Staying in Downtown L.A.

It may not be as chic as staying on the Westside, but you can certainly save money and have a great time in Southern California by staying downtown. L.A.'s downtown hotels have traditionally catered to the business traveler during the week, but on weekends these four-star high-rises often have great deals. Here's an example:

Let's say the Visitor family, two adults and two kids, is interested in coming to L.A. Friday, May 1 and checking out on Monday, May 3. They have two objectives: Take their kids to Disneyland on Saturday and Universal Studios on Sunday. Hotels.com shows that they can get the Days Inn on Santa Monica Blvd. in West L.A. for $98 or the Homestead Inn near LAX for $78. Both are clean, but two-star properties.

If they look downtown, they can stay at the historic Mayfair hotel for $84 plus free parking or the well-regarded Kyoto Grand in Little Tokyo for $99. And with an itinerary like theirs, they're just a quick 25 minutes from Disneyland down the 5 (in light Saturday traffic), just 15-20 to Universal Studios on Sunday and getting to LAX or Burbank isn't going to make you insane leaving downtown on Monday.