The new Holiday Inn hotel in Lake Forest, southeast Irvine, is a substantial 5 floor, 148 room building located at the Lake Forest Drive exit of interstate 5, within three miles of such places as Laguna Hills Mall, Wild Rivers Water Park and the Irvine Spectrum Center. The on site Kem's Restaurant is open for breakfast, dinner & room service, and the adjacent lounge/bar serves drinks all evening. The hotel also has a meeting room, business center, gift shop, fitness center, hot tub and outdoor pool. A free shuttle is provided to/from Orange Country Airport, 10 miles northwest along I-5. The Holiday Inn opened September 2009.

The modern, all-suite accommodation at Staybridge Suites Irvine East/Lake Forest consists of 128 well equipped rooms in studio, one bed or two bed configurations - all have a full kitchen, large work desk, dual phone lines, and separate living area. Free evening social hour is staged on weekdays, and free hot breakfast every day; for other meals, there are plenty of restaurants at the nearby Towne Center Mall, a half mile walk away. The Staybridge has a quiet setting next to a business park on the east side of Lake Forest close to the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, and is also within a few miles of the centers of Foothill Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo and Irvine.

Midway between Irvine, Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, Candlewood Suites Orange County is a good choice for longer stays since each spacious room contains a full kitchen complete with stove, dishwasher, and refrigerator/ice maker. Food for cooking can be purchased from the on-site convenience store, or guests can eat out at a selection of restaurants half a mile south along the main road (Bake Parkway). Other amenities are a fitness center, guest laundry, newsstand, free internet access and a CD/DVD rental library. The hotel is part of the Irvine Spectrum business park, 2.5 miles north of I-5 (exit 92B).

Comfort Suites Lake Forest is a fine, well maintained and new looking hotel of 60 oversized rooms, located in a quiet area beneath a wooded mesa near the north edge of town - along Lake Forest Drive, 4 miles from I-5 and 1 mile from the 241 Toll Road. Both free hot buffet breakfast and free evening snacks (weekdays) are provided, and the hotel also has a pleasant, sheltered pool/hot tub at the rear. Staff are good, and each room provides a comfortable, and spacious place to stay, equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, sink, 32" plasma TV, and even an internet-enabled computer with wireless keyboard. A reasonable selection of restaurants are located within walking distance.