7047 Franklin Ave., Hollywood, California 90028

When it comes to hotels, my needs are simple and few. Bed, shower, quiet, internet, reasonable degree of security. That's it.

I don't feel the need to try and impress people by saying I'm staying at the Big Famous Expensive Hotel in the Centre Of Town. I don't need meals, because I prefer to explore the surrounding area and eat out and I'm usually meeting up with people anyway. I don't need guys in uniforms with bits of braided rope glued on the shoulders opening doors for me. All this kind of thing just strikes me as pointless, and expensively pointless.

So I tend to choose relatively inexpensive hotels. The Highland Gardens is one of my favourites. It is officially only a '2 star' establishment, but be that as it may I find it has everything I need. Added to which, I happen to like the people who run it, whom I find helpful and good-natured.

The hotel has a great location. It is just a few hundred yards from the Magic Castle, and from several of the main touristy avenues (Sunset, Hollywood, Western, La Brea etc.). There are plent of shops and stores nearby, plus the magnificent Kodak Theatre and, just in front of the Kodak, a handy metro link that can take you to must-see places like Universal Studios City Walk! How convenient is that?

The Highland Cardens is also within walking distance of one of LA's very best restaurants, the stunning Yamashiro, run by my friend Andy Ulloa (pronounced yoo-yo-wa). It's at 1999 N. Sycamore Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90068, Tel: (323) 466-5125. Call Andy, tell him you heard about Yamashiro from my website, and you will be assured of a warm welcome and a great meal.

What else? Well, it's easy to find and offers free parking. It also offers internet access at a modest tariff, but if you want a longer net session then the very enjoyable 'Cyberjava' café is nearby, on the corner of Hollywood and La Brea.

There is only one problem with the Highland Gardens hotel. It's the hotel where Janis Joplin died. The problem is not that she died there, but that everyone I met in LA seemed to know this fact and to bother telling me. They'd say, "So, where are you staying?," and I'd say, "At the Highland Gardens hotel on Franklin," and they'd say, "Oh, did you know that's where Janis Joplin died?". Imagine having this convesation ten times a day. After a little bit of this, the conversation went, "Where are you staying?". "At the Highland Gardens and YES I ALREADY KNOW it's where Janis Joplin died."