Bad Idea?

[Rain13]

Me and a few friends are coming from Boston for the festival and we ended up booking a package deal that includes a Hotel in LA. According to mapquest, the hotel is a 2 hour drive to the festival (we have a rental car). Was this a bad idea? What's it like getting out of the parking lot at the end of the day? 2 hours doesn't seem too bad, especially since we've never been to Southern California and wouldn't mind the scenic drive (from what I've heard).

[NoneForMeThanks]

Me and a few friends are coming from Boston for the festival and we ended up booking a package deal that includes a Hotel in LA. According to mapquest, the hotel is a 2 hour drive to the festival (we have a rental car). Was this a bad idea? What's it like getting out of the parking lot at the end of the day? 2 hours doesn't seem too bad, especially since we've never been to Southern California and wouldn't mind the scenic drive (from what I've heard).

Ooh - bad idea, indeed. The parking lot can be a nightmare going and coming out. And the drive ain't all that scenic along the 10 freeway, especially in the middle of the night. If you can, change your hotel location to somewhere closer - like Palm Springs.

[rampaige]

Yes, this is a bad idea. Two hours may not seen like a big deal at the time, but after standing in the sweltering heat for hours on end, you will be TIRED by the end of each day. Getting out of the lot can take 15-45 minutes...last year while leaving after the first night I kept having to put the ebrake on during the bumper to bumper traffic, cause I was so worried about falling asleep at the wheel and bumping someone. I recommend staying closer if possible. Besides, any money you may save by staying in LA is going to be spent on gas going to and fro each day and night.

[suprefan]

Yes, this is a bad idea. Two hours may not seen like a big deal at the time, but after standing in the sweltering heat for hours on end, you will be TIRED by the end of each day. Getting out of the lot can take 15-45 minutes...last year while leaving after the first night I kept having to put the ebrake on during the bumper to bumper traffic, cause I was so worried about falling asleep at the wheel and bumping someone. I recommend staying closer if possible. Besides, any money you may save by staying in LA is going to be spent on gas going to and fro each day and night.

You wish 15-45, thats if you left before the day ended. If its sold out each day and you parked in a bad spot expect like a good hour to get to the freeway if you got lucky. And yeah get a hotel thats closer. Even if it was like an hour away that would not be so bad..

[psychic friend]

yes bad idea

[rampaige]

You wish 15-45, thats if you left before the day ended. If its sold out each day and you parked in a bad spot expect like a good hour to get to the freeway if you got lucky. And yeah get a hotel thats closer. Even if it was like an hour away that would not be so bad..

I'm just going by what little I remember. Which after the heat and beer, wasn't much.

Regardless, staying in LA is a bad idea.

[Rain13]

Well it's too late at this point. We got our round-trip plane tickets from Boston, 4 nights in a decent hotel, and a 4 day car rental all for only $250 each (4 of us total) so there was really no way we could come anywhere close to that in price with a closer hotel. All the packages in Palm Springs were much more expensive (almost double), and booking the hotel and flight seperately seemed even more expensive. So from what you guys are saying we should expect at least 3 hours from the end of the concert to arriving at our hotel. That doesn't seem all that bad, we do lots of road trips so we're pretty good at rotating drivers, etc. I never thought it would be ideal, but we're on a really tight budget so we really didn't have any other option =(

[SWEETSHIVERBURN]

that sucks.

good lesson in walking before leaping. Well at least you know now for next time.
You might get back to LA BY 4 AM if your lucky. Just plan your days so you can all get some rest.

[bmack86]

Don't get in a car crash on the drive back. It's entirely possible, given how tired you'll be.

[JCLimited]

What my friends and I are doing is flying in to LA 11:45am Friday, camping at coachella, then mon, tues, wed staying in a hotel somewhere in LA, then flying out Thurs. We too are renting a vehicle.

We're camping mostly because hotels are ridiculously expensive for the festival.

[bmack86]

Price is right, but it's gonna be really rough. I hope it works out for you guys, because that is one helluva deal.

[Rain13]

good lesson in walking before leaping.

Like I said, our budget is very limited and there were no other options for us. One of our party is under 18 so the camping was out. All the hotels I could find in the Indio/Palm Springs area were either complete dumps or way too expensive, and they weren't included in any flight packages. The prices on the flight/hotel/car packages were going up by the day so I was afraid if I waited to book it until after the tickets had gone onsale they would only be higher (which is true from what I've seen so far). We did get an incredible deal. $250 each for our flight, hotel room, and car rental. Even if we figure in one tank of gas a day I don't think we could have done this much cheaper (aside from the camping which wasn't an option anyway). So factoring in the 3-day passes and gas we basically got everything for about $550 per person, except food and other money we might spend out there. So I think the trip back to LA each night would have to be reaaallly terrible to make the savings not worth it for us.

[rampaige]

That is a pretty good deal. I hope it works out for you! Perhaps you should stock your car with a cooler full of Red Bull for the trip home each night.

[scoop49er]

well we booked a motel 6 room for 71 a nite in palm springs. staying in la is gonna be tough each day for if itsa 2hrs its gonna be double that leaving. good luck to ya! sometiems a dump isnt bad when u r close. u make what u make of it.

[SWEETSHIVERBURN]

Like I said, our budget is very limited and there were no other options for us. One of our party is under 18 so the camping was out. All the hotels I could find in the Indio/Palm Springs area were either complete dumps or way too expensive, and they weren't included in any flight packages. The prices on the flight/hotel/car packages were going up by the day so I was afraid if I waited to book it until after the tickets had gone onsale they would only be higher (which is true from what I've seen so far). We did get an incredible deal. $250 each for our flight, hotel room, and car rental. Even if we figure in one tank of gas a day I don't think we could have done this much cheaper (aside from the camping which wasn't an option anyway). So factoring in the 3-day passes and gas we basically got everything for about $550 per person, except food and other money we might spend out there. So I think the trip back to LA each night would have to be reaaallly terrible to make the savings not worth it for us.

its funny you say that about dumps in Palm springs. but anyway... its hard to book this far away and in advance.. that i know and sometimes you get lucky like my gf and i did last year when we went to coachella on Sat and then headed to Vegas the next day for the DM concert and got a hotel call Terribles. the name alone would have sent anyone running plus it was right across from the Hard Rock. It cost a mear $40.00 for one night. Our freinds paid $150.0 to stay at the hard rock... it does pay to snoop but i totally understand where your coming from

[devilray223]

Can you try to cancel the deal? Look to book a flight into Ontario International and stay in Riverside or somewhere in the Inland Empire, even Ontario, this will save you 1.5 hours a day. Doesn't seem like a big time saver, but trust me. It will be well worth it.

[Rain13]

We tried looking at Ontario and the price would have been at least double (for the airfare, hotel, and car package). Like I said, our budget really wouldn't expand behind the $250 (for everything including flight and hotel) so I don't think we would have had any other options. The airfare alone into Ontario and Palm Springs ended up being almost $250 per person, and that's without the hotel and car.

[Bluera]

I don't think it will be that bad, but like you said, rain, it's definately not ideal. But hey, when you go to something like Coachella, you shouldn't expect to be in the lap of luxury with no troubles and no worries. A lot of the fun of the whole Coachella trip is the hassle of it all (for me, at least) because it's like all this trouble to drive back to your hotel and you're super tired but you trudge on and do it cause the festival is great.. like musical summercamp. I'm like you, I take it all as an experience.

My girlfriend and I are staying an hour and 15 minutes away, in San Bernardino... which I found out is the city that was recently bestowed with the title "Highest murder rate in the USA". But hey, we're on the "nicest side" of the supposed murder capital of the US and our hotel was $65.00/night. So that price helped out, especially since we're gluttons for punishment; we're driving (18 hrs) to California from San Antonio, TX. haha

[Pug Ugly]

theres going to be a ton of cheap motels(under $50) in San Bernidino/Morino Valley, or closer. Even if you already have reservations LA is REALLY too far of a drive to make it a practical place to stay. To put it in east coast perspective LA to Coachella is 30miles FURTHER than driving from Boston to Hartford Conn. and thats not taking the 7 day a week traffic that seems to be on the 10/210 going toward LA nowadays

[bauerctu75]

It wouldn't be that bad if you only had to do the car trip once but this is THREE TIMES we're talking about. That drive sucks! It's friggin' loooong and after the shows, you're drained and dehydrated and just feel lazy as shit. Then, when you get back to L.A. at 4 in the morning, you get to go directly to bed, sleep for four hours, get up, get ready, and drive right back? Holy crap. You guys be careful. You got a really good deal, but Coachella isn't like every other festival...it's a lot of fun, but it's tough and draining and it takes a lot of effort to keep your mojo for two days while staying in one of the surrounding towns like Cat City or Palm Springs. Three days is extra harsh.

At least you picked a year with a supremely awesome line-up. Hopefully that will get you through.