Hotel/ Area suggestions in LA for myself and 6 month old

[Magalag]

I'll be visiting LA at the end of October with my 6 month old.. going with my husband on a business trip.. we get to choose the hotel (can't be the supermost expensive)... can someone suggest a good area to be in? OR a good hotel? I dont know if I'll have access to a car, so an area that is safe and is walking distance to things i could do with a 6 month old during the day... Should I bring a stroller or is a carrier sufficient? I know nothing about LA so please help! My husband will be a a conference at the LA convention centre... it doesnt have to be near there but not super far... he'll be cabbing it each day... thanks!

[monkeybars]

Recommending an area really depends on what you prefer to do with your days, but a safe bet would be smack, dab in the middle of the city (mid Wilshire to Beverly Hills). There is a small, groovy hotel called The Beverly Laurel which is at Fairfax and Beverly Blvd. Things nearby and some in walking distance are: the tar pits (excellent just as a park for the baby), LACMA, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Peterson Automotive Museum, the Grove shopping area, the Farmer's Market, the Beverly Center shopping and lots of small shops and restaurants nearby on 3rd St., Beverly Blvd, Melrose and Fairfax. It's not too far from downtown by taxi either. Here is a Frommer's guide link for the listing, as well as some others.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...14_indacc.html

[Ironica]

I can't help much with hotels, as I've always been a resident ;-). As for areas, the drive from Fairfax to downtown is a slog; the time it will take is highly variable, and if you're traveling during peak times (which are a lot broader in LA than many places... "rush hour" is more or less from 7-10 a.m. and 3-6 p.m.), the freeway is icky. It's also pretty far south of the Fairfax/Beverly area. Otherwise, it's a great idea... the Grove is one of my favorite places to hang out (though now that we've got the Americana up the street, I can get my fix without a drive or long bus ride).

I consider a carrier quite sufficient. For the first three years of my son's life, DH took our one car to work nearly every day, and DS1 lived in the Ergo when we ran errands on foot and on the bus. I didn't get a stroller until he was over 3 and I was pregnant and walking him home from school over a mile at a time.

[danzon]

I would bring a sling or a stroller - you would probably spend a lot of time walking since public transportation is not a feature of Los Angeles. Downtown is not a great place to be w/kids, it's mainly business oriented. If you have to stay downtown, the Biltmore is nice.

Mid-city (where the other person recommended) is great. The Grove is a place where you could spend a good chunk of time - it's a shopping mall, but with a great fountain that kids love, a trolly, and of course farmer's market. TOAST is a great, casual restaurant (kid friendly).

I've had guests stay at both Hotel Sofitel and The Orlando (3rd Street) and they've both worked out well. Have fun!

[Ironica]

Actually, there's great transit access in lots of Los Angeles. Metro.net has a good trip planner and all the bus routes and schedules. ladottransit.com is the website for the city's shuttle service, which is very useful for traveling short distances to common destinations.

Mostly, stick to buses with fairly straight routes and headways of less than 30 minutes, though. There's a few routes that exist mostly for ADA reasons that only run once an hour or so and take really convoluted routes, which is not a lot of fun. Any bus in the 700 series is a Metro Rapid, which stops less often (about once a mile, like a train) and has signal priority (so green lights will wait for buses that are behind schedule). Those are great for crossing larger distances. The trains are great if they happen to go where you're going, and I think the Blue Line stops by the Convention Center, so you might look at hotels in Pasadena on the Gold Line.