VACATIONS AT HOME

“I need a vacation, but I can’t be away from home long.”

“I want to go away, but--yes, even now--I’m afraid to fly.”

“I’d like to go to a fancy resort, but I can’t afford the cost plus transportation.”

If these or other reasons are preventing Southern Californians from taking a longed-for vacation, they should rethink the problem. They’re in one of the major vacation capitals of the world. More than 16 million vacationers flock to Greater Los Angeles every summer for a sunny holiday on the Pacific Coast.

Here is a sampling of hotels and rates--some of them fantasy options--for vacations in the Southland. Prices shown do not reflect the range of accommodations or rates offered by each facility, so stay-at-home vacationers should inquire about other rates at these or other hotels of their choice.

Hotels, motels and inns throughout the Southland offer attractive rates to weekend visitors. Cathy Boire, director of public relations at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, summed up the situation: “On the weekends you can stay like a king at a pauper’s price.”

In mountain and beach resorts, where there is a heavy weekend trade, the reverse is true. Donna Fernandez, office manager of the Tourist and Visitors’ Bureau at Big Bear, said: “We can always get some kind of special rate mid-week. Rooms start as low as $40, and for about $85 a night you could stay in a condo with a balcony overlooking the lake.”

Empty Rooms on Weekends

Many upscale hotels catering to the out-of-town business traveler during the week have empty rooms on weekends. To fill these rooms, they offer a variety of packages geared to local residents seeking a change of pace. Offered at a fraction of the regular rate are rooms or suites with breakfast, welcome drinks, fruit baskets and other extras.

The Westin Weekend at the Bonaventure is available Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, offering a 50% discount on any room or suite and on parking. The package includes a free pass to the Downtown YMCA fitness facility. Weekend Under Glass package offers a room for $129 or a three-room suite for $199 with a $50 food and beverage credit in any restaurant at the hotel or room service. Free parking is included.

A couple can stay at the fashionable Registry Hotel in Irvine, on the edge of Newport Beach, for $69.95 for two nights Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays with complimentary self-parking. This Registry Spring Vacation Plan also provides a welcome cocktail at Ravel’s, the hotel’s high-energy night club, and use of tennis courts and pool.

Channel Islands Hotel Properties offers a Spring Sensation weekend special at the Country Inns. Quaint European-style hotels in Port Hueneme, Camarillo, Ventura, Solvang and Calabasas offer a mini-suite, welcome reception and full American breakfast for $49 per night, through June 30.

At the Ramada, Camarillo, for $39 you will enjoy country surroundings and a continental breakfast at $39 per room. For more elegance, ask for the Financial Plaza Hilton in Oxnard, where weekend accommodations are $50.

Two-Night Package

Casa Sirena at Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard, offers the Great Escape package. Guests have a harbor view, full buffet breakfast, cheese basket and bottle of wine or sparkling beverage for $69 per person for a two-night stay to June 30; July 1 to Sept. 5 the rate is $79 per person for the two-night package, double occupancy.

You can even stay in the posh Beverly Hills-Century City area on a budget. On weekends for $99 a night at the Century City Inn, you will be treated to a loft suite equipped with a microwave, satellite TV, VCR, refrigerator and fresh coffee. In the morning, a complete American breakfast will be delivered to your room.

At the Beverly Hilton before Sept. 5, you can stay for up to 10 days in a single or double room for $109 a night, with continental breakfast for every guest, but your visit must include a Saturday night stay.

The desire to get away from pressures of job and family for a few days is what attracts many couples to a weekend escape.

Richard and Linda Quinonez, employees of Pacific Bell from San Diego, recently drove to Los Angeles to spend a bed-and-breakfast weekend at the Eastlake Inn in the Echo Park district near downtown. This 100-year-old inn is in a neighborhood of Victorian houses. All rooms are decorated in antiques. Ask about the Bastille Day Celebration, July 13 and 14. For $99 per person, it includes dinner at a fine French restaurant and breakfast the next morning. The Marie Antoinette Weekend, July 15-17, includes dinner, two breakfasts and two nights lodging at $199 per person. Rooms start at $45.

Looking for Extras

Some weekend visitors look for such extras as health clubs, golf courses, spas, pools, shops and restaurants so that they won’t have to leave the hotel. Others are attracted to the urban ambiance to enjoy plays, sporting events or concerts without a tedious freeway commute.

Free Breakfast for Two

Ramada Renaissance in Long Beach has a Centennial Getaway (to Sept. 1) at $100 per night, which includes accommodations in the Renaissance Club VIP area, continental breakfast, evening hor d’oeuvres, chilled champagne on arrival and complimentary use of the health club. The Renaissance Weekend at $69 per night includes use of the health club and free American breakfast for two.

You can sleep aboard the Queen Mary, docked at Long Beach. The Queen’s Bon Voyage Package, from $49 ($59 weekends) per person for the first-class stateroom, includes a welcome cocktail in the Observation Bar, buffet breakfast and admission to Queen Mary-Spruce Goose attractions.

The Sovereign Hotel in Santa Monica offers two nights for two people at $199.95. It includes welcome champagne and continental breakfast.

Also in Santa Monica, the Pacific Shore Hotel has a two-night weekend special at $119 per night. This first-class hotel faces Santa Monica Beach and has an ocean-view heated pool.

The Aliso Creek Inn in South Laguna offers a Golf Getaway until June 30. It’s $110 per person mid-week, double occupancy, and provides 27 holes of golf on the resort’s nine-hole course, two nights lodging in a large suite and continental breakfasts. Weekends, add $12 per person. Regular rates start at $98. All units have full kitchens.

Summer rates at local mountain resorts, which usually cater to the winter ski crowd, are particularly attractive. In picturesque Big Bear, a two-hour drive from Los Angeles, the Big Bear Tourist and Visitors’ Bureau will help arrange a stay in a hotel, motel, condo, bed and breakfast or private home from $40 per night, mid-week.

Lake Arrowhead and Idyllwild are other nearby sylvan escapes.

If a quiet night or two in an orange grove is your pleasure, you will enjoy the 22-room Mission Inn in San Juan Capistrano. It has a pool and spa, and a two-acre grove of oranges. Rates for a double room average $50 year-round.

To take advantage of the lowest rates available, you must ask for special packages. Advance reservations are a must, but in many cases you can reserve as late as one day before your arrival. Children under 12 are often allowed to stay in the room free, although there may be a charge for additional beds.

For additional information:

Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 4th and Figueroa streets, downtown Los Angeles, (213) 624-1000. The Registry, 18800 MacArthur Blvd., Irvine, (800) 247-9810.

Channel Islands Hotel Properties, (800) 44-RELAX.

Casa Sirena, 3605 Peninsula Road, Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard, (805) 985-6311, (805) 344-2626.

Century City Inn, 10330 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 553-0400, (800) 533-1005.

Beverly Hilton, Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, Beverly Hills, (800) HILTONS, (213) 274-7777.

Eastlake Inn, 1442 Kellam Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 250-1620.

Ramada Renaissance, 111 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, (213) 437-5900.

Queen Mary, Long Beach, (800) 421-3732, (213) 432-6964.

Sovereign Hotel, 205 Washington Ave., Santa Monica, (213) 395-9921.

Pacific Shore Hotel, 1819 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, (213) 451-8711.

Aliso Creek Inn, 31106 S. Pacific Coast Highway, South Laguna, (800) 223-3309, (714) 499-2271.

Big Bear Tourist and Visitors’ Bureau, (714) 866-4601.

Mission Inn, 26891 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano, (714) 493-1151.

Greater Los Angeles Visitors & Convention Bureau offers “The 1988 Vacation Packages Directory” and many other brochures. Offices are at 515 S. Figueroa St., 11th Floor, Los Angeles, (213) 624-7300. Branches at Janes House, 6541 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (213) 461-4213, and at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel, 930 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 689-8822.

Automobile Club of Southern California sells for $1: “Bed and Breakfast Southern California,” a listing of bed-and-breakfast inns from San Diego to Santa Barbara.