DS and I are visiting USC this Friday! Our schedules opened up, so we are taking advantage of the opportunity.
He’s admitted for Physics, so he called Dornsife admissions to let them know. They are trying to get him into a physics class and a meeting with a current physics major. I’m not sure if they will be able to pull it off on such short notice, but fantastic that they are willing to try!
We are going to sign up for a campus tour after we hear about the class.
@WWWard and @CADREAMIN, will a hotel in the Downtown/Staples center area work?
@green26knight , you might want to check and see if the USC Raddison is offering discounts for students visiting. We paid the discounted rate of $175 last month for ExploreUSC, unless you prefer to be downtown. However, it was a week day so might be different for weekends. Depending on where you are coming from, I can also recommend hotels by Hermosa Beach which can be reasonable ( less than hotels in Santa Monica) and very close walk to the beach, and not too far from USC (6 or 7 miles). Might depend on your schedule though and whether you would have extra free time to check out Hermosa which is nice to visit, especially if you are flying from a colder climate.
If you can get USC Radisson, that makes it easy. Problem is it is often full. Downtown hotels are close, but can be pricey. But also fun to be down by LA Live.
@Nomorelurker I’d love some Hermosa Beach hotel recommendations! I’ve always stayed at the Radisson when visiting campus and will be staying there again this Sun-Tues! However, staying in Hermosa on a future trip sounds fun and hopefully less $ than the downtown hotels.
I’ve stayed at the USC Radisson, The Line Hotel (Koreatown), Ocean View (Santa Monica), JW Marriott (LA Live/Downtown), W Hollywood. I just usually explore specials on hotels.com. It also lets you put in distance to USC, etc. or a # of factors…
@WWWard I’m midwestern to my core. My only visit to “LA” was Burbank, so, yeah, I’m essentially clueless about hotel options. I appreciate all the tips!!
@reservationsfor3, I think I posted Hermosa Beach was 7 miles from USC but meant 17 as @kevbostic mentioned. We have friends who live right on the Strand/walking path but have also stayed at the Hampton Hermosa Beach sometimes which is in a great location to walk down the main street to the beach (Pier Ave) which has many restaurants. There is also a supermarket across the street which is convenient. Also not far from Manhattan Beach as well. Much prefer the area and rates over Santa Monica, although I sometimes stay with family or friends who live in West L.A…
Very easy to get to LAX as well from Hermosa Beach. Last summer we stayed in Agoura which is also much cheaper hotels for L.A. but farther to USC. We were driving to Santa Barbara and up the coast so it was convenient to visit some family in that area after the campus visit and then drive up to the Bay Area for a hideous tour of Cal Berkeley :-). . However, I would not choose Agoura if going back and forth to USC several days in a row though. Traffic is bad in the afternoons coming back to Agoura although going to USC in the morning, one can shoot down Kanan Road or one of the other canyons to Pacific Coast Highway and that will turn into the Santa Monica Freeway (East) and an easy exit off Vermont to get to USC.
@green26knight If you are going for the all around Socal and possibly beach experience, Manhattan Beach is another great place to stay, lots of restaurants, upscale shopping and area. Nice pier and beach to walk on - ice cream shops and eateries up from the pier. Drive can be 15-40 minutes back to USC, it clogs as you near downtown, but anything outside of USC (Santa Monica, etc) will be at least this long as well. If you aren’t going to be driving at peak commute hours, you will be fine. Still traffic of course, but it is LA afterall. There is Marriott Manhattan Beach or also the Marriott Marina Del Rey if you want easy walk to Venice without being in the thick of it. There are some Town Place or Spring Hill Suites that give a lower price point. When you book hotels, don’t forget to include the parking price in total stay, funny at the cheaper hotels it is free, but at the pricier ones it an be $30-$60/day. Downtown we do JW, that is super nice, rates vary depending on what is going on in town. I love LA Live, great place to eat and always some event going on that is cool to see, whether it is some video game championships with people in character or a Red Carpet thingy, certainly a slice of LA life down there, even if a bit touristy.
We generally hotel it away from USC, not a big deal, but just plan on the time for it. Otherwise as mentioned, the Radisson is certainly the most convenient to USC.
S is struggling deciding between SLO and USC for civil engineering. He wants a “traditional” college experience, ie. football, etc. but also likes the lifestyle/environment of SLO. He will visit both schools for the first time in the next weeks. Anyone here have kids who went to either for engineering and can compare? Take tuition costs out of the equation. Thanks for any help.
@CADREAMIN makes a good point about how many hotels in L.A. have exorbitant parking fees. That’s another reason I like Hermosa Beach. The Hampton has free parking and another hotel I stayed at in Hermosa Beach had free parking as well. Raddison USC charged for parking but was not too much. Downtown hotels (like Beverly Hills) will undoubtedly be among the most for parking. Hemosa is also more upscale than Venice. Santa Monica, like Cal Berkeley, is inundated with indigents. Manhattan Beach is adjacent to Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach a little closer to LAX but some hotels listed as Manhattan Beach/LAX may not be as nice and closer to the airport.
@green26knight visited USC and other LA area schools this week. I got an advanced purchase rate at the Intercontinental in Downtown which is a quick metro trip ( and $1.75) away. It was a great rate ($179) at a really nice hotel. The metro stop is about a block away and very simple/safe. We took the expo stop for USC and it lets you out near the Radison entrance.
@green26knight visited USC and other LA area schools this week. I got an advanced purchase rate at the Intercontinental in Downtown which is a quick metro trip ( and $1.75) away. It was a great rate ($179) at a really nice hotel. The metro stop is about a block away and very simple/safe. We took the expo stop for USC and it lets you out near the Radison entrance.
@green26knight visited USC and other LA area schools this week. I got an advanced purchase rate at the Intercontinental in Downtown which is a quick metro trip away. It was a great rate ($179) and a really nice hotel. The metro stop is about a block away and very simple/safe. We took the expo stop for USC and it lets you out near the Radison entrance.
@2mrmagoo, nice rate at the Intercontinental, but add $42 plus tax and tip ($50) for valet parking if you have a car. Hermosa Beach hotels can be had for around $165 and free parking, and you can walk to the beach. A different experience and farther to USC though. Last year I thought I had a great rate at the Hilton Garden Inn in D.C./Georgetown for a campus visit with my son, until I added the daily $48 parking fee (ouch!). S was waitlisted last month at Georgetown, oh well :-).
If just coming in for a night and want to experience downtown LA Live and metro link for a campus visit, that rate at Intercontinental is very reasonable for downtown! The Raddison across the street from USC does not always offer the $179 student rate so its good to have a downtown option if you don’t want to drive twenty minutes and be by the beach. This weekend, for example, the Raddison is asking over $300 per night plus around $20 self parking. I’ll take Hermosa Beach and a really nice dinner rather than pay the Raddison that rate of close to $400 when all is said and done.
Thanks @WWWard@CADREAMIN@Nomorelurker@2mrmagoo@reservationsfor3 and @kevbostic. All the tips got me looking around. We will definitely have to explore as we visit throughout the next few years. We went with Hotel Ingigo on Fransisco Street. Downtown, good reviews, and great rate ($145). I’ll let everyone know if it’s worth putting on your radars.
