I’ll be in LA the weekend of May 19-20 (Sat.-Sun.). I’ll have a car, I’m on another work trip to Fresno again, I’m coming from Las Vegas, where I’ve lived for eight years. I used to live in SGV and I know the area fairly well.
I’d like suggestions where to eat and where to stay. My only constraint is I have to stay near Santa Clarita on May 20, so I can drive up to Central California on the I5 early Monday morning.
Budget is about $250-300/day, that’s including lodging.
So, where to eat?
Thanks in advance, FTC. I’ll be busy googling all your previous recommendations sometime this week.
One caveat: I may be traveling alone, I’m not sure yet, so any solo-dining recommendations will be good too.
I haven’t picked a place yet. Recommendation? I don’t want to stray too far from I5. For example, no Santa Monica, but I’m entertaining Hollywood, that’s where I usually stay.
If you’re getting a work stipend, I’d consider that as a way to subsidize your eating trip. If places like Holbox, Shunji or Aburiya Raku, Gjusta or Bavel aren’t in range of your home town, and if any of them interest you, make a point of going if you can. LA is definitely not the LA in so so many ways that you left 10 years ago.
I’m not understanding what you’re saying, are you saying my daily budget is not enough? I’m not getting a stipend, but budget isn’t a huge concern of mine, anything south of $500 I’d consider, but being a cheapskate, I’d like to keep it at $300.
And nice lodging isn’t a huge concern either, I’m used to staying at places like Courtyard Marriott, I don’t mind. I’m more about food.
Thanks for replying!
I think a concern is if you present us with a total budget that includes lodging, this gets difficult (at least from my perspective).
Lodging is a potentially huge bite out of this budget. Since you usually stay at Courtyard Marriott, you probably know the lodging portion of your budget already - at least within a range. You obviously know your comfort level for lodging far better than we do. I would personally not want to suggest staying at the Encore Motel in order to maximize your eating budget.
It would be far easier for you to determine what your food budget would be and then we could chime in on appropriate suggestions.
Check out the Best Western Plus Hollywood Hills. I stayed there in February and it’s a cool old hotel- lots of movie memorabilia. Gracious staff and nice rooms. Around $200 if you have AAA.
On trial? Don’t understand that the one. Anyway, asking for food suggestions is fine. Asking for accommodations? And work food and lodging into a certain budget? If you feel like you’re on trial, I feel more like a travel agent.
I only used the Encore Motel as an example because it’s pretty much a place for “hourly” rates. In other words, I was half-joking. But the point is offering a budget and wanting recs for food and lodging that work within those parameters is awkward. If I recommend Providence for dinner, that meal portion of your daily budget puts the lodging portion in a precarious place. If I rec the SLS, where’s that leave your food portion of your daily budget? Would you even want to stay there? Does that make sense?
And because I’ve “cross-examined” you, you now have presented the kind of info that will help nail down some better useful information. Carry on…