San Diego and LA hotel/attraction suggestions...

[welovedis]

Hi All!
My husband and I are planning our first trip to Southern CA for May 2022 to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We'll be in DL for 4 nights (5/1-5/5).

We decided to only focus on LA so that means 7 nights there. Cleanliness is a big factor for us and we'd like to be sort of central to the places we'd like to visit. We'd like a reasonably spacious room or a comfortable lounge areas in the hotel so we can sit and read a book if one of us has to lie down for a nap or something. We are in our 50s, not huge foodies as cancer treatments have left us both with food issues and neither of us cares if the place has a bar or not, would like a pool. We want this to be a relaxing trip, not run around like crazy so we have some idea of what we'd like to see but are planning to be flexible.
Places we plan to visit:
Getty Center, Universal Studios, LA county Fire Museum (home of Emergency!'s Squad 51), Peterson Auto Museum, Griffith Observatory, Stahl House, Science Center, and maybe a bit of coastal driving/beach day.

 

[dieumeye]

If you are going to Universal then the Universal Hilton is a good place to look into. It’s a nice, clean hotel with pool and restaurants (and close to CityWalk which also has restaurants). It’s up on the Universal City hill so it’s basically in its own little bubble above the valley.

It’s also close to Griffith Park/Observatory, and is reasonably convenient to Getty via 101 & 405.

It’s a straightforward drive over the hill to go to Peterson. But it may not be super convenient hotel if you have a LOT of places to visit that are more in LA proper like downtown, west side, etc.

There are lots of beaches all along the coast from LA to San Diego. I’d spend your beach day somewhere down closer to San Diego on that part of your trip, but it does depend what kind of vibe you’re looking for.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Lots of clean hotels in San Diego with pools. Personally, I think it's too cold for a pool in May, but that depends on where you are from. I would suggest Embassy Suites in Downtown San Diego or the one in La Jolla/University City because they will have indoor pools.

If you are interested in a large resort area with lots of pools and other things to do at your hotel, check out Paradise Point on mission bay.

 

[welovedis]

Lots of clean hotels in San Diego with pools. Personally, I think it's too cold for a pool in May, but that depends on where you are from. I would suggest Embassy Suites in Downtown San Diego or the one in La Jolla/University City because they will have indoor pools.

If you are interested in a large resort area with lots of pools and other things to do at your hotel, check out Paradise Point on mission bay.

Thanks, we are from western NY near Buffalo so we like to swim when its often too cold for others
We decided to cut out the SD portion of the trip and just focus on LA since there is so much we'd like to see there.

 

[DonnerB]

I live across the street from the Petersen (definitely try the vault tour!) and would say that in decent traffic, I am within 20-30 minutes of most of the places you want to visit (which is pretty good out here haha!). Depending on your budget, you may want to check out The Hotel Wilshire for a central location. I haven’t stayed there, but I’ve stayed at other Kimpton properties and found them pretty chill. They have a rooftop pool, and although the location on Wilshire is sort of strange (more office buildings - not a lot going on at night), there are quite a few food choices nearby (Rocco’s, Uovo/KazuNori/HiHo, and trusty McDonald’s all within a few blocks). The website also mentions a “hotel living room,” so that may tick your relaxation box!

 

[Ross Kratter]

My girlfriend and I greatly enjoyed the brand new Godfrey Hotel in Hollywood last month. A true four star property with a great restaurant, centrally located.

 

[China Expat]

I recommend the Warner Bros studio tour as well; no rides, but an amazing tour of a working lot.

 

[Ross Kratter]

I recommend the Warner Bros studio tour as well; no rides, but an amazing tour of a working lot.

Seconding this recommendation!
The Sony Pictures Studios tour is also great.