<p>Does anyone know anything about the Bonaventure and Omni hotels in downtown LA to stay at? I heard there is a shuttle from the downtown train station to USC. How often is it and how long is the ride? Is the Radisson USC the best choice? I know the Radisson sounds the most convenient. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Call the Omni to ask about a discount for USC. Savings were substantial when I received the discount last year. I read about it on College Confidential.</p>
<p>Omni and Bonaventure are nice upscale business hotels but require a car ride of about 10 - 15 minutes to get to campus. What the Marriott lacks in ambiance, it makes up in convenience.</p>
<p>The Vagabond Inn on Figueroa is pretty good too, and close to campus. Also the Eat Street restaurant next to it.</p>
<p>The Omni is supposed to have free shuttle service within a certain range, if you don't want to rent a car. They also have government employee rates, if you're in that category. If you really want to save money, the Westin Bonaventure can be really cheap on Priceline. You can learn bidding strategies at biddingfortravel.com. The Radisson would be super-convenient, and is fine if there's not construction going on outside your window all night.</p>
<p>I've been checking the rate of the above mentioned hotels and it's about $200 a night, does that sound right? When we went for explore, the only place that was less than $100 was Vagabond.</p>
<p>We booked the Vagabond for orientation for $125 a night and the Radisson for Move-in day for $139 a night. Both are very conveniently located. We have stayed in the Radisson before and found it to be adequately clean and comfortable. We have not stayed in the Vagabond yet.
The other hotels were close to $300/night for the same dates. You can find hotels that are a lot nicer for similar prices, just not downtown L.A.</p>
<p>My husband went on hotwire.com, 4 star hotel, downtown L.A., and got the Bonaventure for $109. a night for the move in day (Tuesday-Thursday nights).
I can't guarantee that you will get the same hotel, but I would think any 4 star hotel for $109. a night in downtown LA should be good. He is renting a car so that he can drive to any stores where last minute purchases might be needed.
Also, I read that another hotel across the street from the Bonaventure (was it the Marriott?) had cheaper (though not cheap) parking. Parking is expensive at the Bonaventure. I wonder if this low room rate is for a room which is not remodeled.</p>
<p>Tuitionsaver: Do you feel like giving hotwire.com a try? However, the Bonaventure (or whatever they give in downtown LA) is driving, not walking distance.</p>
<p>Tuitionsaver,how did you get $139 a night for the Radisson? how many people? when I called them, it was $189 for 4 people. did you book very early?</p>
<p>Vagabond is a motel, we were in the ground floor in the corner, it was a big room, with 2 Queen and relatively clean. It's old though and there are bars on the window. We were scared at first but nothing happened to us. When we checked in, the girl at the desk wasn't very friendly but when we checked out, it was a much nicer person. The restaurant is pretty good.</p>
<p>Depending on whether you're a risk-taker or not, you could try Hotwire for the Radisson. I booked it for $63 + tax in April. It was in the "Mid-Wilshire" zone as a 3 or 3.5 star hotel; you have to guess at what the hotel is, but I was right that time. I just checked the website, and there's a 3-star hotel in that zone, August 20-24, for $79 per night - pretty likely to be the Radisson. Non-refundable, so you have to be sure you want to gamble on it being the right hotel. If you do get the Radisson, it will have 2 double or queen beds, but the website will tell you you're booking a room for 2 people. I don't think they would care if you have more than 2, since most hotels have a "kids stay free" policy.</p>
<p>I've booked the Bonaventure on Priceline for around $70 (but not during move-in).</p>
<p>The Omni's USC discount was around $140, if I recall correctly. So, no, I would not pay $200 per night! </p>
<p>It's not like a few dollars here or there will pay my son's USC tuition, but maybe it will pay for his bottled water ;)</p>
<p>Looks like we're all cross-posting - sorry for any redundance.</p>
<p>The Omni has good review in the following link.It also comes with executive car service within 3 miles radius. Someone booked Westin Bonaventure for $75. It's worth checking out priceline. Parking space is $22.</p>
<p>Here is where to check out prices
California</a> - Los Angeles - Hotels - BiddingForTravel.com - Message Board - Yuku</p>
<p>we're not risk takers and both h and s would prefer to stay at Radisson for the convenience. But I really can't bring myself to pay $200 a night. Any suggestions? What should I do?</p>
<p>bmom - How many nights do you want to stay? If more than 1, you could book 1 night on the Hotwire site and it will tell you if it really is the Radisson (after you commit to paying by credit card). If it turns out it is the Radisson, you could go back and book the extra nights. If not, you could choose to either just lose the money, or move to the Radisson after the first night.</p>
<p>bmom: We booked the Radisson on April 28 for the move-in week.
However about a week later when we tried to book the Radisson for orientation, it was already sold out.
I am now booking a hotel for Parents weekend (Oct 10-12). I am thinking at that time, the proximity to USC is not as important; and because of the football game the hotels near the university will be noisy and crowded.
We might not even got to the game because D is not a big fan (yet ;)) and because at the game the students do not get to sit with the parents.</p>
<p>Tuitionsaver, did you book online or did you phone them directly? Is $139 for 2 people on the standard floor or executive floor? I guess I should have checked into this earlier. They probably raised the price.</p>
<p>FauxNom, we haven't even decided how many nights to stay yet, that's why I haven't booked anything.</p>
<p>I made the reservations over the phone and requested the USC rate (I had looked online and I think the rate was ~$20/night more expensive than what I received). The reservation is for 4 people (2 adults and 2 "children" - teens)
Also we have not decided how many nights we are staying (we do not have plane tickets yet) but I booked from August 18-24. We figured the reservation can be changed later.
mdcissp: I have never used Hotwire before....but I might get "adventurous" and give it a try for parents weekend</p>
<p>Thanks Tuitionsaver. When I called, she offered me the USC package of $199. I wonder if I call and say that a friend got the USC rate of $139, what they would say. I really don't like how they keep changing the rates. I guess it's like airline tickets.</p>
<p>As a band parent for the last 4 years, we became experts at the ways of the Radisson. I can tell you the Radisson is already booked solid for every home game weekend next fall. We got free tickets to every game, but the lodging was always the tricky part. You can book a room in the Rad six or seven months in advance, and the drill was to get a room reservation at the first opportunity. The Rad only has 3 floors available to the public -- the rest are dorm rooms so it is like a really small hotel. Outside of game weekends, move in week, and graduation, rooms are readily available.</p>
<p>For move-in week, after you drop off your child, unload the car, and make a run to Target, you might as well be invisible. You're done, not wanted, and the seconds are being counted until you leave.</p>
<p>We always stayed at the Marriott on South Figueroa. An excellent hotel, well located for access to the campus.</p>
<p>Los</a> Angeles Marriott Downtown: Hotel deals, rates and availability in Los Angeles</p>
<p>We used the government rate, senior, or AAA rate, which ever was cheapest.</p>