I booked the Crowne Plaza as a pre-cruise hotel that is very close to the LA Harbor where Royal Caribbean ships are berthed. I won the hotel with a $65 bid on Priceline, which seems to be a standard winning price at this property. I called a week ahead of time to see about requesting a room with two beds as I was traveling with my mother, and was told by the reservations person at the hotel that I had a king room and that if I didn't like it, I'd have to take it up with Priceline. I"m used to being denied this type of request befroe check-in, but the usual response is that a note will be made on the reservation in case a desired room was available. Not so here, and I felt it was handled a little poorly, but figured I might have better luck upon check-in.

We caught an early, direct flight out of Indianapolis to LAX, and with the time change, we actually arrived at 8:30 AM. I had arranged a SuperShuttle to take us to the hotel ($17/pp), and we were dropped off around 10 AM. The lady at the front desk was very helpful and not only gave use a room with two beds, but also let us check in 5 hours early. I appreciated this, and we headed up to our room on the fifth floor. As per usual with a Priceline room, it was located at the end of the hall, but for the savings and the quietness that provides ... who cares? The room itself was very clean, though missing a few things (some of the sleep ammenities promised, a second coffee mug, etc), but we got these from a housekeeper we saw around. I was disappointed though that the wireless internet service was down and that the TV was getting horrible reception. The internet eventually started working ($10/day) and I figured out that I could get a good TV signal if I twisted the cord in back until it came through clearly. We ate lunch at the hotel restaurant and it was fine, though the food was nothing great and the service was pretty slow. The pool is a small outside one, along with a hot tub, and the exercise room consists of a treadmill, an elliptical, a few recumbent bikes, and various weight machines. I was slightly perturbed by the fact that there were no cleaning supplies in they gym as they had obviously run out a while ago and simply had not been replaced.

We decided to get out of the room and walk around San Pedro. It was a Sunday afternoon and was very quiet. You can tell there is some neighborhood rejuvenation going on because of all of the places being ripped up and turned into apartments and condos. Within a few blocks of the hotel in each direction it seemed like a nice area, and then after that, buildings started deteriorating. There was a grocery/liquor store east of the hotel a block or two, but it looked a little scary to me. There are also a lot of shops and restaurants the opposite direction along the harbor.

Later in the day, we headed towards the harbor and ate at a Mexican restaurant called The Green Onion. Prices were decent and the food was very good, though my mom later thought that the food didn't agree with her. The next morning we went to the Pacific Cafe, across the street from the hotel (exiting through the restaurant door). This was a nice little place that was seemingly run by a single lady, and I was able to get a ham/cheese omelet with two slices of sourdough toast for $3.95. The food was quite decent and the price could not be beat ... I'd definitely recommend this place over a chain like Starbucks (which is just down the block on the same side of the street as the hotel).

The Crowne Plaza offered a free shuttle to the port starting at 10:30. We went down at about 10:45, climbed aboard, and were the only ones taken over to the ship. This shuttle picks up from the port, and it will also take people to a local mall and supposedly other places within a 5-mile radius. I asked about being taken to an In-N-Out Burger and was told "maybe later" that really seemed to be a "no" even though it was 3 miles away.

All-in-all, this was a good stay and I would not hesitate to stay at this hotel again for a pre-cruise.