Hotels in Arcadia

Arcadia sits east of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, best known as the home of Santa Anita Park, the art deco racetrack that's hosted thoroughbred racing since 1934 and doubled as a filming location for decades of movies and TV. It's also the gateway to the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens just next door, one of the region's best afternoons out if you like rare books, Gainsborough paintings, or wandering a Japanese garden.

Be honest: Arcadia itself is a quiet, mostly residential suburb with a sizable Chinese-American community and good regional dim sum, not a destination with its own nightlife or skyline. Its real advantage is proximity — close to Pasadena, the foothills, and freeway access into LA without the downtown prices or noise. Stay in Arcadia if the Huntington or Santa Anita is your main reason for visiting; otherwise Pasadena gives you more to do on foot.