Holiday Inn Los Angeles City Center

Convenient to Staples Center, Convention Center, Club Nokia, etc.

The Holiday Inn was downtown across the street from Staples Center and other area attractions. Easy to throw the car in the hotel garage and walk.. Next time, I’ll probably just take one of the airport shuttle services and skip the rental car. Under twenty bucks from LAX. Didn’t use the car at all. Room was good quality, hotel restaurant and bar were fine for when you wanted to grab something or relax if you didn’t feel like heading out to the many nearby food and beverage options. Hotel staff was friendly and helpful. The hotel is not inexpensive, except in comparison to other more upscale offerings in the area. But the location is awesome. My arm ain’t great, and I could have hit the Staples Center with a baseball from the front door of the hotel.

I have lived in the LA area, so my recommendations for areas to visit don’t necessarily pertain to this trip. I’ll skip the amusement parks, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood and Sunset Blvds, which are in every tourist guide. If you have a car, a drive through the canyons is nice. You can go up Coldwater or Laurel Canyon to Mulholland Drive and come down the other. Or follow Mulholland west all the way to the ocean if you have time. Think it ends at a State Park Beach, Will Rogers Park? A great scenic drive. Continue south from there on the coastal highway to Santa Monica for a meal (lots of choices) and a walk along the beach. If you have extra time, drive north on the PCH and see some nice shoreline scenery. Other fun places to visit are Venice Beach (south of Santa Monica) and the Queen Mary (docked in Long Beach). Or if the beach is your thing...the beach towns of Hermosa/Manhattan/Redondo (further south). If you haven’t done one, the Universal Studios Tour and amusement park is better than Disney in my opinion. That’s heresy to a Disney-phile, but it’s been my experience that visitors have more fun at Universal..

Clean but with few frills

During our recent stay at the Holiday Inn in LA we rented 2 rooms for 7 nights. We were traveling with 2 infants, and had requested cribs in advance. They were not ready, and the first night we were only given 1 crib, and had to wait until day 2 to get the other. We also had to pay to have a small refrigerator in the room to store the babies’ milk and supplies. Also, no microwave in the room so heating babies’ milk was a chore. Other than this, I was impressed with the cleanliness of the hotel and the service was fine. The pool was way too warm, tho, and felt like bath water. Not very refreshing to adults, however the babies liked it that way.

Excellent location for venues

Great location stay for our concert trip. Not even a block away from the Staples Center! Friendly staff, clean hotel, easy access to other venues within walking distance. We will be revisiting soon!