What hotel do you recommend in LA for 2 night stay w 8 & 6 yr old?

ngl

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Live in FL and are DVC members and WDW annual pass holders so many, many trips there but looking forward to our first DL trip with kids! Each year we end the school year with a "big city trip" so this year we are combining that with DL. We plan on spending 2 nights in LA. I know it does not have a typical downtown and living in FL near the beach, staying at the beach isn't as big of a deal unless that is the best place to stay if that makes sense! We will probably do some form of bus tour (if they have the double deckers the kids love that!) and some other touristy stuff.

The one drawback is that it will be Memorial Day weekend so want to make a reservation sooner rather than later. Can anyone recommend hotels for this purpose? I know it is rather open-ended question but any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks so much!
 
Two adults with two kids, correct?

What's your budget, and do you have any specific places you plan on visiting? The LA area is pretty spread out.
 
We have stayed at the Beverly Hilton which has a cool retro feel and is close to Beverly Hills. If you want to go to Universal, the Universal Hilton was really convenient.
 


We are DVC members and enjoy places along those lines . I did see Magic Castle listed on a few sites but seems more like a motel than a hotel. We probably will do some type of bus tour and my guess would be we would want to go to the Walk of Fame but not museums, etc
Two adults with two kids, correct?

What's your budget, and do you have any specific places you plan on visiting? The LA area is pretty spread out.
 
There's also a Loews, W and The Hollywood Roosevelt you can look at if you don't mind spending more.
 
I'm assuming you will have a rental car? We like to stay in the Central LA/Beverly Grove area. Last year we stayed at The Farmer's Daughter hotel just across the road from Farmers Market and The Grove shopping area. Location was great, and away the Hollywood area that I find too tacky. There are a few other hotels in that area that are pretty well recommended.

We also love staying in Santa Monica. Never swam at the beach there as the water is freezing, but it really is an awesome place and has that "SoCal vibe" like no other place I've visited. Expensive though - we stayed at Lowes Santa Monica, most expensive hotel ever for us, but was totally worth it. Our room was ocean front and we had a small balcony with awesome views of the beach, ocean and pier.

If you don't have a rental car then I think Hollywood is a practical place to stay as the red metro line runs underneath.
 


You might consider a Residence Inn or Embassy Suites hotel in the Anaheim area.

If you use points from Marriott or Hilton to stay there, you may get a decent value if you stay a few miles away from Disney.

The rooms are larger, and the kids get their own space - which is nice and more relaxing. There will likely a pool, and you may avoid hotel parking charges. You will also get a great free breakfast.
 
We stayed at the HOJO in Anaheim when we did DL and my boys loved it bc they have a water play area with sprinklers, a dump bucket, slides, etc ....And it is all in the same area as the hot tub so we could sit in the hot hot tub and watch them!! My boys were 5 and 7 when we were there (they are 6 and 8 now and I think they would totally still dig it). The place also had the most comfortable beds and was a 10 min walk to DL.

Not sure how HOJO location works for your other LA adventures as we just did DL on that trip. However, I've been to LA before and I recommend looking up neighborhoods and areas surrounding your hotel b/c I ended up in a hotel very nasty area once - was close to Santa Monica pier area, but just far enough away to be bad news. We literally didn't even stay there and just ate the money and found someplace else. That was back in 2002 though before there was as much in the way of online reviews.
 
We just got back from a 3 night stay at the Magic Castle and I cannot say enough nice things about that place! It was amazing all around. Here is a small(ish) list:

- They used to be apartments, so the rooms are huge! Seperate bedroom, pull out sofa in living room, full kitchen and dining room table.
-Located 5 min walk to Hollywood Walk of Fame, Chinese Theater, Hollywood & Highland Center, etc. The location can't be beat!
-The service is AMAZING! Everyone is so nice and helpful. They went above and beyond.
-Free snacks & soda 24 hrs a day, free breakfast and free ice cream machine from 2:30-9. My kids loved going to get snacks whenever they wanted.
-Free laundry service!
- Heated pool open 24 hr (no hot tub) with a popsicle line where the kids call and a front desk employee brings a tray of popsicles wearing white gloves to serve the kids in the pool! So cool!
-Gated, underground parking available if you have a car for $13 a night.

My only one improvement was that when we first got to the room we noticed the furnishings seemed a little worn and there was a strong chemical smell. I assumed it was from them cleaning the room. We just opened all doors to the balcony and it was gone in no time. Everything else more than made up for those minor things.

A side note, my two older boys 7 & 9, loved the La Brea Tar Pits as well as the California Science Center. The Tar Pits are an actual working site, digging up prehistoric animals stuck in the tar. The Science Center has the Space Shuttle Endevour among many other things.
 
what hotel did you choose
We have discussed with a few co-workers who used to live in Orange County and one in LA and think we may do something downtown. Kids love the "big city" feel and since we live in FL, the beach isn't that big of an attraction to them. We are basically there for 1.5 days before heading to Anaheim and staying at Grand Californian.
 
We have discussed with a few co-workers who used to live in Orange County and one in LA and think we may do something downtown. Kids love the "big city" feel and since we live in FL, the beach isn't that big of an attraction to them. We are basically there for 1.5 days before heading to Anaheim and staying at Grand Californian.
If you have that money Four Seasons had a really good professional report with them. I know this might sound a running add. But I just love the brand. And one day I might work with them. The marketing on me has some major effect on me . The 7ps seem to work
 

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