Julie
My experience of staying very near to LAX is that its void of anything particularly 'nice' although the hotels themselves are often very good....however some hotels that are a little further away still describe themselves as LAX hotels. Its generally not an area I particularly trust, especially at night !, so there could be some hidden gems I've missed!. I have stayed several times at the Crowne Plaza.... will have a look at my map later at home and see where it is in relation to that.
When are you going?
Kind Regards
Mark
