When I was planning for my stay in the Los Angeles area, I was offered good advice to check out the Santa Monica area as a place for lodgings.
I was keen to do so, especially since the last time I was in LA, I'd stayed in Anaheim, and didn't really enjoy it.
I'm really glad that Giampiero suggested Santa Monica, and we managed to find a really good deal at Hotel Carmel.
The thing to do is to pick up one of the many free discount booklets and flip to the area you want to stay in, check out the offers, and call them.
For Hotel Carmel, we paid 69.90 per night + tax, so it was a really good deal. Furthermore, it's conveniently located at 2nd Street and Broadway. Right smack in between the beach front and 3rd Street Promenade.
I found Santa Monica clean, pretty and safe. And I really enjoyed our very short stay there.
Also, it's really easy to travel out to various other places as the roads are very easy to navigate with a basic map and all the roads seem to lead out of Santa Monica!!! Or rather, all the roads lead to Santa Monica?
;) We drove to the airport, to Hollywood and all the way to Cabazon too! There are so many restuarants, you just have to take your pick.
I'm so happy that we stayed here! :)