***Though chain heavy, LA Live features enough things to do (including a good movie theater) to make it an okay meeting/gathering place; greater value for those who live within walking distance and do not have to pay the high parking prices***
LA Live is the relatively new entertainment, dining and hotel complex next to the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. I think they have completed all of the development, which has resulted in a large Regal Theater, a Ritz Carlton, a JW Marriott, a Lucky Strike, the Nokia Theater, Club Nokia, maybe a club or two, many chain restaurants, and one expensive parking garage.
LA Live makes for a good gathering place because there is an abundance of restaurant/bar options here and almost all of them are big enough to support large groups (given the many offices nearby, they probably feature some good happy hours too). The food though is stuff you can find easily elsewhere. Some of the restaurants here include Fleming's, Wolfgang Puck, Trader Vic's, The Farm, The Yardhouse, and a Lawry's Carvery.
Entertainment options are pretty good though maybe pricey. I haven't been to the Lucky Strike here, but I liked the other entertainment options. Nokia Theater is nice and seems to book some good performers (I'm not a music expert though; music experts tell me the sound quality in that theater is not that great). Club Nokia has shows too, but the seating is more limited (they also have standing room tickets near the bar, which was not too uncomfortable for the short show I attended).
The movie theater here is pretty good for a Regal. While the theater is expensive, the Premiere Theater is impressive. The picture is huge and both the picture quality and sound quality are good. The stadium seating is comfortable; the good thing about the seating is that you do not have to worry about someone tall sitting in front of you and blocking the picture like some of the other big screen theaters in Los Angeles (like Grauman's Chinese Theater). Outside of the IMAX theaters, the Regal Premiere Theater is one of the better spots to watch an event movie.
Most of the entertainment and dining options here are going to cost a little bit of money (with the exception of Lawry's Carvery, which is LA Live's sole order-at-the-counter spot). The money you have to pay for entertainment and dining is further compounded by the high price of the attached parking structure. Regal does validate parking, but it is still $5 for 4 hours with movie validation. Unfortunately, because LA Live is next to Staples Center, most of the paid lots around LA Live are not much cheaper than LA Live parking (especially during events).
Even with the high parking prices, LA Live is a welcomed addition to Downtown LA and provides a convenient gathering place for people heading Downtown or meeting people Downtown. Still, for the money you are paying here, there is better as well as more unique (and harder to find food) if you head deeper into Downtown LA. For Downtown residents, it has one big advantage though. The matinee prices at Regal are not that bad and the theater is pretty empty on weekend afternoons. Therefore, if you can walk to this Regal, this is a pretty good and not too expensive spot to catch a movie. read more