Where to stay in LA with toddler?

[Remy87]

Hi everyone! Wondering if anyone has advice on where to stay in LA as feeling overwhelmed with research! We are there for 3 days for the first time so want to some classic tourist bits so want to be close-ish to the centre but also will have a 21 month old so being realistic about what’s possible… is Santa Monica a good shout? And any recommendations on what to do appreciated too - thank you!

LA is a truly massive sprawl of about 100 separate cities joined logether.

I would avoid Hollywood blvd and the area around Manns Chinese theatre as it’s overrun with tourists and is not very glam at all.

Given the age of your child I would spend the three days in either Santa Monica or Newport Beach as they are on the coast or in Anaheim which is where Disneyland is located. It’s a nice family friendly city.

Agree with this. There is no centre but by the beach at Santa Monica or Anaheim if you’re planning Disney would be ideal. If you’re flying in our out the Santa Monica is perfect because it’s close to LAX

We stayed in the Garland which was really nice. Regular shuttle bus to Universal which is close by. Nice swimming pool, including outdoor movies by the pool - great for kids.

As someone else said, LA is sprawling and so you can’t stay in one place that is close to it all. I wouldn’t stay near Hollywood Boulevard area.

I wasn't with a toddler but Shutters on the Beach at Santa Monica is great

Santa Monica Resort | Luxury Hotel | Shutters on the Beach

If you need to stay in LA I'd go for Santa Monica. Avoid Venice beach and Hollywood. Would travelling a bit further be an option? If so I'd drive up to Santa Barbara which is so much nicer!
We spent 2 weeks travelling round california and LA was my least favourite place

It doesn’t have a centre.

The different stuff is really quite far apart. Might aswell go by the beach as you’ll have to travel anyway.

Thanks everyone super helpful and confirms my thinking. And yes does have to be LA as have a wedding. We probably won’t do Disney as baby too young to appreciate and I’d rather do other stuff

Look at hotels in the Marina Del Ray area, there are some nice options across a range of budgets. Will you have a car op? It's pretty easy to get around if you do.

@Remy87 We stayed in Santa Monica in a b and b. Id definitely swerve the “sights” such as the stars in the pavement. Gum strewn mess. Santa Monica has the beach and is much nicer. I like Santa Barbara but it’s not close to LA for the wedding. Traffic can be awful!

The best thing in LA is the Getty Centre. It’s stunning. You also have the Getty Villa at Malibu. I’d probably stay around the beach areas but we loved driving along Mulholland Drive for the views.