If so, this page has all the information you need.
It includes the event location, how to get to the hotel by taxi from the airport, how book a room at the hotel, parking information if you’re renting a car, and suggestions of fun things to do and places to eat that are near the hotel.
Event Location
The event will take place The Bernard Room in the historic and sumptuous Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
Millennium Biltmore Hotel
505 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 624-1011
Where to Stay
All the rooms in the Biltmore are sold out on Oct. 25 and 26 –– and the same goes for almost every other hotel in downtown Los Angeles for those nights. (We know because we called each one.)
However, we did find one hotel with a few rooms, in the best part of downtown (more on this in a moment). That’s where we recommend you stay. Otherwise, you’ll need to go quite far away from downtown to find a hotel.
The hotel we found is about a 10-minute cab ride from the Biltmore. If you stay there, you can take a cab with the others who’ll be attending and who’ll be staying there. We’ll connect you with those people.
It’s called The Miyako Hotel.
Watching the price day by day, we’ve seen it go up and down between $154 and $188 per night before taxes. They also offer a $20 discount if you have an AAA membership. (Details are on their website.)
Instant Rebate!!
If you stay in the hotel, let us know. We’ll give you a $30 rebate for each night you’re staying there if you paid $160 or less (before taxes), and a $40 rebate for each night you’re staying there if you paid over $160 per night (before taxes).
Hotel Information:
328 E 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA
(213) 617-2000
Why This Hotel is Cool
When we first created this web page on where to stay and fun things to do downtown, we thought people would be staying in the Biltmore.
We haven’t changed anything on this page except the hotel information you’re reading now, directing people to the Miyako.
If you keep reading this page, you’ll learn about what is one of the most fun area of downtown at night, Little Tokyo and Japanese Village Plaza.
It’s described as a short cab ride from “the hotel” – but that’s when the hotel was the Biltmore. So ignore that information, for from the Miyako Hotel, where you’ll be staying, Japanese Village Plaza is about a 45 second walk from your front door.
Similarly, two other fun places to see that we recommend later on this page –– Kinokuniya Bookstore and Q Pop Shop –– are now no longer a cab ride away. If you’re at the Miyako, they’re about a 5 minute walk.
We didn’t change the earlier text which still describes them as a short cab ride away, but now you know they’re actually a very short walk.
Getting to the hotel from the airport by taxi
Unless you’re flying in to Los Angeles, unless you have other sites to see (and there are many), you can skip renting a car and take a taxi to the hotel.
In Los Angeles, taxis charge a flat rate to or from downtown and the airport: $46.50 However, if you’re coming from the airport to downtown, there’s an additional $4.00 fee which the taxis pay to the airport.
The taxi drivers often let their meters run on these trips, and the totals always come up more than the amount stated above. But don’t pay what’s on the meter –– the above is the legally set rate in the city.
Parking
If you’re renting a car, parking overnight is $40. However, if instead you park across the street at the lot beneath Pershing Square (see the info in the next paragraph), the price is $16.50. That’s the price for everyone; you don’t need to get your ticket stamped by the hotel. Note that there are no in and out privileges if you park there.
Re: The parking lot across the street: The back entrance to the hotel is located on S. Olive St. Across that street is Pershing Square, which occupies an entire block. And a parking lot is underneath. Entrances to the parking lot can be found on all the streets around the Square: S. Olive, Fifth St., Hill, and Sixth St.
By the way, the lot under Pershing Square is safe, and guests at the Millennium Biltmore use it all the time.
You can find Pershing Square, located across S. Olive from the hotel, on the map that is linked to above on this page.
Enjoying Your Stay
In what follows, a number of recommended sites are within about two minutes of each other: The Blue Cow Kitchen and Bar, the Disney Concert Hall, and MOCA (the Museum of Contemporary Art and its cool bookstore).
Where to Eat
There are several enjoyable restaurants near the hotel. Ask the Concierge for recommendations.
However, we recommend one that’s a 10-minute walk, a fund, trendy, moderately-priced restaurant called the Blue Cow. (Its full name is the Blue Cow Kitchen and Bar.)
350 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Call for hours and to see if reservations are needed: (213) 621-2249
Things to do
You’re just a 10-minute walk from two great ways to spend some time:
First, there’s L.A.’s favorite landmark, the Disney Concert Hall, designed by Frank Ghery.
111. S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Self-guided audio tours and guided tours of Walt Disney Concert Hall are offered by the Music Center most days. All tours are an hour long and begin in the Grand Avenue Lobby of Walt Disney Concert Hall.
For information on tours, see: http://www.laphil.com/visit/tours
Also nearby is MOCA – The Museum of Contemporary Art
250 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-6222
You can call to see what exhibit is up. However, there’s no charge to go into its cool bookstore.
If you’re willing to walk…(or take a short taxi ride)…
You may want to take a short taxi ride for this one. But if you feel like it, in 35 minutes (brisk walk) or 45 minutes (if you stroll), you can walk to Little Tokyo, which is a fun and active area both day and night, inhabited by young professionals and artsy types. It was once a strictly Japanese area, but now, along with a youthful Japanese–American crowd, it’s got a wide mix of people and is a fun place to hang out.
To walk there, go out the back entrance of the hotel (on Olive) –– turn left (North) – walk up to 2nd St. and turn right (East) – and walk about six blocks and cross San Pedro St. Walk half a block more and turn left into the plaza. There you’ll find restaurants, bakeries, and cute stores, almost all of them open at night.
It’s called Japanese Village Plaza and you can find a Google map here.
Perhaps it’s best to skip the walk and grab a taxi.
NOTE: Unlike New York, taxis aren’t usually seen just driving around. So you’ll need to call for one if you’re out in the city, or have the hotel call for one if you’re departing the hotel. If you’re out and about in the city, a company called United Taxi has a big fleet and can probably get you a taxi pretty quick, even though their cars are a bit run down. Call (800) 822-8294.
Some Local Secrets
Here’s a fun thing to do: right before you cross San Pedro St., you’ll see a walkway on the left side of 2nd, heading left and slanted a bit back the way you came. It’s called “Weller Court,” although the court changes its name to a street somewhere along the way. Walk up that walkway. There’s a sort of mall on the left.
Go up the escalator and you’ll find a huge bookstore –– Kinokuniya Bookstore –– with filled everything Japanese, including books on manga art, comics, Zen –– you name it. If you’re a creative type, it’s worth a visit.
Their phone number: (213) 687-4480. Call for their hours –– they’re open in the evenings, but not quite as late as some other places in the area. Therefore, you might want to visit them before dinner instead of after.
If you pass the mall and keep walking, on the right you’ll find a funky little store and gallery called
Q Pop Shop. It’s usually open until 11:00pm.
Their phone number: (213) 687-7767
It’s tiny but crammed with low-cost art and funky creative things. Stop by and say “Hi” to Chris, one of the owners. Tell him David Freeman sent you.
Hollywood!
There’s a subway a block from the hotel, and it can take you right to Hollywood, faster than you can get there by car. Ask your Concierge about the subway and sites to see near its stops in Hollywood.
