Alright, so I needed to find a place to stay near the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles not too long ago. Had an event there, you know how it is, wanted something close so I didn’t have to battle that LA traffic more than necessary. Let me walk you through how I figured it out.
First thing I did, naturally, was pull out my phone. Can’t do much without it these days, right? Opened up the map application I usually use. Typed in “Shrine Expo Hall Los Angeles”. Okay, map centered on the spot. Good start.
Searching the Area
Next step was finding the actual hotels. I just tapped the search bar again while looking at the map around the Shrine and typed in “hotels”. Sometimes I use the ‘nearby’ function too, works about the same. Instantly, a whole bunch of little icons popped up all around the Expo Hall. Some right next door, some a few blocks away.
You get a mix, always. Big chain hotels you recognize, smaller independent looking places. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, just seeing all those options scattered there.
Digging into the Details
So, I started tapping on the icons one by one. Here’s my usual routine when I do this:
- Pictures First: Gotta see what the place actually looks like. Are the rooms clean? Does it look run down? Pictures tell a big part of the story, even if they’re trying to look their best.
- Read Reviews: I always check the recent reviews. What are real people saying? You gotta sift through them, some folks complain about silly stuff. But if you see a pattern, like multiple people saying “noisy” or “bad service”, you pay attention.
- Check the Price Range: Maps usually give you a hint, like dollar signs, or sometimes you gotta click through. I keep a rough budget in my head. No point looking too hard at places way out of my league.
- Exact Location: How close is it really? The map shows it, but I look at the walking distance or if it’s an easy drive/ride. Being “nearby” can mean a 5-minute walk or a 10-minute drive, big difference.
I spent a bit of time doing this, maybe 20-30 minutes, just clicking around, comparing a few spots that looked promising. I saw one right across the street basically, seemed super convenient. Another one was a bit further, maybe a 15-minute walk, but looked a bit nicer in the photos.
Making the Decision
Then I usually hop over to one or two of those hotel booking websites. Punch in my dates for the trip. See the actual prices for the nights I need. Sometimes the price you see on the map isn’t exactly right, or there are deals somewhere else.
After comparing the real prices and thinking about the location versus the look of the place, I zeroed in on one. It wasn’t the absolute closest, but it was walkable, had decent reviews saying it was clean, and the price felt reasonable for LA near a venue. Didn’t need anything fancy, just a solid, clean basecamp.
Went ahead and booked it through the website I was on. Felt good to get that sorted out. Finding a hotel can be a chore, but breaking it down like this usually gets me there without too much headache. Just took some tapping, reading, comparing, and then making the call. That was basically my process for finding a spot near the Shrine Expo Hall.
