morrie21 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 There are plans at work to organise a trip to Santa Anita in 2016 for the Breeders Cup. The general chat at the moment is to go over for a week and stay in Los Angeles as I think this is the closest big city to the racetrack. Just looking for any info from folks who have been before about best areas to stay in. We'd be looking for good boozers at night etc, probably not too bothered about any touristy stuff although as a boxing fan i'd be interested in visiting the Wild Card for a few hours. Any help appreciated, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrie21 Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherps Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 If you're set on staying in the L.A. area, Santa Monica is your best bet. Plenty bars and restaurants along the pedestrianized 3rd Street, and the pier is good also. If you were going all that way, though, I'd say spending a whole week in L.A. was a waste. Fly in to L.A. if you want, but hire a car and spend a few days on the road. A night or two in any one of San Diego, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo etc would be better than being stuck in L.A. for a week. Another thing to think about, Santa Anita is about 1hr/1hr 30mns travel time from Santa Monica, but also only 3hr 30mns/4hrs from Las Vegas. If you're not to bothered about touristy stuff, where better to spend a week eating and drinking. Transport to Santa Anita from Las Vegas shouldn't be too hard to organise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrie21 Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Thanks Sherps. SOme good advice and options to ponder there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamntg Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I exhausted myself of Las Vegas in a day or two. I've been over a few times and I love the place. I used to stay with my friend in Burbank and we'd dot around in his motor all day. Santa Monica is a good shout, but I'd consider Hollywood and round about. Plenty to keep you going there. The problem with LA is it's so fecking big that the nearest boozer is often a car ride away. If you think about it, it's more like forty cities that run into each other, so find yourself a city you like and stay near the centre of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrie21 Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 I exhausted myself of Las Vegas in a day or two. I've been over a few times and I love the place. I used to stay with my friend in Burbank and we'd dot around in his motor all day. Santa Monica is a good shout, but I'd consider Hollywood and round about. Plenty to keep you going there. The problem with LA is it's so fecking big that the nearest boozer is often a car ride away. If you think about it, it's more like forty cities that run into each other, so find yourself a city you like and stay near the centre of that. cheers - plenty to take back to the group for consideration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Recommend Santa Monica......I personally found Hollywood one of the most disappointing places I've ever gone to and wouldn't go back. It was just a dirty hole With no personality. everyone drives everywhere and we found that you needed to do a fair bit of research regarding restaurants and pubs as the best ones were well hidden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrie21 Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Recommend Santa Monica......I personally found Hollywood one of the most disappointing places I've ever gone to and wouldn't go back. It was just a dirty hole With no personality. everyone drives everywhere and we found that you needed to do a fair bit of research regarding restaurants and pubs as the best ones were well hidden. cheers Ricardo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeJay Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 completely agree hollywood area is disappointing - the place has a dirty feel to it and loads of homeless people kicking about. wouldn't recommend spending more than an afternoon in that area. seems to be more going on in santa monica on other hand, and being near the beach is always a good shout as fair amount of pubs/restaurants on the seafront. like other posters said, for good restaurants and bars elsewhere in the city you'll need to research tripadvisor and ask around. los angeles is definitely not the kind of place you can go a walk and stumble across rows of bars, everything is so spread out. rent a car/minibus if you can. hardly anyone walks in LA and public transport is miles behind new york. get yourself along to a lakers game if you are stuck for something to do on a midweek night. im not into basketball but it was great entertainment and highly recommended (and lots of bars/fanzone areas near the staples centre to meet lots of new people). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weekevie04 Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Spent 3-4 days in LA about 4 years ago coming home from NZ. I wasn't expecting much, had heard about Hollywood being a shithole and the size of city/public transport being poor. A very pleasant surprise. Like mentioned, it's a super city of smaller cities/towns and many of the attractions are all over the city. We didn't hire a car as it was too short, but I think getting a car is probably a good idea - although the traffic look horrendous during rush hour and day time. Stayed in West Hollywood - lots of nice restaurants, cafes, liberal, arty, gay area. Check out the film studios for a tour, if you're a film/TV buff. Went on a tour with Universal Studios and was excellent value for money and insight into the film industry. There are tons of opportunities to go see TV shows being recorded as well. Tickets are free and you can check the websites to apply. I think sitcoms record for 8-9hrs so that could be a lengthy day. We went to see Jay Leno's program and all in all it was about 2hrs. An interesting experience. Downtown looked pretty dodgy in certain areas. It seems though that they are renovating it and a friend I know has told me tons of hipsters and yuppies are moving there to loft-apartments so it's possibly the in place now. Walk from Venice Beach to Santa Monica - it's a nice walk and you'll see a bunch of characters and the gradual change in people too from chilled out stoners to reaching Santa Monica and more yuppies. Didn't spend enough time there to fully explore, but sure you'll have a nice time. I'd love to go back and see even just places like Malibu, the Valley, and up to Santa Barbara. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BremnerLorimerGray Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I fair enjoyed Hollywood when I was there, went to few cracking gigs and it's a great place for going out on the piss. Sunset Strip and Hollywood Boulevard are awash with good bars. We stayed at the Best Western + Hollywood Hills on Franklin which has some quaint decor that included a signed magazine cover of Val Kilmar from the Doors movie staring at you as you take a shit. The breakfast burrito from the 101 Coffee Shop is tremendous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrie21 Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 thanks for all the feedback, plenty to consider and discuss with the rest of the group Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamntg Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 (edited) My mate pushed me down the main street in Santa Barbara in a shopping cart (trolley) at 4 in the morning which then crashed onto the pavement (road) causing me to spill the contents of my Breakfast Burrito all over the sidewalk (pavement). Oh - and we went to the Viper Room and saw the place where River Phoenix died. I've also visited Cromwell Street in Gloucester. Edited March 30, 2015 by adamntg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristolhibby Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 A good wee video. Was in LA a year ago today. We didn't get to the beaches as my eldest got sunstroke on the first day and was throwing up all night. We got one of the open top busses, which was very good (it was that that fried my lad). We stayed in Pasadena and drove around. Would like to spend a bit more time exploring as didn't get to Universal and missed going to a Dodgers or Angels game. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrie21 Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Excellent info Bristolhibby. Thanks for posting the vid too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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