On this page
- Why does where to stay in Los Angeles start with which city you sleep in?
- Which is the best area to stay in Los Angeles for your kind of trip?
- Santa Monica vs Hollywood: which suits a first trip to LA?
- What does Los Angeles hotel tax add to a $250 room in each city?
- Must a Los Angeles hotel put its resort fee in the first price you see?
- How many minutes do the E, B and A Lines take from each area to downtown?
- Which Los Angeles areas have no Metro rail station, and how far is Disneyland?
- What do Santa Monica's beach lots and Downtown's city garages charge?
- How many nights a year can a City of Los Angeles host rent out a home?
- How much cooler is Santa Monica than the Burbank airport in July?
- What is open in the Palisades and Eaton Canyon after the January 2025 fires?
- FAQ
Where to stay in Los Angeles starts with which city your bed is in, because the area is many cities and each sets its own hotel tax. A room in the City of Los Angeles pays 14%, one in Santa Monica 15% plus a nightly assessment, and one in Pasadena 17% with its tourism assessment.
Nine areas are compared here, and no hotel is named or recommended. We read the figures below on 13 November 2026 on the pages of LA Metro, the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Pasadena and Long Beach, and Los Angeles County. We also read the federal eCFR, the FTC, California's Attorney General, NOAA and Discover Los Angeles.
Why does where to stay in Los Angeles start with which city you sleep in?
Where to stay in Los Angeles starts with the city, because Venice, Hollywood and Downtown lie inside the City of Los Angeles. The six other areas here are separate cities. Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Long Beach and Anaheim each set their own hotel tax and their own rental rules. We did not check which side of a border street any hotel sits on, so read the city in the booking's address.
Our overview of Los Angeles covers the sights, the airport and the fares, and our page on California covers the rest of the state.
Discover Los Angeles publishes STR figures for the hotels of the Tourism Marketing District only, not for the whole county. Those hotels averaged $219.53 a night from January to September 2026, up from $204.77 a year earlier, at 74.5% occupancy. The page splits nothing by Santa Monica, Pasadena, Long Beach or Anaheim, so we print no average for any single area.
Which is the best area to stay in Los Angeles for your kind of trip?
The best area to stay in Los Angeles depends on the trip: Santa Monica suits a beach stay with a train downtown, and Downtown a stay without a car, in our judgement. No official page we read ranks these areas, so the last column is ours. The rail column comes from Metro's timetables, which list timepoints rather than every stop.
| Area | City and hotel tax | Metro rail | From LAX by road | Suits, in our judgement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Monica | Santa Monica, 15% plus assessment | E Line, Downtown Santa Monica | 8.8 mi | A beach stay with a train downtown |
| Venice | Los Angeles, 14% | None | 6.7 mi | A beach stay with a car, 2.6 miles from Santa Monica Pier |
| Hollywood | Los Angeles, 14% | B Line, Hollywood/Highland | 14.9 mi | A first trip built on Hollywood and the B Line |
| West Hollywood | West Hollywood, its own rate | None | 14.4 mi | A stay with a car, 3.4 miles from Hollywood and Highland |
| Beverly Hills | Beverly Hills, its own rate | None | 12.6 mi | A stay with a car between the coast and Hollywood |
| Downtown | Los Angeles, 14% | A, B, D and E Lines | 19.7 mi | A stay without a car, on four rail lines |
| Pasadena | Pasadena, 12.11% plus 4.89% | A Line, Memorial Park | 30.0 mi | A stay on the A Line, 24 minutes from Union Station |
| Long Beach | Long Beach, 13% plus an assessment at some hotels | A Line, Downtown Long Beach | 23.5 mi | A coastal stay 57 minutes from downtown by train |
| Anaheim | Anaheim, its own rate | None | 35.0 mi | A trip built on Disneyland |
The miles are our own routing and approximate, with no traffic. They run from the airport to Santa Monica Pier, Ocean Front Walk in Venice, Hollywood and Highland, and Sunset Boulevard at San Vicente. The other ends are Rodeo Drive at Wilshire, 7th St/Metro Center, Colorado Boulevard at Fair Oaks, the Long Beach aquarium and the Disneyland Resort. We did not compare the nine on safety or noise.
Santa Monica vs Hollywood: which suits a first trip to LA?
Santa Monica suits a first trip built on the coast, and Hollywood one built on the B Line, in our judgement. The two sit about 14.1 miles apart by road on our routing, about 24 minutes without traffic. So if you are choosing where to stay in LA for the first time, choose by the half of the trip you will spend more days in.
A $250 room pays $2.50 a night more tax in Santa Monica than in Hollywood before the assessment, by our arithmetic.
Downtown is 43 minutes from Downtown Santa Monica on the E Line and 17 minutes from Hollywood/Highland on the B Line, by Metro's timetables. Hollywood/Highland is also the stop Metro names for the Hollywood Bowl shuttle.
What does Los Angeles hotel tax add to a $250 room in each city?
Los Angeles hotel tax runs from 13% in Long Beach to 17% in Pasadena, counting Pasadena's assessment, among the cities whose pages we read. The City of Los Angeles charges 14% of room rent on stays of 30 days or less, by its Office of Finance's guide revised on 16 July 2026. The $250 below is our invented example, not a rate anyone published.
| City | Hotel tax | Assessment on top | Tax on a $250 room, ours | Night in all, ours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles: Venice, Hollywood, Downtown | 14% | None in the city's guide | $35.00 | $285.00 |
| Santa Monica | 15% | $2.30, $6.25 or $7.25 a night, by the hotel's average rate | $37.50, plus $2.30 to $7.25 | $289.80 to $294.75 |
| Pasadena | 12.11% | 4.89% | $42.50 together | $292.50 |
| Long Beach | 13% | At some hotels, rate not read | $32.50 | $282.50 before any assessment |
Santa Monica's assessment follows the hotel's average daily rate across its rooms, not the price of your room. The city's page does not say whether a hotel passes it on, so the higher totals assume it does. A home-share in Santa Monica pays 17% instead of 15%. Santa Monica and Long Beach both exempt a guest who stays 31 or more consecutive days.
Pasadena City Hall in October 2013. A Pasadena room pays 12.11% tax and a 4.89% tourism assessment.
Pasadena's tax and assessment apply to taxable receipts, which the city says include resort fees. Since 1 April 2026 Airbnb and VRBO collect both on Pasadena bookings. The 4.89% rate runs until 30 June 2033. Long Beach's 13% has applied since 1 July 2020, when it rose from 12%.
Over three nights on that room, Pasadena costs $30.00 more in tax than Long Beach before the Long Beach assessment, by our arithmetic. West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Anaheim each set their own rate, and we print none: check the total on the booking before you pay.
Santa Monica's Measure TT, on the 3 November 2026 ballot, keeps the hotel rates above for an individual guest. Hotel rooms pay these taxes instead of sales tax, which our guide to sales tax in the USA explains.
Must a Los Angeles hotel put its resort fee in the first price you see?
A mandatory resort fee belongs in a Los Angeles hotel's advertised price under two laws: the FTC's rule, 16 CFR Part 464, and California's SB 478. The FTC rule has covered hotels and short-term rentals since 12 May 2025. Its FAQ says the required resort fee "must be included in the total price".
The federal total is the most a guest must pay, and it must be shown more prominently than any other price. Government charges may be left out, so the taxes above can still come on top.
California's Honest Pricing Law, SB 478, has applied since 1 July 2024, and the Attorney General says it covers hotels and short-term rentals. A price must include all mandatory fees, though government taxes and optional services may be left out. A fee that depends on your conduct, such as smoking in a non-smoking room, is not mandatory.
No page we read gives any Los Angeles hotel's resort fee, so we do not say what a hotel charges.
How many minutes do the E, B and A Lines take from each area to downtown?
The E Line takes 43 minutes from Downtown Santa Monica to 7th St/Metro Center, by Metro's timetable effective 14 December 2025. The time is the same on all 114 weekday trips. The B and A Lines link Hollywood, Long Beach and Pasadena with downtown. Metro calls all of these times approximate.
| From | Line | To | Scheduled minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Santa Monica | E | 7th St/Metro Center | 43 |
| Hollywood/Highland | B | 7th St/Metro Center | 17 |
| Hollywood/Highland | B | Union Station | 25 |
| Downtown Long Beach | A | 7th St/Metro Center | 57 |
| Downtown Long Beach | A | Union Station | 66 |
| Union Station | A | Memorial Park, Pasadena | 24 |
| 7th St/Metro Center | A | Memorial Park, Pasadena | 33 |
The B Line timetable took effect on 8 May 2026 and the A Line's on 7 June 2026; check Metro's live times before you rely on them. Metro warns that all rail lines after 8 p.m. are subject to delays for systemwide maintenance. A Line trains also pause for 1 to 2 minutes at Union Station for a crew change.
A B Line train at Hollywood/Highland in April 2023. Metro's timetable gives 25 minutes from here to Union Station.
A Metro ride costs $1.75, with a cap of $5 a day and $18 over seven days, and rail takes a TAP, credit or debit card. Our overview of Los Angeles explains the fares and the route from LAX by the C or K Line and a free shuttle. The airport's own sites refused our reads, so we print no FlyAway fare.
Which Los Angeles areas have no Metro rail station, and how far is Disneyland?
Venice, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Anaheim have no station on the Metro timetables we read, so a stay there leans on a car or a bus. Metro's schedules list buses for Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, but we read no route page. The table gives our own routing, approximate and without traffic.
| From | To Union Station | To Santa Monica Pier | To Hollywood and Highland | To Disneyland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venice | 16.1 mi, about 28 min | 2.6 mi, about 8 min | 12.4 mi, about 28 min | 38.7 mi, about 56 min |
| West Hollywood | 9.5 mi, about 19 min | 10.3 mi, about 20 min | 3.4 mi, about 8 min | 35.9 mi, about 52 min |
| Beverly Hills | 13.0 mi, about 22 min | 8.5 mi, about 16 min | 5.3 mi, about 11 min | 37.5 mi, about 52 min |
| Anaheim, Disneyland | 27.3 mi, about 37 min | 41.9 mi, about 56 min | 34.9 mi, about 48 min | Start |
Peak-hour times on these freeways are far longer than these free-flow figures. Our guides to driving in the USA as a visitor and renting a car in the USA cover the car itself.
Anaheim is the base for a Disneyland trip, and the resort is about 35.0 miles from LAX and 26.8 miles from Union Station on our routing. Long Beach is about 26.6 miles from it, the nearest of the other areas here. Anaheim's city pages refused us, so we print no train, bus or tax figure for it.
What do Santa Monica's beach lots and Downtown's city garages charge?
A central Santa Monica beach lot costs $8 on weekdays and $12 at weekends from November to March. From April to October the same lot costs $20 every day. Those are the city's rates since 12 January 2026, charged per entry at Lots 1N to 3N and 1S to 3S.
| Santa Monica city parking | April to October | November to March |
|---|---|---|
| Central beach lots, per entry | $20 every day | $8 weekdays, $12 weekends |
| Northern beach lots, 4N to 9N | $12 weekdays, $15 weekends | $8 weekdays, $12 weekends |
| Short-term beach lots | $3 an hour | $2 an hour |
| Pier deck, weekdays | $4.25 an hour, $20 a day at most | $3 an hour, $15 a day at most |
| Pier deck, weekends | $4.25 an hour, $22 a day at most | $4 an hour, $18 a day at most |
Santa Monica held its downtown garages out of the January change and sent a revised plan to its council. We found no sign that plan was adopted, so we print no Santa Monica garage rate.
Downtown Los Angeles has city-run garages with printed rates, by the city's General Services page. The Pershing Square Garage at 530 South Olive Street charges $3 each 15 minutes up to $20, and $9 after 5 p.m. and at weekends. The L.A. Mall garage at 225 North Los Angeles Street charges $4 each 20 minutes up to $25 a day, Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. only.
We read no prices for hotel parking or valet, or for parking in the other areas.
How many nights a year can a City of Los Angeles host rent out a home?
A City of Los Angeles host may share a primary residence "for up to 120 days in a calendar year" with a regular Home-Sharing registration. That is the rule in the city's guidelines effective 28 September 2026. More than 120 days needs an extended registration, and a primary residence is where the host lives for more than six months of the year.
Every listing must clearly display the city-issued registration number, and rent-stabilised units cannot be home-shared. For a guest, that number in the listing is the check.
Santa Monica defines home-sharing as renting for 30 consecutive days or less "while the host lives on site", on its licence page. A home-share there pays 17% tax. Pasadena needs a permit for any short-term rental and does not permit one where the owner lives less than nine months a year.
We did not read the rental rules of Long Beach, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood or Anaheim, so this page says nothing about rentals there.
How much cooler is Santa Monica than the Burbank airport in July?
Santa Monica is 12°F cooler than the inland Burbank airport station in July, on NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals: an average high of 75°F against 87°F. LAX has the same July high as Santa Monica, and downtown sits at 82°F. A day of 90°F or more comes 4.8 times a year on the coast and 53.9 times at Burbank.
| NOAA station | January high | April high | July high | October high | Days of 90°F or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Monica airport | 66°F | 68°F | 75°F | 74°F | 4.8 |
| LAX | 66°F | 68°F | 75°F | 74°F | 4.8 |
| Long Beach airport | 67°F | 71°F | 81°F | 78°F | 23.3 |
| Downtown, USC campus | 68°F | 72°F | 82°F | 79°F | 25.6 |
| Burbank airport | 67°F | 73°F | 87°F | 79°F | 53.9 |
Pasadena and Anaheim have no station in NOAA's set, so read Burbank as the inland side, not as Pasadena. None of the five prints a snow normal.
What is open in the Palisades and Eaton Canyon after the January 2025 fires?
On 13 November 2026 the City of Los Angeles's recovery site said access passes are no longer needed to enter the Pacific Palisades. Access to the areas once evacuated is no longer restricted, the same page says.
Los Angeles County's trail alert says trails in Eaton Canyon and the surrounding area stay closed until 31 December 2027. The closure covers the Altadena Crest Trail, the Chaney Trail, the Eaton Canyon Trail, the Hastings Debris Basin Trail and the Eaton Canyon Waterfall.
Temescal Gateway Park in the Palisades reopened on 13 July 2026, by an announcement on the same county page. The Temescal Canyon Trail to the waterfall stays closed until further notice. We print nothing on Pacific Coast Highway, Topanga Canyon or Altadena's streets, because we read no current page on them.