Best family hotels in LA

The Garland and Terranea Resort. The Garland, in Studio City, runs a free trolley to Universal Studios Hollywood and sells Family Suites with a bunk-bed nook for the children. Terranea Resort, on the Palos Verdes cliffs, has a drop-off kids' club for ages 3 to 12 and a family pool with a 140-foot waterslide.

2 of our ten · Hand-pickedHotels cannot pay to be hereLast checked: October 2026

The Garland
A free trolley to Universal Studios and Family Suites with bunk beds
Studio City · Family Suite · From about $275 a night
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Terranea Resort
A kids' club for ages 3 to 12 and a pool with a 140-foot waterslide
Palos Verdes · Two-Bedroom Casita, Resort View · From about $725 a night
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What we looked for

In Los Angeles the hotel decides how much of a family holiday is spent in the car, so choose by what the children have come for. For Universal Studios Hollywood, stay on the Valley side of the hills: The Garland's free trolley takes the car out of the park days, and from Universal City/Studio City station the B Line reaches Hollywood/Highland in four minutes. For a week of pools, coastal walks and a kids' club, Terranea Resort is a place to stay put, but no train reaches Palos Verdes, so bring a car.

Disneyland is in Anaheim, 50 minutes from The Garland by car off-peak and longer at rush hour, so sleep there for the Disneyland days and come back to Los Angeles for the rest. Both of our hotels sell rooms that give the children a sleeping space of their own: a bunk nook at The Garland, a second bedroom at Terranea Resort. Both add nightly fees to the room rate, so compare totals before you book.

The Garland: The outdoor pool and its fireplace

The family one

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The Garland

Studio City, LA

The Garland is built around a family's Universal day. Its free trolley runs to Universal Studios Hollywood and CityWalk every hour on the hour from 8am to 10pm, skipping 1pm and 3pm, and collects at CityWalk at a quarter past, so the car stays parked and a midday rest works on the 12:15pm or 2:15pm ride back. It is a Universal Studios Hollywood preferred hotel, on about seven tree-shaded acres in Studio City.

Evenings stay on the grounds. The outdoor pool opens from 6am to 10pm and has two hot tubs, one for families and one for adults, and films are screened by the pool on Friday and Saturday evenings, and every night in summer. There is no kids' club; the pool, the films and the courtyard board games and foosball do that job. Cribs are free, and with clear roads the Hollywood Bowl and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour are 8 minutes away by car.

The room to book

Family Suite

560 sq ft (52 m²)

560 sq ft (52 m²) with a king bed for the parents, a separate bunk-bed nook for the children, a living room, a fridge and a microwave, for up to five.

Every room, and why

Ask for a Family Suite away from the freeway edge of the grounds when you book, and again at check-in.

$$From about $275 a night

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The resort

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Terranea Resort

Palos Verdes, LA

Terranea Resort suits a family week that stays put. The Resort Pool is the children's: 5,000 sq ft with a 140-foot waterslide and a splash pad, open from 8am to 8pm for resort guests, with family cabanas that can be reserved in advance. Terranea Kids Club takes children aged 3 to 12 who are potty-trained, on a drop-off basis while a parent stays on the property, for outdoor games, sports, arts and crafts, science activities and films, and a meal comes with the morning and evening sessions.

Snorkel tours leave from Beach Cove below the bluffs, with a parent or guardian for anyone under 18. The coastal trail reaches Point Vicente Lighthouse in 23 minutes on foot from the lobby building, and from the Interpretive Center beside it the grey whale migration can be seen from December to April. Plan the pools by age: the Vista Pool is for 13 and over, Cielo Point for over-21s.

The room to book

Two-Bedroom Casita, Resort View

1,550 sq ft (144 m²)$1,367 a night

Two bedrooms and a kitchen over the grounds, sleeping up to seven, so the children get a room of their own and breakfast can be made in.

Every room, and why

Book Kids Club sessions when you book the room: evening sessions are by appointment only.

$$$From about $725 a night

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How to choose

Your trip	Book
Universal Studios is the reason for the trip	The Garland
A family of five in one suite	The Garland
Parents who want a few hours to themselves	Terranea Resort
A resort week of pools and a waterslide	Terranea Resort

Also worth a look

The icon
The Beverly Hills Hotel
The Beverly Hills Hotel suits a family that wants a famous pool: the 1938 pool is for hotel guests only and the hotel calls it family-friendly. Its Superior and Deluxe rooms are listed with connecting rooms.
From about $1,090 a night
The beach one
Shutters on the Beach
For a beach holiday with children, Shutters on the Beach opens straight onto Santa Monica Beach. Connecting rooms are offered within a category, subject to availability, and the Beach House Suite adds a separate den with a full-size sofa bed.
From about $740 a night

Questions people ask

Good questions about Los Angeles

Which Los Angeles hotels have a kids' club?

Of our ten, only Terranea Resort. Terranea Kids Club takes children aged 3 to 12 who are potty-trained, on a drop-off basis while a parent stays on the property, and it is open to day and overnight guests. A meal comes with the morning and evening sessions, and evening sessions are by appointment only, so book them early. At The Garland the children's evenings are spent by the pool, with dive-in movies on Friday and Saturday, nightly in summer, and board games and foosball in the courtyard.

Where should families stay in Los Angeles for Universal Studios?

Studio City, at The Garland. Its free trolley to Universal Studios Hollywood leaves on the hour from 8am to 10pm, except at 1pm and 3pm, and collects at CityWalk at a quarter past. A Family Suite sleeps up to five, with a bunk nook for the children. On the Metro, the park entrance is 12 minutes' walk from Universal City/Studio City station on the B Line, itself 17 minutes' walk from The Garland. Off-peak, Hollywood Burbank Airport is 12 minutes away by car and LAX 34.

How far is Disneyland from Los Angeles hotels?

It is a drive. Disneyland is in Anaheim, at 1313 Disneyland Drive, and The Garland is 50 minutes away by car off-peak, more at rush hour. Going the other way, from the Disneyland Hotel the Walk of Fame is 48 minutes by car off-peak, Rodeo Drive 52 and Santa Monica Pier 54. The simplest plan is to sleep in Anaheim for the Disneyland days, then move to The Garland or Terranea Resort for the rest of the trip.

Which Los Angeles hotel pools suit young children?

Terranea Resort's Resort Pool is built for them: 5,000 sq ft, designed for all ages, with a 140-foot waterslide and a splash pad, and it is the one of the resort's four pools that takes every age. The Garland's pool runs from 6am to 10pm, with a hot tub for families, and screens dive-in movies on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Beverly Hills Hotel's 1938 pool is for hotel guests only, and the hotel calls it family-friendly.

How did you choose these hotels?

Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.

More ways to choose in LA

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Prices are a guide from our last check, not live rates.