My D and I are planning a visit to the following schools later this month -
Day 1 - Land at LAX in the afternoon
Day 2 - Loyola Marymount and USC
Day 3 - Scripps and Pomona
Day 4 - Chapman University
Day 5 - University of San Diego
Day 6 - Fly home out of San Diego
I was hoping to stay in a hotel near the school we will be visiting the next day to avoid a morning rush to our destination. I’m concerned about driving to the Claremont Colleges after touring USC in the afternoon. Not sure what the LA traffic will allow.
Any advice regarding the logistics of getting around and where to stay at these schools would be greatly appreciated. I’d like to stay as close to campus as possible to allow us to wander around and get a feel for each school. I’ve been on Trip Advisor looking for hotels, but would love to hear where people stay when they visit.
D is a senior and has already applied to these schools. We are planning to relocate to the San Diego area after she graduates high school in June and it would be great if she would go to school on the same coast!
You can get a discount at the Doubletree in Claremont if you tell them you are visiting the colleges, I think. (There is a Mudd discount, so I assume there is one for the others). I really like the Doubletree, and it is less than 5 minutes to campus. I have stayed in slightly cheaper hotels near the Ontario airport, too, but that is further east of Claremont. I can’t comment on the traffic specifics, though.
LA traffic is miserable so you’re just going to have to suffer getting from USC to Claremont. We have stayed in the Aloft in Rancho Cucamonga and the Hyatt Place by the Ontario Airport based on which loyalty program (Starwood vs. Hyatt) my husband favors at the time. But they’re a short freeway trip away from the schools so if you want to wander the campus in the evening then the suggestion of the Doubletree is probably better.
LMU is close to LAX so there are plenty of places to choose from. If you want to get away from the busy airport, go into the town of El Segundo. Embassy Suites (LAX South) is very nice and away from the hustle and bustel but there are several others as well.
Yes, traffic from USC to Claremont will be a bear. But you can lesson the pain by leaving before 2 (if your tour allows), or after 7pm. Use the Waze app to help you find the best route and avoid traffic.
I second the DoubleTree in Claremont. It’s the closest and really nice – we’ve always been happy there. There are also lots of places near the Ontario Airport (though about 20 minutes away). We’ve stayed at the Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden and have been happy with all of them.
You should contact the schools (or check their websites) to see if there are any deals (like what intparent mentioned) at local hotels. Many schools do have them.
The traffic from USC to Claremont on a weekday afternoon will be truly nasty; I second the advice to either set out by 2, or else stick around USC (have dinner) and don’t try driving out to Claremont until after 7.
An alternative to the DoubleTree – which is nice enough, business-traveller-oriented, and perhaps the closest to Harvey Mudd or Pitzer – take a look at Casa 425 which is in the heart of “Claremont Village” and probably even closer to Pomona than the DoubleTree would be. Casa 425 is small, so at popular travel times of year it may fill up, and I don’t know if it has any college visit discount pricing. But it’s charming, and the location will be a lot more interesting than the DoubleTree location. Casa 425 will put you right in the little Claremont area where the college students and Claremont locals hang out: restaurants, coffee shops, movie theatre, independent record store, comic book store, etc.
You’ll walk the whole "Claremont Village’ area walking to Pomona College.
For better prices, you’ll have to stay farther away; as mentioned by others, there are a number of places farther east towards Ontario Airport.
Another vote for Doubletree in Claremont, it can be expensive, but is nice. I would hang out by USC and then drive out to Claremont later in the evening or just put up with the traffic and have time to relax and enjoy Claremont village after the grind of traffic. Use a navigation app with traffic as there are several ways to get from LA to Claremont and the best route can vary (we have even gone on surface streets some of the way). Carpool lanes really help. We stayed at Ontario Airport last time we were out there, because the Doubletree prices were really high and it was fine but definitely less convenient and we hit traffic going into Claremont in the morning.
Personally, if I had to choose between staying around USC and leaving in the morning for a Claremont tour versus going to Claremont the evening before for the tour, I’d choose the latter. Claremont is such a nice place to hang out and I’d rather not have to worry about making the tour on time in the morning.
However, if you choose a morning plan, I’d leave before 6 or after 9. You could check traffic on google maps adjusting depart times to see what is typical.
But sometimes you just have to deal with it. Also you can’t predict accidents. Whatever you decide, just allow yourself a lot of extra time if you have to be there by a certain time.
Just an aside, if your kid ends up at Pomona or Scripps, it is easiest to fly in & out of the Ontario airport. Pretty close to Claremont, so LA traffic isn’t really an issue. And Southwest flies to Ontario (2 bags free!). Just info for down the road.
For your visit to LMU, I recommend the Custom hotel, which is between LAX and minutes from the school on Lincoln Blvd. Other interesting locations include Playa Vista and marina Del Rey, along with many airport hotels that although generic, would fit the bill.
Whichever place you select, you’ll want to be sure that it something north of LAX so that you can avoid the morning traffic in and around the airport, and car rentals/returns.
As such, I respectfully disagree with the poster who mentioned staying in El Segundo, which is south of the airport and would require that you traverse the morning traffic through the airport routes on the surface streets, or the 405 if you choose to take the freeway. Both would add at least 30 minutes to the trip and since you’ve got enough commute traffic on your plate, you want to minimize the car time when possible.
@ACollegeFan if I were you, I’d leave to drive to Claremont at about 8 pm (if you are cool with freeway night driving) for 2 reasons. You and your kid should see USC/LA area at night. If you don’t know LA well I’d even suggest maybe rolling into little Tokyo or downtown proper, grabbing some dinner at one of the many yelp-able hip restos that have sprung up. LA Live is a choice too. Basically, if your kid is going to do USC, much of the 110 corridor, esp LA Live, will eventually become your campus/neighborhood. There is even some housing up that way.
Then, if you don’t mind driving CA freeways at night, the drive to CMC colleges will be fairly traffic-friendly (not without traffic, but it will move “better”).
As far as LMU, it’s so close to the beach that I’d try to find an expedia deal in Marina Del Rey, or Playa Del Rey or even Venice (but read the reviews closely, lots of cool little hotels, lots of shady ones.) Otherwise you’re probably stuck with Airport hotels, which will be… well, Airport hotels.
USD will have some hotels nearby and out around Sea World. Dunno if the UCs are at all interesting, but if you have time, you could do a driveby of UCSD. It’s just up the road in La Jolla.
Have fun! Hope you get good weather. Lots of rain this month.
We stayed at the Seashore in Santa Monica on Main Street before visiting LMU. Very retro and funky, but we liked it. Right near some good restaurants. We actually took a drive to the college and drove through campus the night before to get a feel for it. The campus is beautiful and it was fun to have our bearing when we toured. I would shift things around a bit so you weren’t seeing LMU and USC in one day AND traveling to Claremont. That sounds brutal to me! UNiversity of San Diego is small… can you do the same day as flying home? I live right next to Chapman. There is a bed and breakfast across the street called Ruta’s…it is very convenient to campus and a cute shopping area. DD likes Bruxie a lot for casual waffle breakfast, and my favorite is the Filling Station. I wish that Chapman wasn’t so close: the students that I know received great merit aide and love the school. What is your daughter studying? Feel free to PM me about Chapman if you like. The traffic flows toward LA in the morning and away from LA in the evening, so perhaps wait until after dinner to make the drive? Use an app like Waze to get the quickest way based on current traffic.
In San Diego, we splurged on the Pantai Inn last time and loved being so close to the La Jolla cliffs. We have also gotten a steal of a deal at the Hotel La Jolla, but you could probably find things closer to USD. Depends if you want her to fall in love with San Diego!
Driving late to Claremont may be better. You can experience the village at lunchtime and/or after the second visit. You could then do the same thing and drive to Anaheim area after dinner from Claremont.
Thanks everyone for all the great advice! So far this is the plan -
Stay at Embassy Suites LAX South for the first night and tour Loyola & USC the next day (I may change this hotel based upon the above advice). Will drive to Claremont that evening. This will be the hardest day, but don’t see a good way around that.
We are going to then stay at the Doubletree in Claremont for two nights (Casa 425 was booked up). Tour Pomona and Scripps. These are her two top choices right now so I’d like to spend more time there.
Will drive to Chapman in the late morning for her 1pm interview and stay at Ayres Hotel Orange for one night. Great discount on this hotel BTW - thanks for the tip!
Will get up the next morning and drive to San Diego. That will be a Saturday, so hopefully traffic won’t be as bad. Haven’t chosen the San Diego hotel yet, but I do want her to fall in love with San Diego!
The advice to stay north of LAX has merit (I hadn’t really thought about that), but I personally don’t think the difference would be all that significant especially as there is a route that takes you behind the airport. I would suggest using google maps to see what the typical drive times are for the day/time you would be travelling.
As for Saturday down to San Diego. You’d be surprised there always seems to be traffic at some point for that route. And if it’s a beautiful sunny day you are almost certain to get traffic around the Dana Point/San Cemente area.
For USD, I would book a hotel along Mission Bay. Dana Inn near Seaworld or the Catamaran (also across from the ocean) will be good locations. It will depend upon how much you are willing to pay. Many many hotels in the Hotel Circle area also. It will not be hard for her to fall in love with San Diego no matter where you stay. USD overlooks Mission Bay…
