Visiting Los Angeles from Phoenix- Girls Weekend (Oxnard, Santa Monica: hotels, living)

[westcoastbabe]

Driving to Los Angeles from Phoenix next weekend (first time).Looking for recommendations for areas to stay(Non Tourist Areas). Purpose of trip would be just a getaway/shopping/eating out/etc. All recommendations are welcomed.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by westcoastbabe

Driving to Los Angeles from Phoenix next weekend (first time).Looking for recommendations for areas to stay(Non Tourist Areas). Purpose of trip would be just a getaway/shopping/eating out/etc. All recommendations are welcomed.

As usual with these threads, not enough to go on.

Number of people?
Budget?
Activities? (Shopping isn't shopping isn't shopping if you know what I mean.)
Have any of you been to L.A. before?

Nice nickname vis-a-vis living location, by the way. Did you grow up on the WC or just miss a geography class or two? (I kid, I kid.)

[westcoastbabe]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

As usual with these threads, not enough to go on.

Number of people?
Budget?
Activities? (Shopping isn't shopping isn't shopping if you know what I mean.)
Have any of you been to L.A. before?

Nice nickname vis-a-vis living location, by the way. Did you grow up on the WC or just miss a geography class or two? (I kid, I kid.)

2 people
Budget: Affordable. But would splurge just a little
Activities include beach, eating out, shopping, a little nightlife afterward.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by westcoastbabe

2 people
Budget: Affordable. But would splurge just a little

Once again, what's affordable to you may not be affordable to me. Give us a price range (for a hotel room, not a sun dress, obviously). Otherwise it's tough to recommend, say, the Camarillo outlets vs. Rodeo Drive boutiques (and the appropriate lodging options).

[westcoastbabe]

$100 to $250 a night. Not Rodeo drive shopping, Outlets.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by westcoastbabe

$100 to $250 a night. Not Rodeo drive shopping, Outlets.

Cool. If you really want to do low-key, I'd recommend Ventura and Oxnard, which hit the majority of your points. There will be plenty of affordable lodging (a perfunctory search on Hotels.com reveals a bunch of beachside hotels in your price range), the Camarillo Outlets are great for shopping (I'd say they are probably the best L.A.-area outlets) and you will be able to find decent food options there as well. You'd probably be hard pressed to find night life in the typical L.A. vein, however, and might get bored easily if that's what you're after. The beach is also not going to be super spectacular, either, because it is fall, after all.

If you want to prioritize entertainment besides shopping, I'd stay in the Manhattan Beach-Redondo Beach corridor. Quieter than the tourist-heavy Santa Monica and Venice Beach immediately to the north, lots of things to do and good restaurants, but you'd have to drive a bit to get to any outlet malls.

Actually, even Malibu can be fit into your price range and puts you squarely in the middle, between Camarillo and the "traditional" Westside of Los Angeles.

[westcoastbabe]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

Cool. If you really want to do low-key, I'd recommend Ventura and Oxnard, which hit the majority of your points. There will be plenty of affordable lodging (a perfunctory search on Hotels.com reveals a bunch of beachside hotels in your price range), the Camarillo Outlets are great for shopping (I'd say they are probably the best L.A.-area outlets) and you will be able to find decent food options there as well. You'd probably be hard pressed to find night life in the typical L.A. vein, however, and might get bored easily if that's what you're after. The beach is also not going to be super spectacular, either, because it is fall, after all.

If you want to prioritize entertainment besides shopping, I'd stay in the Manhattan Beach-Redondo Beach corridor. Quieter than the tourist-heavy Santa Monica and Venice Beach immediately to the north, lots of things to do and good restaurants, but you'd have to drive a bit to get to any outlet malls.

Actually, even Malibu can be fit into your price range and puts you squarely in the middle, between Camarillo and the "traditional" Westside of Los Angeles.

Thanks for the recommendations....Appreciate!

[adr3naline]

For accommodations: AirBnb a cheap place to crash near Santa Monica. SM itself has the 3rd Street Promenade which could easily kill a day with all the shops [it's tourist heavy but if you haven't been there it's worth going once]. The Promenade is also very close to the beach.

For outlets: I suggest another route, attending the Melrose Trading Post because it's awesome, unique, and inexpensive.

Dining: Great food can be found anywhere in LA.

Have fun

[westcoastbabe]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

For accommodations: AirBnb a cheap place to crash near Santa Monica. SM itself has the 3rd Street Promenade which could easily kill a day with all the shops [it's tourist heavy but if you haven't been there it's worth going once]. The Promenade is also very close to the beach.

For outlets: I suggest another route, attending the Melrose Trading Post because it's awesome, unique, and inexpensive.

Dining: Great food can be found anywhere in LA.

Have fun

Thanks for the alternative...Definitely will look into both recommendations.

[Kaphawoman]

If you're going to the Melrose Trading Post, leave time to walk along Melrose Ave in that area and check out all the other shops. Not outlet cheap but not Rodeo Drive expensive, and it's at least a nice stroll in the heart of the city. Good places to eat and drink too. Melrose Avenue Shopping, Dining & Travel Guide for Los Angeless, California

I'd also recommend The Farmer's Market at The Grove. Yes it's touristy and crowded but it's a lot in one location with its own parking. You can skip the side that's basically the same stores you'd find in any other mall (Barnes and Noble, Gap, Anthropologie, etc.) and explore the Farmer's Market side. The Original Farmers Market