Where to Stay in Los Angeles: Pick Your LA Before You Pick Your Hotel
One of the first questions people ask when planning a trip to Los Angeles is also one of the hardest to answer: Where should I stay?
We live here, and our answer is almost always another question: What do you want your LA to look like?
If you want to wake up, walk to coffee and spend the morning by the ocean, Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach makes sense. If dinner, drinks and going out matter more, look toward West Hollywood. And if you're coming for museums, a concert or a Downtown event, staying by the beach just because you're in Southern California could mean spending more time on the freeway than beside the ocean.
Where you stay in LA isn't just where you sleep — it sets the rhythm of the whole trip.
So before you start comparing hotels, pick your LA.
Pick Your LA
If you want... | Start here |
Beach + first-time LA sightseeing | Santa Monica |
A quieter waterfront stay | Marina del Rey |
A polished, walkable beach town | Manhattan Beach |
Beach + a livelier social scene | Hermosa Beach |
Harbor + a roomier coastal stay | Redondo Beach |
Restaurants + nightlife | West Hollywood |
Luxury hotels + shopping | Beverly Hills |
UCLA + the Westside | Westwood |
Museums + performances + events | Downtown LA |
Universal Studios + Hollywood | Studio City / Hollywood |
A slower ocean escape | Malibu |
An early flight or overnight | LAX / El Segundo |
Santa Monica: For Beach + Sightseeing
For a first visit to Los Angeles, Santa Monica is an easy place to get your bearings. You've got the beach and pier, Palisades Park, restaurants and shopping, and you can spend a surprising amount of time here without ever getting into a car — which is its own kind of luxury in LA.
It also works well if Venice, Brentwood, Westwood or Malibu are on your list. Rent a bike and head south toward Venice, or stay close to Ocean Avenue and walk out for sunset without turning it into a whole evening of logistics.
The trade-off is that Santa Monica is squarely part of the visitor circuit. If your plans lean more Downtown, around SoFi Stadium or farther south, it isn't nearly as convenient as it looks on a map.
Stay here if: You want the beach and sightseeing in the same trip and value being able to walk out of your hotel.
GSS TIP: Don't automatically pay an oceanfront premium just because you're visiting Los Angeles. Pay it if waking up by the Pacific is actually part of the trip you're after.
Marina del Rey: For a Quieter Waterfront Stay
Marina del Rey gives you water without the same energy as Santa Monica. The marina, the boats, the waterfront paths — it's a slower experience, and Venice and Santa Monica are still close enough to explore whenever you want them.
We'd point people here when sailboats out the window sound more appealing than a busy pier. It's also a nice fit for travelers who want Westside access without necessarily staying in the thick of one of its busiest neighborhoods.
Stay here if: You want a marina setting, waterfront walks and easy access to Venice and the Westside.
Manhattan Beach: When You Want the Beach to Be Part of the Stay
Manhattan Beach gives you a very different Los Angeles. Downtown slopes toward the pier, restaurants and boutiques sit within a few blocks, and the Strand hands you miles of coastline for walking or biking.
Stay in the right spot and you can leave the car parked for most of the day.
We think about Manhattan Beach hotels in two groups. Stay close to downtown if you want the morning walk, coffee, pier, dinner and sunset without moving the car. Stay farther inland if you're using Manhattan Beach as a base for a bigger LA trip and want easier driving, more space or more traditional hotel amenities.
It's also only a few miles from LAX, which makes it especially useful at the start or end of a trip.
Stay here if: The beach is part of the trip rather than something you just want to see once.
GSS TIP: Don't pay to stay in Manhattan Beach and then spend every day driving to Hollywood. Pick it because you actually want to spend time here.
PLANNING MANHATTAN BEACH? Explore our Manhattan Beach Insider's Guide, compare Manhattan Beach vs. Hermosa Beach or go straight to our Manhattan Beach Hotel Edit.
And if walking or biking the coast is part of your plan, read our guide to the Strand before you decide how ambitious to be.
Hermosa Beach: For Beach + More Energy
Hermosa sits right next door to Manhattan Beach, but the feel changes fast.
The city compresses around the pier and Pier Plaza and the Strand, so you arrive and you're basically already in the middle of it. That compactness is one of Hermosa's biggest advantages — you don't spend much time figuring out where anything is.
It's livelier than Manhattan Beach, especially near the pier, and the hotel inventory is smaller. Stay right on the Strand and the ocean is outside your door; move a few blocks inland and you get a little separation from the action.
Stay here if: You want the beach, restaurants and bars packed into a very small footprint.
GSS TIP: Don't choose between Manhattan and Hermosa based on room rate alone. Choose based on atmosphere.
Still deciding? Read our Manhattan Beach vs. Hermosa Beach comparison, then see where we'd eat in Hermosa Beach.
Redondo Beach: For the Harbor Side of LA
Redondo feels different from both of its neighbors. The city is bigger, the waterfront stretches out, and around King Harbor the whole experience leans more marina than classic beach town.
That's exactly why some travelers end up preferring it.
You get boats, harbor views, waterfront paths and generally more room to breathe. We've found the real question here isn't Which Redondo hotel? — it's Which part of Redondo? A harbor stay makes for a very different weekend than staying farther south or using the city mainly as a South Bay base.
Stay here if: You like being near the water but don't need everything arranged around one compact downtown.
GSS TIP: Don't think of Redondo as Manhattan Beach, just farther south. The harbor is part of its identity. Start with our Redondo Beach guide, take a closer look at Redondo Beach Pier and King Harbor, or compare stays in our Redondo Beach Hotel Edit.
West Hollywood: For Dinner, Drinks + Going Out
If the beach isn't the center of your trip, West Hollywood starts making a lot of sense.
Restaurants, nightlife and hotels are packed into a relatively small area, and you're well positioned for Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Museum Row and much of central LA. It's especially good for a couples' trip, or any weekend where what happens after dinner matters as much as what you're doing at 10 a.m.
Just don't look at the distance to Santa Monica on a map and assume you'll casually pop over to the beach whenever the mood strikes. LA has a way of making those little plans more complicated than they look.
Stay here if: Restaurants, nightlife and central LA matter more to you than waking up by the ocean.
Beverly Hills: When the Hotel Is Part of the Trip
Sometimes the hotel itself is part of the vacation.
If you want beautiful properties, strong service, shopping and easy access to Beverly Hills restaurants and the surrounding Westside, staying here makes perfect sense.
You don't need to stay in Beverly Hills just to visit Rodeo Drive for an afternoon, though. The premium makes more sense when you're after the Beverly Hills stay, not just the Beverly Hills stop.
Stay here if: The hotel experience, the luxury and the location are part of what you're paying for.
Westwood: For UCLA + the Westside
Westwood isn't where we'd send every first-time visitor to Los Angeles, but for the right trip it makes a lot of sense.
If you're visiting UCLA, have plans around Westwood or want easy access to this part of the Westside, staying nearby can save you a surprising amount of driving. You'll also have restaurants, museums and other Westside neighborhoods within easy reach.
Stay here if: UCLA or the Westside is an important part of your trip.
Downtown LA: For Culture + Events
Downtown can be an excellent base when your itinerary is actually Downtown.
The Broad, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Little Tokyo, the Arts District and major sports and entertainment venues can all fit into a DTLA stay, and you can string together entire stretches of the trip without driving.
But Downtown Los Angeles isn't one uniform neighborhood. Bunker Hill feels different from the Arts District, which feels different again from South Park. We'd choose the part of Downtown that fits the itinerary before choosing the hotel.
If the Arts District is part of your plans, take a look at our DTLA Arts District guide before you go.
Stay here if: Museums, architecture, performances or a Downtown event are a major reason you're coming.
GSS TIP: Don't stay Downtown because it looks central on a map. Stay because several things you actually want to do are there. Check out our DTLA Walkable Guide around LA Live and Crypto
Hollywood + Studio City: When Your Plans Are Actually Here
Hollywood is probably the most familiar LA neighborhood to someone who's never been here, which doesn't automatically make it the best place to stay.
If Universal Studios is a major part of the trip, Studio City or the area around Universal can be genuinely practical. If Griffith Observatory, Hollywood attractions and entertainment-focused experiences are on your list, staying nearby can save you time too.
But if the LA trip you're picturing is mostly beach, restaurants and museums elsewhere, there's no real reason to choose Hollywood just because it's Hollywood.
Stay here if: Universal and Hollywood are a significant part of your itinerary.
PLANNING A THEME-PARK DAY? → Our Los Angeles Theme Parks Guide
CHECK HOLLYWOOD + STUDIO CITY HOTEL RATES →
Malibu: When Slowing Down Is the Point
Malibu is one of those places where convenience is almost beside the point.
Stay here for mornings by the Pacific, for the beaches and ocean views, for days when you don't particularly care how many LA attractions you've checked off a list.
What we wouldn't do is book Malibu because it sounds glamorous and then plan back-to-back days in Downtown, Hollywood and the South Bay. You'll see a great deal of Los Angeles — from the car.
Stay here if: The coast is the destination.
GSS TIP: Malibu works best once you stop trying to make it convenient.
Flying Through LAX? Think Beyond the Airport
For an early flight or a late arrival, staying beside LAX is practical. Sometimes practical is exactly what you need. For anything longer than an overnight, though, we'd look a little farther out.
El Segundo keeps you close to the airport while giving you restaurants and a more pleasant place to spend a few hours. Manhattan Beach is only a few miles farther and can turn an otherwise functional airport night into the start — or end — of an actual California stay.
An airport overnight and a two-night Los Angeles stay aren't the same trip, which is why we've separated the options in our guide to hotels near LAX.
Before You Book
It's tempting to find a beautiful Los Angeles hotel, see that everything you want to visit is roughly 10 or 12 miles away, and assume you've found the perfect central location.
We wouldn't plan an LA trip that way.
Look at the three or four things you care about most and put them on a map. Then decide whether you want your hotel to make sightseeing easier, or whether you want the neighborhood itself to be part of the experience.
There's no single best place to stay in Los Angeles. There is, however, a best place to stay for the LA you want. Pick that first. Then book the hotel.
Keep Planning
WANT THE BEACH? Manhattan Beach vs. Hermosa Beach: Which One Is Right for You?
FLYING THROUGH LAX? Navigating LAX + Where to Stay
NEW TO LOS ANGELES? How to Plan a Los Angeles Trip Without Spending Half of It in Traffic [coming soon]
