Culver City Spotlight

It's not the kind of place that gets the limelight like Beverly Hills, Santa Monica or Brentwood, but when you're looking for a deal on your next trip to L.A., it pays to check out Culver City. For one thing, it's got the right location: close to LAX, just a few miles from the beach, and you're within 30 minutes of Hollywood, Universal City, Beverly Hills, the Valley, a good place to start from. Culver City has also developed a hip reputation over the past few years. A number of up-and-coming restaurants have opened in its downtown area, and some say the Sony Pictures Studio Tour is the best in L.A. Besides, it's one of the first cities in the U.S. to offer free Wi-fi. Can't hate a town for that.

Here are some hotel deals we found for two adults staying Friday, March 27 and checking out Sunday the 29th. If you'd prefer to stay in a similar hotel a few streets over in Santa Monica or Beverly Hills, add another $200 to $400 to the total:

Culver Hotel--An old classic building from the 1940s, this hotel in the downtown area was once owned by John Wayne. It's been restored and it's received great reviews for its restaurant and bar. $129 double occupancy.

Courtyard by Marriott Westside--A very good deal for a hotel like this, it's received excellent reviews and staying here gets you a $20 Target gift card. Parking is just $10/night. With your AAA card, you'll pay $104 double occupancy.

Four Points Sheraton--The weak economy has created some excellent hotel deals, including this one. With their 50% off Multiple Nights Promotion, you can get a room here on that weekend for $86 a night, which includes free wi-fi and bottled water.

Ramada Limited Culver City--Yes, Ramadas like Sheratons and Courtyards are "generic" hotels, but if you're just going to use them to sleep, what difference does it make? This one gives you a pillow-top king bed, free parking, on-site mini mart and a continental breakfast for $129.

Interesting note: I found the prices on the hotel websites. I double-checked hotels.com to make sure there wasn't a better deal elsewhere and they had these hotels for a few dollars more.