Need SoCal suggestions for pre-cruise evening

[d&a Delaware]

Looking for suggestions. Allen and I are flying into SNA on April 3 before an April 4 cruise on Mariner. Flight lands just after Noon, we are renting a car we can return at the pier in San Pedro, and we want to have a nice relaxing Southern California evening before our cruise. Thinking of Orange County beach communities, but open to anything. We are not interested in big tourist attractions (Disneyland, etc.), and we are already very familiar with Hollywood & LA itself. Suggestions I can look into? Thanks in advance.

 

David

[kenish]

The good news is traffic won't be an issue since it's a Saturday and beach hotels shouldn't be too crowded being off-peak season (unless Spring Break is involved).

 

Laguna Beach is about 20 minutes south of SNA. It has a small beach, the rest of the area is rocky bluffs. There are nice shops, galleries, and restaurants in town and not a lot of chain-type establishments.

 

Newport Beach is adjacent to SNA, upscale and resort-ish. The nearby town of Balboa is fun, sort of like a New England beach town transplanted to California.

 

Huntington is "Surf City USA", a long sandy beach and a big beach culture. It's middle class surburbia (in a good sense).

 

There are a lot of threads on Long Beach and San Pedro; I'd recommend SP over LB based on your thread and Laguna over all the other choices. There is a full range of lodging in all the areas so something will fit your budget.

[d&a Delaware]

Thanks kenish and Wineaux for the input. Good information for me to work with. It looks like there are more and beter Priceline hotel options in Newport Beach than there are in Laguna Beach, though Laguna sounds very intriguing. Since we will have a car, I had thought we would probably not stay in San Pedro or Long Beach, but actually there is no logical reason to count them out. And Terranea does look like an awsome place to check out. And another wrinkle -- we have found out that Dreamgirls is scheduled to be playing at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown LA on April 3, so going into downtown LA to stay for a night and see a show may also be an option. Choices and decisions -- that's why we start planning early and look for advice and ideas on these boards:).

 

David

[kenish]

There are many more hotels in NB ranging from cookie-cutter business hotels around the airport to some pretty nice (and expensive) resort hotels. More resort hotels are just south of Laguna Beach in the Laguna Niguel / Dana Point area. There's a Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and the Montage. Smaller places in Laguna like Surf and Sand, Hotel Laguna, etc.

 

If you don't mind being in a business style hotel, check the SNA airport area (NB, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana). Probably good weekend rates.

 

A downtown LA hotel is not necessary to see a show. Depending on curtain time, either drive up before 330pm or after 630pm (I see it's a Friday). There won't be any traffic issues and you can get to NB in an hour and San Pedro in 30 minutes. There's not too much going for downtown LA in the way of nightlife, compared to Chicago, Manhattan, etc. Also hotel parking could be rather steep, double check that.

[Cruisin' Chick]

would also agree about avoiding Downtown LA for a hotel stay. You wouldn't want to be walking around that area at night (I know from condo/puppy sitting for a friend there...it's creepy). Better to drive there after dining in Hollywood or on LaCienega for the show and then return to hotel elsewhere (shouldn't be a bad drive back to the coast at ten or later).

[d&a Delaware]

Good info. Since my dates are a Satuday and a Sunday I guess there will not be huge rush hour traffic to avoid, and a place like Newport Beach will be closer (in time) to downtown LA than I had anticipated. All of this is good to keep in mind. Some recent wins on Priceline for 4* hotels in the beach communities have not been higher than similar downtown hotels, but the advice about looking at parking fees is important.

 

David

[kenish]

My post was ambiguous about parking. Downtown LA hotels will almost always charge; hotels in Dana Pt. or Laguna will not. A few in Newport will but the large majority won't.

 

Also want to emphasize that many hotels in NB are nowhere near the beach or even have a view of the ocean. True the beach is 10 minutes away but some hotels are essentially airport hotels around SNA. Adding to the confusion, there are multiple Marriott properties with a NB address that range from business hotels to 5* resorts. Just making sure you know what Priceline or even regular sites are providing.

[d&a Delaware]

More good information and, since we're still very much in information gathering mode, more good information is good:). We probably won't settle on plans and actually book a hotel for several months. In the meantime, I'll probably add to my information overload by mapping some of the properties in Newport Beach just to see where they actually are. I don't think we'll mind it terribly if we are not beachfront, but I think I would like to use our car to get away from the airport.

 

Are there any properties in Dana Pt. or Laguna Beach which you would recommend over others?

 

David

[kenish]

It depends on your budget; the area has one of the world's biggest concentration of 5* properties. Since I live nearby I've never stayed at any of them (nor could I afford it) :) I've heard good things about Montage in South Laguna and The Island in NB. Remember one of the rescued banks had a retreat at an "exclusive California seaside resort"? That was the St. Regis, down the road from Montage, and there's also a Ritz-Carlton in the area. There are moderately priced hotels as well, if you narrow down areas people will probably be able to recommend something. Also check www.tripadvisor.com for traveler reviews of places you're considering. TA has forums and a lot of location-specific info on both Newport and Laguna.

 

Newport Beach is very upscale and suburban. The Island is located at Fashion Island, a very nice outdoor mall with good restaurants. Laguna is a cozy town with botiques, galleries, and cafes. Its heritage as an artist colony and its large gay community give the town an eclectic flavor. A very small sand beach however. If the weather is nice, nothing beats eating outdoors at Las Brisas on the bluff overlooking the ocean. http://www.lasbrisaslagunabeach.com/