Stayed the night before a morning flight out of LAX. Good access to South Bay, good price, 10 minutes from LAX up I405. Staff helpful, reservations mistakenly booked me a smoking room, they let me check it out first and offered an alternative. Clean King room with a slightly worn Jacuzzi. Good value.

The following review is based on a business trip I made to Los Angeles in April 2006. While normally I stay at Marriott or Hilton properties for their point programs, occasionally I will go off the beaten path to save money on my expense account. This trip was one of those instances and found me at the Best Western Redondo Beach Galleria (BWG) for my stay.

Location: This category could swing either way, depending on the purpose for your visit. For the business traveler, BWG would not be a typical choice. Located off the Artesia Freeway (91), you can quickly access Interstates 405, 105 or 110 to get where you need to go, but unless your business is in the southern beach cities of LA, you’ll likely have a good hike and traffic to get anyplace else. Light rail and bus are close by, but again, you’re probably too far away to use these and be on time for a meeting. However…

If you are the leisure traveler and like shopping, the hotel’s location becomes your ally. Literally five minutes walk from the front door is the South Bay Galleria Mall, with over 100 stores and a 16 screen multiplex theater. The beaches and other shopping are only a few minutes further, and the airport can be reached in about 20 minutes, making the BWG a nice value choice for the south bay.

Staff: Fairly standard service for a chain hotel. The front desk was quick for check in/out and at least one member was very knowledgeable of the surrounding area. Housekeeping was prompt and small requests (extra towels) were accommodated.

Room: Most of Best Western’s rooms compare on par with Hilton’s and Marriott’s budget brands (Fairfield and Courtyard). I found my room perfectly adequate for one person with some added nice features including free internet access (thank you kindly) and free local telephone calls. While I had little time for the TV, BWG provided the usual cable lineup with some additional movie choices.

Extras: The BWG does offer a pool and hot tub, but I would not feature these as a strong suit. The pool is quite small and noisy, given the hotel’s location off the freeway. With the beach not too far away, there’s no excuse for using the pool anyway. The parking area was easy to navigate and reasonably secure. After one very late evening, I had no trouble parking and returning to my room.

Price/Value: I stayed four nights (Thursday – Monday) at a rate of $79.99 per night. Considering that my usual choices would be in the range of $159 - $199 for the same period, I received most of the same services and features for about half the price. Although my commute did take longer due to the different location, I compensated for this with my weekend activities at the beach and malls that were so close by.

Summary: If you have money to burn through an expense account or are looking for a luxurious vacation hideaway, the BWG is not your place. However, if a good value a close location to shopping/beach activities is what you want, I think the BWG will fit the bill nicely!