ErinsMommy
She believed she could, so she did
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2011
First, our choice NOT to rent a car and Uber/Lyft our way around our "LA" portion was spot on. Although it may have been more expensive overall it was enjoyable meeting and talking with all the local Californians we had (spent about $280 in total Lyft charges: the most expensive rides being DLH to Universal Hilton and then Universal Hilton to Santa Monica).
So we left Disneyland Hotel on a Tuesday morning (8/30) around 9:00 a.m. and were picked up by a lovely Lyft driver Mari who got us to our next hotel (Universal Hilton) by around 10:30. We dropped our bags while she waited and then she drove us over to Warner Brothers for our Studio Tour. SO MUCH FUN! So glad we got to do it and if you're in the area, its a MUST. The teen especially loved the Friends set. (We even saw "Bob" and two other actors from the Bob <3 Abishola show while on the tour.) I would say we were there until about 1:00'ish. We then Lyfted our way over to an In-and-Out Burger which I HAD to try (wasn't impressed - lol). We then walked a couple of blocks over to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, checked out the 'stars' and Grauman's theater, did some light walking around to the local gift shops and decided to head back to the hotel in time for dinner. The Hilton had a nice view of the theme park and overall was a comfortable room but after a two-night stay we never had any one come up to the room to clean or replenish supplies and when we asked they said "it had to be requested" (odd but ok). The pool was very small and very very crowded so we didn't get to use it and the 'on-site' restaurant was in a corner of the parking lot. No one was eating there so we decided against it as well. Anyway we took the Universal Shuttle over to City Walk for dinner and decided on Margaritaville. To our surprise the restaurant was closing very early that night (7:00 pm) but the food and service were both ok. Next day we went to USH for the day, got there right before the gates opened (we had previously purchased 'Express' tickets) and pretty much everything was a walk-on ride even without using the Express ticket (could be that it was the first day of the heatwave and temps were expected to get up to about 103, and they did get up to about 102, but honestly it didn't feel like it at all. The sun was hot, but being used to the humidity being an east coaster, I was actually enjoying the weather!) So we went through the park pretty fast and by 3-4:00 p.m. we were done. Decided on an early dinner at the NBC Grill (last shuttle back to the hotel was at 7:00) and they had a very reduced menu from that that was on their website so we were pretty disappointed, but it was what it was. Lyfted to the Griffith Observatory and glad we did! Those are some incredible views from up there!
After 2 days at the Universal Hilton we checked out and headed to the Loews Santa Monica. WOW! Yes, its an expensive hotel that my husband griped about when I booked, but my goodness when we checked in the view was INCREDIBLE. The beds were also super comfortable, the hotel staff were great and all were super friendly and helpful. We were so ready at that point just to kick our feet up and relax for a couple of days before returning home that it was the perfect hotel for us to stay at and we will definitely be going back. Hotel was very close to the pier so walking distance maybe 5-10 minutes, maybe another 5-10 minutes to Third Street Promenade as well (although we didn't particularly didn't care for that part - lots of stores that we have back home, so nothing exciting). My husband was craving a really good steak and I found a place called "Meat on the Ocean" and it was very very good, expensive, but really good quality food and service and pretty sure my husband is counting the days until we go back just to go back there for dinner. The Pier was fun, not so much 'riff raff' as I thought there would be with the homeless population so was thankful for that, but weed was definitely well enjoyed there and my daughter kept asking what that smell was. We never made it down to Venice Beach but walked down to the ocean a couple of times and the teen had a blast.
Overall, we most enjoyed our time in Santa Monica most of all and my husband's "one and done" trip to California is now open to coming back to Santa Monica and splitting it with the San Francisco area.
If anyone has questions about any of the hotels or areas, let me know. I'll do my best to answer.
So we left Disneyland Hotel on a Tuesday morning (8/30) around 9:00 a.m. and were picked up by a lovely Lyft driver Mari who got us to our next hotel (Universal Hilton) by around 10:30. We dropped our bags while she waited and then she drove us over to Warner Brothers for our Studio Tour. SO MUCH FUN! So glad we got to do it and if you're in the area, its a MUST. The teen especially loved the Friends set. (We even saw "Bob" and two other actors from the Bob <3 Abishola show while on the tour.) I would say we were there until about 1:00'ish. We then Lyfted our way over to an In-and-Out Burger which I HAD to try (wasn't impressed - lol). We then walked a couple of blocks over to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, checked out the 'stars' and Grauman's theater, did some light walking around to the local gift shops and decided to head back to the hotel in time for dinner. The Hilton had a nice view of the theme park and overall was a comfortable room but after a two-night stay we never had any one come up to the room to clean or replenish supplies and when we asked they said "it had to be requested" (odd but ok). The pool was very small and very very crowded so we didn't get to use it and the 'on-site' restaurant was in a corner of the parking lot. No one was eating there so we decided against it as well. Anyway we took the Universal Shuttle over to City Walk for dinner and decided on Margaritaville. To our surprise the restaurant was closing very early that night (7:00 pm) but the food and service were both ok. Next day we went to USH for the day, got there right before the gates opened (we had previously purchased 'Express' tickets) and pretty much everything was a walk-on ride even without using the Express ticket (could be that it was the first day of the heatwave and temps were expected to get up to about 103, and they did get up to about 102, but honestly it didn't feel like it at all. The sun was hot, but being used to the humidity being an east coaster, I was actually enjoying the weather!) So we went through the park pretty fast and by 3-4:00 p.m. we were done. Decided on an early dinner at the NBC Grill (last shuttle back to the hotel was at 7:00) and they had a very reduced menu from that that was on their website so we were pretty disappointed, but it was what it was. Lyfted to the Griffith Observatory and glad we did! Those are some incredible views from up there!
After 2 days at the Universal Hilton we checked out and headed to the Loews Santa Monica. WOW! Yes, its an expensive hotel that my husband griped about when I booked, but my goodness when we checked in the view was INCREDIBLE. The beds were also super comfortable, the hotel staff were great and all were super friendly and helpful. We were so ready at that point just to kick our feet up and relax for a couple of days before returning home that it was the perfect hotel for us to stay at and we will definitely be going back. Hotel was very close to the pier so walking distance maybe 5-10 minutes, maybe another 5-10 minutes to Third Street Promenade as well (although we didn't particularly didn't care for that part - lots of stores that we have back home, so nothing exciting). My husband was craving a really good steak and I found a place called "Meat on the Ocean" and it was very very good, expensive, but really good quality food and service and pretty sure my husband is counting the days until we go back just to go back there for dinner. The Pier was fun, not so much 'riff raff' as I thought there would be with the homeless population so was thankful for that, but weed was definitely well enjoyed there and my daughter kept asking what that smell was. We never made it down to Venice Beach but walked down to the ocean a couple of times and the teen had a blast.
Overall, we most enjoyed our time in Santa Monica most of all and my husband's "one and done" trip to California is now open to coming back to Santa Monica and splitting it with the San Francisco area.
If anyone has questions about any of the hotels or areas, let me know. I'll do my best to answer.
