Where To Stay In Los Angeles
Over the years I've been to Los Angeles five times, I've stayed in several different locations all over the city, and spent time in even more. One of the hardest things when planning a trip to Los Angeles is to decide where to stay since it's such a vast and spread-out city. From Oxnard in the North to Dana Point in the South, the distance is almost 150 kilometers (90 mi). From the beaches in South Bay to San Bernardino in the East it's just over 100 kilometers (60 mi) in distance. That could almost be the size of a country in Europe. The Netherlands is roughly 180 kilometers (110 mi) in width from Northeast to Southwest for example.
Now, most of the locations I used as measuring points are geographical outliers and far from where you will spend most of your time. But they are all part of the continuously built-up area that makes up the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. South Bay is right next to the Airport, Oxnard is close to Camarillo where you might want to do some shopping, and Dana Point is not far from Disneyland in Anaheim.
No matter where you decide to stay in Los Angeles you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time in your car. I sometimes see people floating the idea of visiting the city without renting a car. Don't! You will need a car to fully explore this city.
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Santa Monica, Venice Beach & Marina Del Rey
Santa Monica and Venice are the two most famous beaches of Los Angeles, and if you have deep pockets this is the place you should be looking at, especially Santa Monica. These two areas are some of the most expensive in the city. Santa Monica is more upscale with luxury accommodation and fine dining. Venice Beach has a more youthful culture and is definitely rough on the edges. Near Venice Beach is the area of Marina Del Rey, which like Santa Monica is upscale and full of luxury hotels.
These three locations are great for further exploration of the city. It's a good base for sightseeing in Hollywood and Downtown while still maintaining proximity to the beaches for those kinds of days when you don't want to do anything. It's not a good location if you're traveling with children, want to visit amusement parks, or have the beach life as the main goal of your trip.
The beaches in Northern Los Angeles are not as good as the beaches in Southern Los Angeles, down in Orange County. More activities are happening along the beach promenade up North though. Venice Beach is more of an experience than a beach.
South Bay
South Bay refers to the area just south of the airport - Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance. But don't think for a second that this means you could go without a car by staying here. The public transportation options to any sight in the city are over an hour and several changes away. I stayed in this area for the first time on my latest trip in 2022. It was actually the first time I even visited the area. I liked the area and could definitely stay there again. I found a motel right on Artesia Blvd, one of the main thoroughfares, called Seaside Motel that was a good alternative worth the price. The area is mostly residential and not much is happening. The coastal areas are upscale and some of the best areas to live in Los Angeles.
South Bay is not one of the major sights of the city, and while the beaches are better than those further North in Santa Monica and Venice Beach there are even better beaches found if you go further South to the area around Huntington. You're not near anything, but you're also not far from anything. South Bay is a good compromise on price and location. You can reach most of the city with driving times that are reasonable in a Los Angeles context, which is under an hour during normal circumstances.
This is a good alternative if you're looking for an affordable place to stay. If you're just looking for a room to sleep in. The beaches have their small town centers, and if you're into a day on the beach you have it right here. It's not the most famous beaches, but it's pretty much the same as the more famous ones.
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Long Beach, Huntington Beach & Anaheim
If your main interest is to find the best beaches then these are the areas to look for. Huntington Beach is probably the best such option in the city. Some of the beaches even further South such as Laguna Beach could be even better, but you're now also getting very far away from the sights of Los Angeles and you'll spend a lot of time driving to do sightseeing. Huntington Beach is one of my favorite areas to stay in. Look for anything on Beach Blvd (US-91). You can look as far inland as Westminster. The last time I visited the area I stayed in Westminster 15 minutes from the beach, almost in Garden Groove, and it still felt like a good location and near enough to the beach.
The Huntington area is also great for shopping. There are lots of shopping malls and nearby are the Outlets at Orange. Another area in this part of the city to look for is Anaheim. It's home to Disneyland, so if you plan on visiting the parks it's yet another reason to stay here. Accommodation is fairly cheap in this area. It's much cheaper to stay in Huntington Beach or Anaheim than in Santa Monica och Venice Beach. This is also the recommended area to stay in if you're traveling with children.
Many of the different areas of what we as outsiders would normally consider Los Angeles is not part of the City of Los Angeles and is instead their own separate cities. Long Beach is such a city and it's actually the 42-nd largest city in the United States. It's fully integrated into the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. My recommendation is to visit Long Beach, spend a half-day there to see the sights, but I can't recommend staying there. Long Beach is not a nice area and it feels sketchy and rundown. Huntington is much nicer and not more expensive.
Downtown, Hollywood & Beverly Hills
I don't like these three locations for accommodation. I have never stayed there, but I've spent time in all three of them and I don't feel any need to look for a hotel there. Hollywood is a popular option I've seen many people go for over the years, and while you're near one of the main attractions of the city, you're also in one of the worst areas and far from the beaches. It's trickier to have a car if you stay in Hollywood or Downtown. There is a metro and you can move between these two areas with ease using the metro (at least daytime). But you'll have a hard time exploring any other part of the city. Hollywood isn't as fun as it may seem either. I'm usually on my way someplace else within an hour when I sightsee there.
Downtown has seen rapid development in recent years. I'm hopeful that the area can become a living city center and an interesting place to be in the future. Today, however, it is not a place you will spend more than a few hours in. It's not where you would like to have your hotel unless you're in town for an event at LA Live or business at one of the office skyscrapers.
Beverly Hills is not a great place to stay either. If you're interested in stars you can spend some time looking at the houses, but don't look for accommodation. Rodeo Drive might become a more interesting area to stay in when the new metro station opens in a year.
I can't recommend any of the areas North and West of Downtown. You're getting further and further away from where you will spend your days. The exception is of course if you have any specific reason to be in those areas. One such reason is if you plan on visiting Universal Studios and Six Flag's Magic Mountain. In which case I would recommend staying near those attractions for the days you plan on going there, and then relocating somewhere closer to the coast after that.
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Conclusion
As you've seen, where you should stay in Los Angeles depends on what you plan on doing and what your budget is. The city is unique in the way that there are so many different things that attract people to it.
If you're traveling with children then you should stay somewhere near Huntington Beach or Anaheim. If you are mainly interested in finding the best beaches then you should find a motel close to the coast in Orange County (Huntington Beach or Laguna Beach).
Santa Monica is the best alternative if your pockets are deep and you want a mix of both sightseeing and beaches. If you still want a mix of both, but you're also on a budget I would recommend looking into the South Bay area. I stayed there recently and next time I'm in Los Angeles I will probably try to find someplace in that area first.
Downtown and Hollywood are popular locations for first-time visitors, and I can only strongly recommend against staying there. You would want to visit, but it's not a nice area to spend most of your time in.
My final recommendation, if you have more than a week planned in the city, is actually to split it up. Spend a few days (4-5) in Santa Monica, Venice Beach, or the South Bay from which you conduct most of your sightseeing. Then change location down to Orange County and someplace close to Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach for the remainder of your trip.
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