lot - the day we were there we got in at 9 and they didn't open the bottom lot until around 10.30. We actually left after an earlish lunch, stayed on the train and hopped off at the Wiltshire and Vermont and caught the bus to La Brea and The Grove for the afternoon (that same bus that took us to the Grove also took us back to Hollywood Blvd).

HTH
 


We decided to go with holiday inn for our upcoming June trip. Orchid wouldn’t let me book for only two nights (which is all we need) and I didn’t care for the options for our family of five.
 
Thanks everyone,

We decided to go with the Holiday Inn. My sister wanted the savings more than the private room.
 
We stayed at the Holiday Inn last November for 4 days. The rooms seem a decent size, nothing special though and the breakfast is very basic. There is a small pool if you want to swim. The hotel was quiet and has a couple of small restaurants and a convenience store just across the road. It was a 5 minute walk to the walk of fame and the Metro Station where you can catch the red line direct to Universal if you don't want to drive. You can also take the red line and transfer to the Santa Monica line as well.

It looks like the Orchard Suites is very central and with the size of your group I'd probably want some separation, but that's just me, you wont be spending much time in the hotel.

If you want great shots of the Hollywood sign, go to the observatory, You'll get them from there no problems at all as well as shots of the city if it's a clear day.

We found that USH was really only a 1/2 day park for us, we rope dropped and did not need front of line passes, rode everything we wanted. If you buy your tickets on line from USH and you'll get in to Harry Potter an hour early and probably have ridden everything in the top lot before they open the bottom lot - the day we were there we got in at 9 and they didn't open the bottom lot until around 10.30. We actually left after an earlish lunch, stayed on the train and hopped off at the Wiltshire and Vermont and caught the bus to La Brea and The Grove for the afternoon (that same bus that took us to the Grove also took us back to Hollywood Blvd).

HTH
Is this the Holiday Inn Express on N Highland?
 


We are only a party of 3. Mom/dad and 15 year old daughter. Will have a car. Can't decide between Orchid Suites, HIExpress and Hollywood Loews hotel. It seems all 3 are all very close to each other. Trying to make a decision. Anyone been to all 3?
 
Just wondering for those who have stayed at the Holiday Inn Walk of Fame, what other hotels are nearby , say short walking distance ?

Because I can get my tickets through my employer (FREE) for the Warner Bros tour but the company that does this doesn't pick up from the Holiday Inn Walk of Fame. So we would need to meet them at a nearby hotel. Thanks
 

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