Los Angeles Travel Forum

We are staying in Orchard Suites Hotel in Hollywood, LA (situated behind the Chinese Theatre) for 5 nights in September. We hadn't planned to drive (bit nervous coming from the UK). I was really excited about going until I read some of the replies about not where to go, its dirty, smelly, dangerous, don't use public transport and have to admit the responses have really put me off. Our trip to the US (New York-Las Vegas-San Francisco-LA) will be our first and we are both excited and nervous travelling to such a large place. Any reassurances would be great. Thanks Kaz UK

the USA is a fairly safe place, in each of the cities, there are areas which are not congenial and some of them are terrible..
but that shouldnt put you off from enjoying the hospitality and openmindedness of the american people.
just this past weekend, two french students were stabbed 200 and 50 times each and bound and the flat left to burn at a uni campus. Would that deter people from visiting London?
the cities you mentioned are far safer than: Mexico City, Guatemala City, Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, Cape town but all these cities attract millions of visitors each year.
Enjoy your trip to the Yankiland. they are a very friendly lot..

Sorry, but if you can change to another hotel I would do so. The areas around Marina Del Rey or Santa Monica are much nicer. Recently some friends of mine told me they were planning at staying at the Roosevelt as it seemed a good upmarket hotel. I warned them that as nice as the hotel is the surrounding area is not nice and that they should reconsider. They did and stayed in Santa Monica, after their holiday they told they were very pleased they took my advice.

Regards

John

LA is just like any other city, and not driving is an *excellent* idea - not the place to test out driving in the other side.

I would too suggest to stay in Santa Monica, but make sure the hotel is in Santa Monica indeed - which should be close to the ocean.

As much as i don't care for tours,you may want to check out some of the Greyline tours, or just ask the concierge at the hotel.

Just imagine what warnings would you give someone about being in London ... things can get rough around some Metro areas - so take the warnings as just a way to insure your vacation will be smooth.

To check the proximity of the hotel to Santa Monica (you should see some Ocean there) - use mapquest www.mapquest.com - many hotels claim to be near Santa Monica but they're not.

You can rent a bike and go to Venice Beach and Marina del Rey.

Public transportation is OK - but the place is quite big. Just have a good map, and do your homework. And try to start early, and get home before it gets too dark. Really, should not have any problems.

If it would help, post back the places you want to see and how to get there.
If you want to go to Disneyland a Greyline tour may be best.

Santa Monica is also closer to the LA airport (LAX).

It's 3 years since I was in LA but it was our first trip and we didn't know any better. We stayed in Hollywood (not too far from where you are staying) and although I'm not sure that I would stay there next time it was really convenient for us and we found travel on buses really easy, we were close to food outlets and there was always something happening.

We used public transport everywhere we went (LA, LV, NY, SF) and no problems at all. We didn't travel late at night tho (2 women - thought that might be pushing it!)so a taxi every now and then was OK.

Some place are dirty and smelly, and dangerous but hey it can be the same here and certainly in London!!

Have a wonderful, wonderful trip. If you want any additional info from our first timer trip don't hesitate to email me

Nothing wrong with the area, as with all popular tourist areas there will always be a bit of panhandling and some goofy looking people, but that is part of the character of LA etc but this area has really been cleaned up in the past years. You will be in the heart of Hollywood, with public transit at your finger tips. If you want to go to Disneyland, take the metro to the Amtrak station and then board the Amtrak train to Anaheim, you can get to Disneyland easily from there, don't pay for a tour as you will be on the time of the tour company, not yours. The same holds try for Universal Studios, you can get there on your own, don't pay for a tour to take you there. You might want to take a tour however of Bevery Hills and the movie stars homes, that can be fun. Also go to Olvera St, a Mexican area in downtown LA which is a popular tourist spot, music, mexican food, gifts etc. Have a great time.

New York City and San Francisco are still amazing cities even without a car, so don't let your mood get you down.

Regarding Los Angeles, well I wouldn't be worried about danger and it's not really dirty either. It is just a pain in the ass (excuse my language) to get anywhere with publican transporation and Hollywood isn't that central. Santa Monica is a much nicer area and has a lot more to offer. It's never to late to rent a car, but seriously don't worry about being mugged or anything like that and the other two cities on your trip you are almost guarenteed to love.

Enjoy!

I visited LA for the first time just over a year ago, and I was concerned about personal safety. Well I had no problems at all, despite wandering around by myself past small groups of homeless men (washing in fountains), and around Hollywood (a sad grubby place now). LA was great, even the public transport (subway) was ok.

Take a good look at the AMTRAK station it is really beautiful. And you can walk around to the Disney Concert Hall, which has to be seen gleaming in glorious sunlight!
And the people were very nice too!

SF is where you need to be careful at night, around the Tenderloin area (avoid it). Avoid the buses as they go odd routes and the drivers are not exactly helpful. Stick with trams and cable cars!

As for NYC ... safest place I've been to. They have police officers in the US, actually on patrol in public!

Hi Kaz,

Why did you choose the Orchard Suites in Hollywood?

My guess would be "affordability." That means that this hotel is trying to attract customers and their big claim is proximity to the new "Heart" of Hollywood.

That section of Hollywood has been renovated quite a bit since the Kodak Theater went up. I think the area will be much better now than it was when I lived there. However, even when I lived there it wasn't dangerous, just "runned-down." That has been changing for quite a few years now.

Your hotel, I think, is pretty close to the Metro, so public transportation shouldn't be a problem. Sure, ours is not nearly as efficient as yours but it will get you to where you are going.

It's true, most Americans are nice and friendly and I expect that your nervousness should dissipate soon after your arrival.

So, my offer of reassurance is that you'll get what you expect to get. Think positively and positive things will come to you, even in the Big bad USA. :-)

Santa Monica and the beach are a much nicer stay...very much the beach image everyone has of LA....but tough on public transit.

Hollywood is much better for public transit.

So, that's basically the trade off.

Near the Orchid is the Times Square of LA. I live right up the street and it's quite safe now...overrun with bar hopping Valley Girls and tourists..but that's what you'd expect. If you want restaurant advice, bars, etc, just ask me...been in the hood for nine years(it wasn't so good back in the day ;).

If you do stay in Hollywood take the above advice and skip tours of Universal and Disneyland. Very accessible via subway.

Tours of Beverly Hills, by contrast, might save you time on public transit.

If you decide to bus it to the Westside, let me know and I'll give you the lowdown.

I used to drive a "classic" that spent more time in the garage than on the roads...so I know my public transit ;)

Stop worrying! You're all good!

Welcome..

GC

Stay in Orange County(Right below LA)..its alot nicer,clearner,and safer than LA. And yes Orange County does have its bad areas to but its alot better than LA. Plus Hollywoood is only about 40min to an hour away. So you can easily go to LA and see all of its sites and come back down and stay in OC.

Staying in Orange County would be a nightmare.

Someone writes and asks advice, stating they don't intend to drive while seeing LOS ANGELES, and they are advised to stay in Orange County?!! Where the only public transit is Metrolink and Amtrak, and where a 40 mile commute by car can top 1.5hrs in a heartbeat?

It's so the opposite of what this traveller requested, and really does them a disservice.

while everyone is allowed to post their opinion, i agree with the above poster, in that the answer has to be relevant especially there are differences in peoples concept of commute. in one hour and half you can go up and down the length of Paris, so someone from europe might not consider that advise congruous.
Most foreigners who come to the USA is concerned with: safety, pandhandling, friendliness of the people (no problem here, americans are very friendly)..
I appreciated the above post very much

I'm a native American, born and raised in NYC. The US is a capitalist country, so there is a greater disparity, between the haves and the have-nots, than there is in Europe. Tell me something I don't know! Yet you must keep your wits about you anywhere in the world. NYC is the safest American city with a population over 1 million, and that is saying alot compared to the shenanigans that went on here in the 80's and the early 90's. You will find most Americans, including New Yorkers!, to be friendly and helpful. Everybody here is a sucker for the English accent! Do stay away from unsavory people and places, just as you would in your home country. I am HAPPY to give you any advice you need on my home, New York City.