The Best Areas To Stay In Los Angeles (And Where To Avoid The Crowds)

• For first-timers and families: Venice Beach and Santa Monica 
• For starry-eyed fans: Hollywood, Burbank and Universal City
• For foodies, museumgoers and theme parks: Mid-City and Miracle Mile
• For party people, luxe seekers and LGBTQIA+: West Hollywood and Beverly Hills
• For urban arts and culture: Downtown Los Angeles
• For hipsters and hikers: Echo Park, Silver Lake and Los Feliz
• For beachy vibes minus the price tag: South Bay 
• And where to avoid…

If the hallowed ground of movie stars beckons, base yourself in historic Hollywood to surround yourself with famous Tinseltown attractions such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, TCL Chinese Theatre, Paramount Studios and the Dolby Theatre where the Academy Awards are staged.

Film fans can also take tours of working movie studios in Burbank and Universal City, located north of Hollywood via the Hollywood Sign.

Family-friendly Burbank is home to Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. Hollywood has Paramount Picture and Universal Studios Hollywood, which is the only working studio and theme park for an inside peek into motion picture magic.

Look out for new luxurious hotels like the 132-room Whisky Hotel Hollywood, The Hyatt Hotel Nue and aptly named Dream Hollywood (with a dreamy rooftop pool, of course) for one-of-a-kind stylish stays.

Anything but middle-of-the-road, Mid-City packs a powerful punch with proximity to theme parks and diverse cuisines, museums and vintage finds, encompassing cultural enclaves such as Koreatown, Little Ethiopia and LA’s historic Fairfax Jewish district.

You’ll also find the Original Farmers Market with 90 small businesses on site right next to The Grove open-air shopping mall along with a happening nightlife scene with bars and late-night dining.

Meanwhile, Miracle Mile aka Museum Row is a popular visitor drawcard with something for everyone from dinosaurs (La Brea Tar Pits and Los Angeles County Museum of Art – LACMA) to cars (Petersen Automotive Museum) and cinema memorabilia (Academy Museum of Motion Pictures).

Koreatown is emerging as a top non-touristy spot for stylish boutique stays with uber-chic The Line LA and Hotel Normandie both located in LA’s most densely populated neighbourhood. Take it uptown at The Kimpton Wilshire luxury hotel right in Miracle Mile.

At just under five square kilometres, West Hollywood (WeHo to those in the know) is a compact independent city and LA’s celeb and LGBTQIA+ hangout that sits just east of the world’s most famous zip code – Beverly Hills 90210.

This is the spot for celeb sightings, clubs (comedy and night) and maxing out your plastic at designer boutiques on Rodeo Drive and Melrose Avenue.

It’s full of architectural marvels and mansions and infamous hotspots such as Chateau Marmont and Sunset Strip.

As both LA’s gay heartland (WeHo) and power-brunching mecca (Beverly Hills), it’s the ideal place to base yourself to explore the wider city on an LA vacay and live your most fabulous West Coast life with your besties in tow.

For 5-star indulgence, there’s the newly opened Mandarin Oriental Residences Beverly Hills or the pretty-in-pink Beverly Hills Hotel. In WeHo, check-in to 1 Hotel West Hollywood, Andaz West Hollywood or Hotel Ziggy Los Angeles on the Sunset Strip.

If edgy contemporary works – on the street or in dedicated spaces – are your preferred aesthetic, Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the perfect destination for history, arts, eats and culture.

Here you’ll find the Grammy Museum, The Broad, MOCA and Walt Disney Concert Hall sharing real estate with Grand Central Market, Chinatown and Little Tokyo.

Another bonus is its proximity to Anaheim theme parks with Disneyland Resort just 30 minutes’ drive away and as a central transit hub.

It’s also home to the Los Angeles Convention Center right next to the Crypto.com Arena plus the financial district, shopping malls and Skid Row, so you’ll find an intriguing melting pot of tourists, basketball fans, business types, artists and locals mixing and mingling in the Downtown LA streets.

If you’re in town for a conference, JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live is a top pick for proximity. For a stay imbued with local character, book into the landmark designer DTLA Proper, sister property to Santa Monica Proper and housed in a former YWCA; or a historic hotel such as the recently refreshed Hotel Figueroa or 101-year-old Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles.

Located to the east of Hollywood, the Eastside LA area encompassing Silver Lake, Echo Park and Los Feliz at the base of the Griffith Observatory and Hollywood Sign is a family-friendly haven surrounded by nature.

Griffith Park is a popular hiking spot with hills, canyons and trails leading to amazing panoramic views while low-key Silver Lake, Echo Park and Los Feliz are beacons for off-duty celebrities and hipster Angelenos alike.

There’s plenty of shops, markets, attractions and green spaces to entertain travellers of all ages for an immersive live-like-a-local experience, including the swan boat-filled Echo Park Lake, Dodger Stadium, Silver Lake Meadow and Insta-worthy staircases.

One thing to note is Eastside LA is less touristy so it’s less about the attractions and more about living like a local here.

As this spot is more suburban than urban, accommodation options run to cosy boutique stays such as the Silver Lake Pool & Inn (complete with rooftop pool) or nine-room Noon on Sunset Hill in Silver Lake and the Cara Hotel or Hotel Covell (featuring the cool Bar Covell) in Los Feliz.

Angelenos all agree that the South Bay region is the city’s best-kept secret and an up-and-coming destination for travellers, particularly families and Gen-Zers.

It also just so happens to have some of LA’s most beautiful beaches and walkable streets – all within 15 minutes' drive of LAX for easy-breezy flights from Australia to Los Angeles.

Inclusive of the cities of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermoso Beach, swoon at the classic seaside vibes of Redondo Beach Pier, eat your fill at Manhattan Beach and see the fish at the free aquarium, catch a wave at Hermosa Beach or cycle the uber-popular 35-kilometre Marvin Braude Bike Trail.

For late-night TV fans, seasoned alum Jay Leno often drops by The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach to practice new routines.
 

Check-in to The Belamar Hotel Manhattan Beach, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, all-suite Beach House on the Strand at Hermosa Beach and Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina or the luxe boutique Shade Hotel Redondo Beach for a beachy-keen stay in South Bay.

DTLA is as divisive as it is full of diversions, boutique hotels and revered arts and cultural scenes. While parts of the neighbourhood are more sketchy than crowded, as with any big city, be aware of your surroundings and avoid walking around alone at night.

With its high concentration of attractions, hotels and nightlife Hollywood knows how to draw a crowd. If you’re keen to avoid the 24/7 throng, look beyond the Greater Hollywood major thoroughfares of Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard aka Sunset Strip, Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue for a stay in nearby Burbank or Beverly Hills.

Top tip: Angelenos never leave the house without checking Google Maps or Waze apps first to track the LA traffic. It could mean the difference between a journey of 20 minutes or two hours by car!  In Los Angeles, peak time is 5-7pm daily and best avoided.