Question About Lodging (Anaheim, Santa Monica, Culver City: renting, hotels, neighborhoods)

[FrequentTravels091760]

Hey everyone. It's me again with a question about hotels in LA. I will be using priceline to get a hotel, since I'm on a limited budget. If I am unable to stay directly in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or Brentwood, are areas such as Culver City, Redondo-Manhattan Beach, and Santa Monica alright in terms of safety? Also, are these places far from Hollywood (long or difficult commute)? Thank you for your help.
The reason I ask about Culver City and Redondo-Manhattan Beach is that many have reported on biddingfortravel that they have been able to secure quality lodging in these regions for low prices (Culver City Radisson often goes for $45 per night). I don't mind if I have to commute to Hollywood; i'm more concerned with safety.
On a side note, which theme park is better for a teenager: universal studios or Disney? Thanks!

[ferretkona]

Disney by far, Universal is better for adults. If you love roller coasters 6 Flags is best but a lot of walking. Universal and Disney both have City walks. Universal Studios is in Unversal city, a lot of hotels near by. Check TVtickets.com for show tickets to see a sitcom filmed. CBS studios is near Universal, my wife and I attended about 50 filmings for "That 70's Show".

The other cities are fine. I would try and get the other hotels, it does not hurt to make the offer. I used priceline for the Marriot, the site kept trying to tell me to increase my bid. I made my offer at $30 and got a weeks stay cheap. The site was pushing me to bid over $55 a night.

[pjamesbono]

Hi, the Radisson in Culver City is probably a good bet. I checked the location (it's actually quite close to where I work), not a bad neighborhood but it's not walking distance to anything. It's close to the 405 freeway, but that's probably why it's reasonably priced. I assume you're renting a car, so plan on doing a lot of driving.

The general rule of thumb for hotels in the LA region is this, if it's less than $100/night it's a dump. (That's full price though -- I have no idea what these rooms go for on priceline.) Of course I don't know what your standards are. You can probably get a decent room out by LAX for $75-$80 (again full price).

Here's the deal with the areas you mentioned: Hollywood ranges from ritzy to ghetto. So if it's cheap in Hllywd, you can be pretty sure it's ghetto. Brentwood: no bad neighborhoods but expensive. Manhattan/Redondo (known as the South Bay) safe and nice but pretty far from Hollyweird, Universal Studios, a tad closer to Anaheim. Good luck.