Galaxy Inn

Twelve rooms line two floors of the Galaxy Inn on Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles, a stretch better known for car dealerships and drive-in eateries than tourist traffic. That works for guests driving in from LAX, seven minutes south, who want a bed without downtown parking hassles.

Rooms keep it plain — exterior corridor access, air conditioning units under the window, coffee maker on the dresser. No restaurant on site, but a 24-hour diner sits next door and Santa Monica's beaches are a fifteen-minute drive west on Wilshire.