20 years ago, most folks wouldn’t have dreamed of spending the night in downtown Los Angeles. Many hotels and freeway overpasses were reserved for vagrants and nomads; a “normal” working citizen couldn’t be found after 10pm on the trash littered streets. Gilded buildings encrusted with dirt and busted theater marquees hinted at a much different and more prosperous time for downtown Los Angeles.
Several years and several billion dollars later, downtown Los Angeles is well on its way to total gentrification. Restaurants and bars now thrive well past midnight with the influx of wealthy young “loft” dwellers. Club-goers line the streets to get into the latest and therefore greatest nightclubs, hotel bars swell with the after-opera crowd.
PLACES TO STAY
To keep up occupancy during the summer business slump, downtown hotels are turning their attention to vacation travelers. ‘Staycation’ is the catchphrase of summer 2009; big hotels like The Standard and The Biltmore are using creative packages to entice locals to pay for a hotel room in their own backyard.
For $205, The Standard offers the “Stimulus” package that includes a room for one night, parking and a $50 American Express Gift Card. The Biltmore Millenium offers the “I love (Downtown) LA!” package for $179 which includes a classic hotel room for the night, breakfast for two, 2 tickets to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), 2 tickets to the Grammy Museum and 2 vouchers to the ESPN Zone at L.A. LIVE with a 10% discount on food.
There are plenty of excellent hotel deals to be found. Check out the downtown LA site for a comprehensive list.
Comments
Most excellent! I love LA- but I tend to remember it as a scary sort of town, with all the homeless and streets not to venture- but as you mention it has received a huge make over and it is such an old and historic town. I love taking my kids and letting them experience a big metropolis- the great thing is that it's only a 45 min. drive from our quiet little town. What a great thought to go spend a weekend there- I'll feel like a tourist in my own backyard! Great info as usual!
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