Where to stay in Los Angeles: the best areas and hotels

Santa Monica is the Los Angeles everyone pictures: a wide golden beach, a Ferris wheel turning on the pier, rollerbladers on the beach path and palm trees silhouetted against the sunset. The Third Street Promenade has the shops, and Venice Beach, with its boardwalk, skate park and canals, is a short cycle south.

It's also home to the city's most coveted beach hotels. Shutters on the Beach and Casa del Mar sit right on the sand, side by side, with spas and ocean-view restaurants. Up on the bluffs, the Fairmont Miramar spreads over five acres with private bungalows, and the suites-only Oceana is a discreet beach-house hideaway a few steps from the Pacific. Pricey, yes, but this is the dream.

Hollywood Boulevard is gloriously touristy: the stars of the Walk of Fame, handprints outside the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars are held. The Hollywood sign looks down from the hills, and the Griffith Observatory has the best view of it. To the west, the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood is LA's after-dark playground of rock clubs, rooftop bars and celebrity-spotting restaurants.

The W Hollywood and Loews Hollywood are steps from the Walk of Fame, the Loews in an Art Deco building beside the Dolby. Dream Hollywood is edgy and stylish, and the Andaz West Hollywood, the first hotel on the Sunset Strip, once hosted the rockers of the 1960s. It's central for sightseeing and the nightlife is on the doorstep; just don't expect peace and quiet.

Beverly Hills is Los Angeles in its Sunday best: immaculate palm-lined avenues, mansions behind tall hedges and Rodeo Drive, where the world's grandest fashion houses line up along a few gleaming blocks. It's compact, safe and walkable by LA standards, sits between Hollywood and the coast, and has some of the most celebrated hotels in America.

The Beverly Hills Hotel, the pink palace on Sunset Boulevard, is pure Hollywood legend, with its bungalows, poolside cabanas and Art Deco glamour. The Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons hotel facing Rodeo Drive, has been the address of celebrities and royalty since 1928. The Peninsula is within walking distance of Rodeo Drive and Century City, and the Waldorf Astoria, a Forbes five-star, stands tall at the gateway to the city. Bring a generous budget.

Downtown LA has reinvented itself. Frank Gehry's silver-sailed Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Broad art museum crown Grand Avenue on Bunker Hill, Grand Central Market serves everything from tacos to ramen, and L.A. Live and Crypto.com Arena pull in the crowds for concerts and Lakers games. Little Tokyo and the Arts District are close by, and Union Station is the hub of the Metro rail network.

The InterContinental fills the top of the West Coast's tallest building, with a lobby on the 70th floor and views to match. The Biltmore is one of the city's most iconic historic hotels, the Hotel Figueroa has been restored to its 1926 Spanish Colonial splendour, and the Conrad, opposite the Disney Concert Hall, is at the heart of the new cultural corridor. Some blocks feel rough after dark, so take a taxi at night.

Over the hills from Hollywood, Burbank is where the films actually get made. Warner Bros, Disney and NBC all have studios here, and Universal Studios Hollywood, with its theme park and studio tour, is just down the road. It's calmer and cheaper than Hollywood, and Hollywood Burbank Airport is a far less stressful arrival than LAX.

Hotel Amarano is a stylish boutique option around the corner from Warner Bros and about a mile from Universal Studios. The Marriott by the airport has two outdoor pools, and the Cambria and Residence Inn are smart, good-value bases with easy access to Hollywood.

Pasadena feels like a well-heeled small town that happens to be inside Los Angeles. Old Pasadena's brick streets are full of restaurants and boutiques, the Huntington Library's gardens are among the finest in California, and the Rose Bowl hosts its famous parade and football game every New Year. The San Gabriel Mountains rise behind it all.

The Langham Huntington is the showpiece: a landmark hotel at the foot of the mountains, set in 23 acres of gardens and historic ballrooms. The Hilton Pasadena runs a free shuttle within two miles, including to the Huntington, and the Courtyard in Old Town and the Pasadena Hotel & Pool are central, modern alternatives. Downtown LA is about nine miles away.

Anaheim exists, as far as most visitors are concerned, for one reason: Disneyland, the original Disney park, and its neighbour, Disney California Adventure. The Anaheim Resort district around them is wall-to-wall hotels, restaurants and convenience, roughly an hour south of downtown LA depending on traffic, and a world away from Hollywood.

The Viv Hotel is a five-minute drive from the parks, the Westin Anaheim Resort has four restaurants and a pool, and Anaheim Suites goes all out for children with its own water park and an outdoor movie wall. In next-door Buena Park, Knott's Hotel sits inside Knott's Berry Farm, with Snoopy breakfasts and a shuttle to Disneyland.

Long Beach is LA's laid-back harbour city, with a walkable downtown, a palm-lined waterfront and a calmer pace than the beach towns to the north. The Aquarium of the Pacific is a big hit with children, the Queen Mary ocean liner is moored across the harbour, and the cruise terminal makes it a natural stop before or after a voyage.

The Fairmont Breakers revives a grand old building with a celebrated restaurant scene, and the Hilton Long Beach is close to the aquarium and both LAX and Long Beach airports. For families or groups, the Marbella Lane apartments have two bedrooms, a pool and ocean views, a short walk from the waterfront.

South along the Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach is the most beautiful town on the Southern California coast: craggy coves, tide pools, wooded canyons and a long tradition of artists and galleries. Couples come for the sunsets, the seafood and the sense of having escaped the city entirely.

Montage Laguna Beach is one of the West Coast's great resorts, with two pools, a spa and a clifftop setting over the ocean. Surf & Sand sits right on the beach, while Capri Laguna, in the lively Hip District, and Casa Loma are kinder on the wallet. It's a long way from Hollywood, so treat it as a coastal finale rather than a sightseeing base.

Inglewood is having a moment. SoFi Stadium, the Kia Forum and the Intuit Dome have turned it into LA's sports and concert hub, and it sits right beside LAX, the main airport for flights from the UK. Santa Monica and Venice Beach are about 20 minutes away when the traffic behaves.

The Anthem, next to the Intuit Dome, has a rooftop bar and a resort-style pool, while the Hampton Inn, ELEV8 and Crystal Inn are straightforward, good-value bases for a first or last night. Book here for flights and events, then move on.