A Weekend in Hollywood With the Kiddos

Traveling, exploring and being out in nature are some of my favorite things these days. I feel like those are the best things in life to do with young kids. We've been hitting up the beach, our backyard and the park whenever we get a chance to be outdoors. I'm adding museum dates and local events to our calendar whenever I see something exciting pop up. We partnered with Hollywood Hotel for our recent adventure filled weekend in Hollywood and enjoyed some downtime at the hotel.

We drove up Saturday morning and headed to City Walk next to Universal Studios. It's a fun place to walk around, shop and grab a bite to eat. We ate at Saddle Ranch and had a pretty tasty meal. The service was really good and the kiddos really loved all the western decor. They even have a bull to ride (adults only). City Walk has a bunch of restaurants like Johnny Rockets and Hard Rock Cafe. We picked Saddle Ranch since we had never been and is more local to the area. We had a really good burger and they even brought us a dessert just because. The restaurant was right outside of Universal Studios and City Walk. When the kids are a bit older we will have to go to Universal Studios for the day.

We drove around to check out Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive and Hollywood. This gave the little guy some time to nap. Then we headed to the Walk of Fame to check out the stars on the ground. It is a VERY popular area. Traffic was pretty crazy and congested but it was a Saturday. As long as you decide where you are going and park than it's fine. We walked down Hollywood Boulevard past all the stars and the Chinese Theater. There are tons of people in costume like Minnie Mouse and Superman all ready and willing to take their photo with you or the kids. They do ask for a tip so be prepared. The kids loved seeing everything but it was a little too hectic for me. I'm happy we did it and checked out the area.

Next, we walked over to Ripleys Believe It Or Not and got tickets for all three museums that are right next to each other. This was my favorite part of the trip! Exploring the museums with the family was so fun. All of the museums are very kid friendly and we could bring the stroller in too. Ripley's was probably my favorite because they had so many interactive things to check out for the kids. There was even a room with a big projector that played good music and would reflect your body in color on the wall. It was so cool, and we all jumped in and danced together. So fun!

The other two museums were the Wax Museum and the Guinness World Records Museum. Both were worth seeing with Ripley's and I'm glad we saw them all. Check out this funny one from the Wax Museum!

After our fun day of exploring the city, we headed over to the Hollywood Hotel. It is a few streets away from the main part of the city which I felt was nice. The hotel was very comfortable and had a really lush garden area. It felt like an oasis away from the craziness of the city. We ended up ordering take out and they delivered it to our hotel room. The front desk offered us a few restaurants that would deliver and we had a really good Thai dinner.

The kiddos loved staying in a hotel room. The little missy had her own big bed and the little guy slept in his pack n play. There was plenty of room in the double queen room for the four of us.

The little guy could not get enough of this light. It was just the right height for him to play with the switch. The little missy set out all her things and got cozy right away.

We enjoyed a quick cup of coffee in the morning before heading downstairs to their breakfast buffet. I love when hotels offer breakfast! It makes it so nice with the kiddos who are starving the second they wake up. The buffet was really good and they offered everything from cereal to fresh made omelets.

Sunday morning we kept it really mellow and just relaxed at the hotel for a bit. The little missy came around and took photos with me.

She cracks me up! "Mommy, look at this big watering can! Can I try it?" "Sure"! She loved it!

We didn't end up using the pool since it is still a bit cold out right now but it looked like a nice spot to cool off in the summer time. They also have a sauna and a gym.

I loved that it was a simple styled hotel with all the amenities we could have asked for. They even offer a free happy hour with drinks and appetizers during the week in their beautiful atrium garden space.