I have a Miricale flight for kids to Santa Monica on the 11 March. Were would you reccomend I park over nite. And a nice place and fairly priced to stay. Thanks from don
Don,
I use priceline.com all the time. Just got a weekend in San Antonio at $100/night on the Riverwalk (Hyatt-4 star). Hotels.com wanted $200/night. You have to make a guess on it, so if I’m unfamiliar with an area I’ll look at Hotels.com, and then bid 50-60% of that on priceline. Doesn’t always work, but I’ve saved a lot of money over the last 18 months or so. Bad thing is there are no refunds or cancellations. As always, this is just for what it’s worth!
Don:
I always use SuperMarine. They are the only full-service FBO at SMO. See details here:
[ril]http://www.airnav.com/airport/KSMO/SUPERMARINE
I was going to try the other FBO once (American Flyers), but they didn’t answer the phone during normal business hours so I gave up. More on them here:
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KSMO/AMERICAN_FLYERS
Ashttp://www.shuttersonthebeach.com/
The second is the Fairmont Miramar. This is across the street from the beach, and near the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. It is more formal and also more calm than Shutters, but also very nice. Still expensive, although not as much as Shutters. Info:
Finally, if you have not flown into SMO before there is one little detail I’ll pass on. The runway and the taxiways are run together … only a painted stripe separates them. You can turn off the runway anywhere you want. However, pay attention to the painted stripes as it is easy to think you are off the runway when in fact you are still partially on it. The tower is very quick to let you know when you do that!
Have fun!
I too confess to a Priceline addiction as far as hotels are concerned. But before you try Priceline, read through biddingfortavel.com. It’s to Priceline what COPA is to Cirri!
Sanjay