Best Western Hotels in Los Angeles: Where to Stay and How to Plan Your Trip
Los Angeles is less a single city than a collection of districts loosely connected by freeways, so choosing where to sleep matters as much as choosing what to see. Best Western's presence in Los Angeles centers on the Aiden Los Angeles Downtown Dragon Gate Inn, a property in the Chinatown/Downtown area that puts you within reach of the historic core, Union Station, and the Metro system. This guide looks at how the city is laid out, how to plan a realistic itinerary, and how to secure the best rate when booking direct.
About Los Angeles: A City of Neighborhoods
Los Angeles is spread across a basin roughly the size of a small country, and its neighborhoods have distinct personalities. Downtown LA is the civic and financial core, with courthouses, the Arts District, and the historic Olvera Street area nearby. Just north of Downtown, Chinatown retains its own rhythm of markets, temples, and family-run restaurants, and this is the area where the Aiden Los Angeles Downtown Dragon Gate Inn is located.
Other parts of the city — Hollywood, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Koreatown — each have their own character and are generally reached by car or rideshare rather than on foot from Downtown, so it helps to decide upfront whether you want to be based near the historic core or closer to the beach or entertainment districts.
Staying in Downtown LA / Chinatown
The Aiden Los Angeles Downtown Dragon Gate Inn sits in Chinatown, adjacent to Downtown proper. This area works well if your priorities include Union Station (a hub for Amtrak, Metrolink, and the Metro Rail lines), Dodger Stadium, the Arts District, and the Downtown skyline and Civic Center.
Because Chinatown is a working neighborhood with its own shops and eateries, staying here gives a different feel from a purely tourist-oriented hotel strip. It's a practical base if you plan to use public transit for at least part of your trip, since Downtown is the one part of LA reasonably well served by rail.
Planning Your Stay
Los Angeles rewards a longer stay simply because distances between attractions are large. Three to five days is a reasonable minimum if you want to combine Downtown, the coast, and at least one entertainment-district neighborhood like Hollywood.
Renting a car remains the most flexible way to see the wider metro area, though it comes with LA's well-known traffic and parking costs. If you're based near Union Station, you can supplement driving with Metro Rail for trips into central Downtown, reducing the need to drive and park every day.
From LAX, expect to use a rideshare, shuttle, or rental car to reach Downtown/Chinatown; there is no direct rail line from the airport terminals themselves, though airport-area transit connections have been improving, so it's worth checking current options before you land.
How to Book the Best Rate
Rates for the same hotel and dates can vary by the week depending on demand, conventions, and events like sports schedules or festivals. Rather than relying on a number you saw once, check current rates directly on bestwestern.online before finalizing your dates.
Booking direct means no third-party markup and no account requirement, and it's usually the most reliable way to see the actual price you'll pay, including any current promotions.
If your travel dates are flexible, compare a few nearby date ranges: shifting a stay by even a day or two around Downtown LA events (conventions, Dodger Stadium games) can change availability and pricing noticeably.