Can anyone recommend hotels for D’s Thornton audition? I just did a search on CC but the last post was from 2009, seems like folks were suggesting the Radisson across the street. We are not familiar with USC or LA at all. We will be there for four nights - one to tour the school, one for the audition and two just to explore LA. Thank you!
We’re going next weekend and staying downtown. It’s literally been decades since I’ve been in LA, so I had no clue. But when I asked friends, I got a lot of different recommendations… I think mostly because no one likes the area directly around USC. Thornton recommends Radisson but the standard rooms were sold out well before the audition invites came out. Much nicer hotels downtown for the $350 that Radisson wants.
Go to the USC general thread. They will have plenty of recs.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-southern-california/
if you feel comfortable with LA traffic you might want to stay further a field downtown or even in Pasadena
I was just downtown this morning and wondered if you checked out the Residence Inn at LA Live? Even with traffic it’s a short ride. And it seems pretty nice.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/residence-inn-los-angeles-l-a-live-los-angeles?osq=residence+inn+at+la+live
The only time these downtown hotels are not a good option is when there is a big convention or conference in town.
The price for that hotel is a bit beyond my budget. I’m in the same predicament … Trying to find a hotel for this weekend. Will check the thread you linked.
@choirsandstages, after looking at a LOT of hotels in and around downtown, we narrowed it down to the Omni (really nice hotel and surprisingly good AAA rates), the Sheraton (they had a special AAA rate for their Club floors) and the Doubleday in Little Tokyo. A few of my top choices, like the Athletic Club and the Courtyard, had no availability. Ended up choosing the Doubleday. AAA rate is $197. I think parking is $40.
In general, I’ve found that AAA rates are better than the discounts offered for school auditions.
Most chain hotels in DTLA are going to run at least $200/night. I know that the Doubletree in LIttle Tokyo is that much and probably a little cheaper if you book ahead. If you will have a rental car and the auditions are on a weekend consider The Courtyard by Marriot in Pasadena. There will be little to no traffic on the weekends. It’s right in Old Town Pasadena (nice), walking distance to pre and post audition attractions and only $149 a night for this weekend. (just a thought)
I ALWAYS stayed at the Omni when visiting DS at USC.
very comfortable and quiet, a Starbucks just steps away and only a 20 min drive to USC on the surface streets / Figueroa . There is NO reason to get on the freeway between downtown LA and USC.
The Omni is great---- But it’s around $300/night for this weekend. Some of the posters here are looking for more budget friendly options.
To be perfectly honest, for my S’s auditions, I did a google maps search of hotels closest to USC. In addition to the Radisson, I remember there was at least one very budget-friendly, albeit bare bones, hotel within walking distance. Perfectly fine hotel–for us it was just about the audition and campus visit, no need for hotel frills since we’d be there just to sleep.There was no car rental involved–we took a shuttle service from and to airport.
You must be thinking of the Vagabond, @Clarimom, which is directly across the street from USC. They’re usually very budget friendly, with no frills save the pool and breakfast rolls, but they do jack up their rates for events on campus. Otherwise, the Vagabond is a great budget option.
@Clarimom: What shuttle service did you use to the Vagabond? We’re staying there this weekend.
I believe we used Prime Time Shuttle.
The Radisson is directly across the street. Whenever we visited, we stayed in Santa Monica (combination vacay and college visit). Good luck on the audition!
BTW now Uber and Lyft both pick up at LAX.
We stayed at the Vagabond…it’s considerably more bare bones than what I am accustomed to, especially for the price, but I got over it. The proximity to campus can’t be beat. We used Uber and Lyft to and from the airport and that was very cost effective (around $15 one way).