For a wacky weekend in San Francisco,...

For a wacky weekend in San Francisco, check out The Mansions, a couple of Queen Anne Victorians in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights area. About 10 minutes by car from downtown Union Square. Rooms with four-posters, lace pillows, down comforters, fireplaces. Art/antiques valued at $2.5 million. The Mansions is operated by ex-ad exec Bob Pritikin, who fancies himself “America’s foremost concert saw player.” Pritikin grinds away on the saw for guests on weekends. (Weeknights, Pritikin pounds out nostalgic melodies on a grand piano he shares with a resident ghost). I dropped by Pritikin’s pad when he opened for business 17 years ago. The Mansions, in Pritikin’s words, “was held together by prayers.” Since then he’s painted, polished, rewired and re-plumbed. It’s doubtful that anyone is going to compare The Mansions with Buckingham Palace, but guests say the treatment is royal. Complimentary wine, fresh flowers, candy. A library with hundreds of books. Classical melodies flow from guest rooms. The coffeepot perks 24 hours a day. If you ring up the proprietor in the a.m., breakfast will be served in bed.

Meanwhile, Beethoven/Bach carries through the halls (carols at Christmastime). Pritikin calls The Mansions a “hideaway for celebrities” (Barbra Streisand, the late Andrei Sakharov, Paul Simon, Donnie Osmond, Joan Baez, Michael York, Robin Williams). The dining room, with its stain-glass windows, gets high marks from San Francisco’s restaurant critics. Guests arriving at The Mansions are greeted by the screeching of a macaw. Tapestries hang from the walls. A cabinet contains documents signed by Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Harry Houdini, John Hancock. No two guest rooms alike. “The world’s wackiest hotel,” says Pritikin. He shrugs. “I sell romance, surprises, outrages.”

Check it out yourself. The Mansions, 2220 Sacramento St., San Francisco 94115, (415) 929-9444. Rates: $89/$325. A four-course dinner (weekends) comes to about $40.

Love Nest: In Puerto Vallarta, vacationers are accommodated at Casa Kimberley, the legendary love nest of actress Elizabeth Taylor and the late Richard Burton. Two villas connected by bridge. Romantics liken it to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Casa Kimberley operates as a B&B.; Eight rooms, private baths. A large swimming pool. Casa Kimberley is perched on a hillside. Guaranteed privacy. Stunning sunsets. A short walk to town or the beach.

Contact Casa Kimberley Rentals, Suite 292, 25935 Detroit Road, Westlake, Ohio 44145, (800) 344-8654. Rates: $60 per room/$100 for the Taylor/Burton suite. Between Aug. 16 and Nov. 14, prices are reduced to $45/$75, including a full American breakfast.

Riding the Rails: Coming up: One of the West’s top scenic train trips--the California Zephyr’s 521-mile tour, Denver to Salt Lake City. Prettiest scenery this side of Switzerland. Alpine peaks, deep canyons. The train follows rivers, climbs the Continental Divide. A package ($634) features air fare to Denver, hotel for two nights, visits to Colorado’s state capital/the U.S. Mint, a motor-coach tour of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, two hotel nights in Salt Lake City, a performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and return air to California. (Flights to Denver originate from LAX, Burbank, Ontario, Long Beach, Orange County.)

For details: (800) 448-9566 or (714) 670-1184.

Europe by Phone: Three countries--Spain, Portugal, Ireland--have been added to On Call Europe, the travel information hot line operated by Avis. Updated details on weather, sightseeing, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels. Other countries on the list: Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland. Toll-free calls accepted Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. except for modest charges in Germany, Italy, Switzerland. English-speaking operators steer drivers to city parking areas, post offices and banks, and provide names/telephone numbers of English-speaking doctors/dentists. An international message-answering service is offered as well. Before departing the United States, motorists are provided with trip planning guides.

Your travel agent or Avis at (800) 331-1084.

Touring London: In reply to reader Henry Stevens’ request for details on transportation from England’s Heathrow Airport/sightseeing in London:

Cabs are expensive. Try the Underground from Heathrow (about $5) or take the airport bus (about $8). Generally, first-time visitors take in Westminster Abbey (the final resting place of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Henry V, Chaucer, Dickens, Kipling--plus other rulers/literary figures). The British Museum contains antiquities from Britain, Egypt, Asia, Greece, Rome, along with several of Shakespeare’s original writings. Other popular attractions: The Tower of London, the National Gallery (European paintings from the 13th to the 19th Century), Tate Gallery (works of famous artists/sculptors), Victoria and Albert Museum (collections from dozens of countries around the world), Hampton Court Palace with its collection of weapons, Hyde Park (visit the Speakers’ Corner on Sundays), Canterbury Cathedral.

For free booklets featuring sightseeing, accommodations, entertainment in London, contact the British Tourist Authority, 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 450, Los Angeles 90071, (213) 628-3525. The BTA supplies brochures/booklets/maps spotlighting other areas of Britain: Oxford, Cambridge, the Lake District, York, Durham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bath, Glastonbury, Plymouth, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, plus towns/villages in Wales, Northern Ireland. Ask for the booklets titled “London Budget Hotels,” “Stay On a Farm,” “Stay at an Inn.”

Potpourri: For copies of the 104-page France Discovery Guide, write to the French Government Tourist Office, 9454 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 303, Beverly Hills 90212 . . . . Classes in conversational French are offered during three consecutive weekend workshops by Marguerite Drach, 10982 Roebling Ave., No. 463, Los Angeles 90024, (310) 824-5447. Drach formerly taught French at UCLA. Emphasis is on basic conversational skills. Price: $150 . . . . A support group called The Tennis Players combines tennis and travel, particularly for singles. Details from The Tennis Players, 256 S. Robertson Blvd., Suite 2380, Beverly Hills 90211 . . . . For copies of a magazine/directory listing 101 dude ranches in the Western United States, send $3 to The Dude Ranchers’ Assn., P.O. Box 471, LaPorte, Colo. 80535 . . . . Rhode Island’s 1992 Visitors’ Guide is available by calling (800) 556-2484 . . . . A directory listing more than 500 Howard Johnson inns/hotels can be ordered by calling (800) 446-4656 . . . . Passengers in transit at Singapore’s Changi Airport are eligible for free city tours daily at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Details by calling the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board at (213) 852-1901 . . . . A new travel card for diabetics is free by mailing a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the American Diabetes Assn., 1660 Duke St., Alexandria Va. 22314 . . . . For information on family river raft trips, call O.A.R.S. Outdoor Adventure Specialists at (800) 346-6277 . . . . Michele Burgess, a professional travel/wildlife photographer who leads tours to exotic destinations around the world, can be reached at 20741 Catamaran Lane, Huntington Beach 92626.

Reader Recommendations

California--Ann Duggan, Santa Paula: “Blom House B&B;, 1372 Minden Drive, San Diego 91222. Small, elegant, on the bluffs with a great view. A deck with a hot tub . . . gorgeous antique furniture/hardwood floors . . . fantastic food. Rates: $60/$70.”

Italy--John and Ann Habecker, Cucamonga: “A guide-lecturer, Elaine Ruffolo, Syracuse University, Piazza Savonarola No. 15, 500100 Florence. We will never go to Italy again without having her guide us.”

France--Marilyn Whiting, Seattle, Wash.: “Two of us took a cruise through the canals of Burgundy aboard a private 50-foot barge with captain and crew/cook last year. This year, with another couple, we are chartering two barges that will cruise in tandem. Contact Epicurean Excursions, 2025 1st Ave., Suite 430, Seattle, Wash. 98121. Rates from $2,495 per person.”