Los Angeles - How and when to get cheap flights/hotels

gwynnington

Hi
if anyone has any advice on how to get the best deals in Los Angeles/Hollywood I would be very grateful as I havent been away fro years and it seems a bit pricey at the mo. These are the specifics?

1) we would like to fly Virgin on a direct flight. Currently as of today its £505. we want to go on Mon 3rd Oct...how late should we leave it..is it realistic to assume it may still go down in that time /how late is too late?

2) Travel agents dont seem to do the hotel we want. We are looking at a budget hotel (preferable the Days Inn Hollywood at about £70 per night. currently for 10 days on the actual hotel website its £622 for 10 nights. im a bit wary about going all that way with just an email confirmation. tried to phone them direct but its problematic to get any kind of price/booking charges..all seems a bit 'casual'

3) is there another way to get some money off the flight/holiday as a package? ie a clubcard/loyalty card/ credit card/via the bank.

I may be already doing the right things, but Hollywood / LA seems not to be a destination that comes up anywhere for 'offers' unless you want to stay in luxury. not yet seen any offers anywhere, including travel agents and the usual travel web companies so im coming up against a brick wall.

anyway, any advice will be gratefully recieved. thanks all

dickydonkin

Air New Zealand from LHR comes up at £481.00 (Dep Oct 3rd) and I can highly recommend them.

I used to use Virgin a lot but they seem to be living off their past - very poor IMO.

Do you have to stay in Hollywood?

Keping out of such areas will bring the price of accommodation down.

Alan_Bowen

Another vote for not using Virgin, they are dreadful and nothing like the adverts. Hollywood is tacky and certainly not the place to stay for a week, why not try the coast at Santa Monica or further south at Huntington Beach, assuming you are renting a car, and LA is not really easy if you don't.

As regards booking hotels, an email confirmation is fine, if they overbook they will 'walk' you to a better hotel, having said that as Days Inn's go, the reviews are pretty decent

Spursman180

gwynnington wrote: »

Hi
if anyone has any advice on how to get the best deals in Los Angeles/Hollywood I would be very grateful as I havent been away fro years and it seems a bit pricey at the mo. These are the specifics?

1) we would like to fly Virgin on a direct flight. Currently as of today its £505. we want to go on Mon 3rd Oct...how late should we leave it..is it realistic to assume it may still go down in that time /how late is too late?

2) Travel agents dont seem to do the hotel we want. We are looking at a budget hotel (preferable the Days Inn Hollywood at about £70 per night. currently for 10 days on the actual hotel website its £622 for 10 nights. im a bit wary about going all that way with just an email confirmation. tried to phone them direct but its problematic to get any kind of price/booking charges..all seems a bit 'casual'

3) is there another way to get some money off the flight/holiday as a package? ie a clubcard/loyalty card/ credit card/via the bank.

I may be already doing the right things, but Hollywood / LA seems not to be a destination that comes up anywhere for 'offers' unless you want to stay in luxury. not yet seen any offers anywhere, including travel agents and the usual travel web companies so im coming up against a brick wall.

anyway, any advice will be gratefully recieved. thanks all

My last stay in LA I used nectar points with Expedia and saved about £130 off the rack rate. You also earn nectar points with bookings, might only be a quid or two but they do add up, I save my points from my weekly shop & fuel up. Helps turn a treat in to a bargain.

headpin

Another vote for Air New Zealand. Probably the best airline I have flown direct to LA with. As said above Virgin living off the past, they need to move on and update both planes and service.

As for hotels I only ever book on line and have a confirmation. In fact I do not evr recall evr being asked for the confirmation, they just ask your name and it's in their system. Probably stayed at well in to the hundreds of hotels all over the US and Europe in the past few years and never once (touch wood!!) had a problem. I too would say that Days Inn are probably not the best in the US. There are plenty of others that are better and as cheap if not cheaper if you shop around. Use sites like Hotelscomparisson, Expedia, Opodo. TripAdvisor, Thomas Cook, Kayak, etc, etc. Do not take the first price you get as often one site will have a better deql than another. I would suggest that Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inns, Embassy Suites, Holmewood, Hilton Garden Inn and similar are all good value for money. Suggest you also read the reviews before booking. Most sites have reviews on the hotels and Trip Advisor is probably one of the better known and trusted sites.

gwynnington

thanks all for your advice..looking into nectar points and those hotel website links...

GRM

Most airlines will sell tickets up to 330 days in advance so you'll probably have to wait for another two months before the return flights are released.

meletheridge

love air new zealand flown with them twice but this time air france going premium economy even though mixed reviews.Price wish air france were the best but virgin can't stand them rude people

cubegame

£505 is a cheap flight.

And the best thing to do in LA is leave the airport in your hire car.......

;-)

jammin_2

cubegame wrote: »

£505 is a cheap flight.

And the best thing to do in LA is leave the airport in your hire car.......

;-)

Would it fit?

dickydonkin

jammin wrote: »

Would it fit?

Possibly in a VW Jetta!