<p>My son is traveling to LA for the first time later this month. Since none of us has ever been there before we are sort of working in the dark. He needs a cheap, clean hotel as close as possible (walking distance if possible) to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. It would be for 2 nights. Thanks!</p>
<p>The Renaissaince fits the bill except for the “cheap” unless you have Marriott points…</p>
<p>Or the Omni or Westin Bonaventure. Both are close. The Westin usually has deals.</p>
<p>Priceline or Hotwire would be a great way to go – use the bidding help at Bidding for Travel to see which hotels are on offer, and restrict the search to the core downtown area, three stars and up. Looking at just the area categorized as Downtown Los Angeles and adding Chinatown, there seem to be hotels available in the $95 range, three and a half stars. Priceline should be less than that. (Unless he’s trying for some dates when LA is hosting something big.)</p>
<p>He needs to stay less than $100.00 a night (poor college student). He usually stays in hostels when he travels, but I don’t think there are any in this area, besides he needs a quiet night for this trip and hostels can be noisy. I know the Omni is right across the street but def waaay out of his price range. He just needs close and clean, not luxury and he’ll be on foot or using a taxi so close is important. It’s hard to tell from a map just how far apart things are.</p>
<p>That is going to be a tough order to fill…you might check Trip Advisor.</p>
<p>Though not walking distance, Hotel Figueroa is an older hotel with some charm, and should be in your price range. There’s also a Holiday Inn on Figueroa; again, not walking distance. When I worked in downtown L.A., I recall a cap on cab fare within the downtown area of about $5 – not sure if that’s still true. Good alternative is taking the red line (subway), at 7th & Figueroa, which is within walking distance of both of these hotels, a few stops to First Street, which is where the Chandler (and courthouse) are; the ride is inexpensive, safe, and quick.</p>
<p>Never stayed there… These could give you a starting point… Should be not that expensive. For under $100, do not expect to find a 4-star hotel in LA. More like a 2-star with basic neccessities.</p>
<p>[dorothy</a> chandler pavilion hotels in Los Angeles, CA 90012 on Yahoo! Local](<a href=“http://local.yahoo.com/results?p=dorothy+chandler+pavilion+hotels&csz=90012]dorothy”>http://local.yahoo.com/results?p=dorothy+chandler+pavilion+hotels&csz=90012)</p>
<p>Investigate further on TripAdvisor.</p>
<p>I looked up Hotel Figueroa - very cool! But it’s out of his price range. Definitely not looking for luxury, just clean and safe and somewhat close. I realize he will probably have to take a taxi to get where he’s going, just trying to keep cost down, I also realize that with the tremendous traffic the further he has to travel the trickier things will be. Probably what he would hope for is something like a Comfort Inn, no frills but clean and hopefully safe.</p>
<p>srw, a college kid can walk 2 miles in 30 minutes (if he is not carrying a basson or a cello :eek:) - I would go to google maps, plug in the Pavilion and look for hotels within 2-mile radius, then read Tripadvisor. That is what I did when H and I traveled to Berlin recently. Granted, Berlin is much safer than LA, so make sure there will be no “sketchy” areas to walk through.</p>
<p>The good news is he’s close to a Metro station, so if need be he can stay a bit farther and take the train.</p>
<p>A friend of mine stayed at the Milner Hotel on Flower St. It is also close to a Red Line station.</p>
<p>I know he can walk 30 min, he’s spent a lot of time in NY, Philly and San Fran. The difference is when he started out going to those places he had a friend with him and had some initial guidance to get him started and he sort of knew what areas to stay out of. I don’t think he’s too worried about LA, but for some reason I am. And while he will not be carrying a cello he will be very dressed up and must stay clean and no sweating either!</p>
<p>I guess my problem is I have absolutely no idea where anything is or how things work there or what areas are sketchy. I have thought of one person he knows who travels there frequently and while they probably stay in much nicer places than my son can afford they may know of a cheaper but still close place. I will suggest to him to contact this man.</p>
<p>I will look up the Milner Hotel, thanks.</p>
<p>With name your own price, you might get a great deal at the Kyoto Grand Hotel and Garden–3*. The suggestion to restrict your search to downtown hotels, 3 star and up is a great one. I did this for Rochester last year (actually I restricted to 4 star), and got a fantastic deal. I think you can get downtown LA for $100 or less with this method. If you look at 2 stars, the Best Western Dragon Gate Inn comes up. I’d look up both of these on TripAdvisor. Also, look at the Red line route, and you could also search within walking distance at various stops.</p>
<p>You might want to call Colburn admissions----(right next door) and find out what hotels they recommend for visitors. Even though it’s not why he is going, you might get a good tip from them. If he is walking late at night with an expensive instrument, a taxi might be in order.</p>
<p>Also—check out recommendations on YELP. Comments are usually helpful and specific.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the good advice!</p>
<p>Would NOT recommend the Holiday Inn at Figuoroa–worst place we’ve EVER stayed with paper thin walls & overpriced rooms. Have had good experiences with HotWire in booking hotels but am never sure exactly what hotel I have until after purchasing.</p>
<p>If you want a completely different sort of suggestion, there is a B & B just north of USC that I originally learned about here on CC and stayed at about 2 years ago. It looks like the cheapest room is now $145 but that includes breakfast. It’s fairly close to a bus line and quite a cozy and friendly place to stay. Check it out [The</a> Inn at 657: Frontal View](<a href=“http://www.patsysinn657.com/index2.html]The”>http://www.patsysinn657.com/index2.html)</p>
<p>HImom, thanks for the tip. The bed and breakfast place looks charming! If I end up needing to go out later that’s where I’d like to stay!</p>
<p>I agree with the Inn at 657; if I needed to stay near USC, that’s where I’d want to stay. They have parking & the wonderful owner provides an excellent breakfast & good travel tips. Have only heard of good things for that B&B.</p>