Your Favorite Hotels

They like to be pampered. They love to be near the Pacific. They prefer posh surroundings. And they don’t care about price--except when they do. That was the feedback from readers who voted for their favorite hotels in an informal Travel section poll. Hundreds responded by fax, mail and on the Times Web site during the past four weeks, and ballots came in from as far away as Helsinki and London.

Readers selected their favorite California accommodations in five categories--luxury, mid-range, budget, family, romantic--and the best in Las Vegas. Choices were, literally and figuratively, all over the map: 779 hotels on 676 ballots.

Still, among the 1,547 votes, themes emerged: Readers have a taste for fine amenities--fluffy robes, acres of marble, stereo systems--and they are drawn to the coast. If the hotel is the reason for the trip, they’re willing to pay the price for service, location and extras. The average of brochure rates for the winning hotels (excluding the budget ones) is $270 a night. But when a hotel is just a place to sleep, readers know a bargain when they see one and can find a bargain when they want one.

Two caveats: There was some ballot-box stuffing (see story on Page L10), and this was a highly unscientific survey. Despite that, we tried to reflect our readers’ choices, much as we did in a similar Travel section poll four years ago. In that survey, we asked only for recommendations on accommodations that cost less than $100.

Times and inflation have changed the way we think about lodgings, and, more important for leisure travelers, how much we pay. Four years ago, travelers shelled out an average of $75.78 for a room at a California hotel or motel. By 1999 that rate had increased to $93.72, and it has topped $100 for the first six months of this year, according to Smith Travel Research, a Hendersonville, Tenn., company that follows the hospitality industry.

For this you can thank a booming economy and high occupancy rates--as much as 80% in California, according to Bruce Baltin, senior vice president for PKF Consulting in Los Angeles, which tracks such statistics for the hotel industry. “At that level, the industry, in general, is running in effect near capacity, which is why it’s harder to get discounts,” he said.

So those who play will pay and, this year, pay even more. That’s why our price-based categories broke down this way: budget lodgings, less than $100; mid-range, $100 to $200; and luxury, more than $200. We set no price limits on family, romantic or Vegas hotels.

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Here are the winners:

Luxury

Persian carpets cover the floors in the public areas, and 18th and 19th century watercolors and oils hang in the lobby and guest corridors. In the library, a cheerful fire burns when it’s cool, and attentive servers proffer afternoon tea, scones and finger sandwiches.

Perched atop a 150-foot bluff overlooking the Pacific, the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel rose above others in its class and emerged the winner in the high-end category in the poll. The Ritz, in Dana Point, was tops in luxury with 28 readers, and 10 others voted it the best romantic hotel.

It was both for Tim and Debra Galli of LaVerne, who spent their 10th anniversary there two years ago and voted for it in the luxury category. “We loved our accommodations,” he said. “We had [an] oceanfront room. . . . We watched the surfers and had a bottle of champagne. My wife and I are into peaceful surroundings--we just want peace and quiet.”

Tranquillity comes with a price tag: Brochure rates for oceanfront rooms are $575. But the high cost brings superb service and attention to detail, according to Debra Murphy of Sherman Oaks, who also rated the hotel best in the luxury category. There in May for a wedding, she found everything done to a fare-thee-well. “I can’t say there was one flaw,” she said.

Runner-up: The Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara, in a graceful Spanish building at the beach in Montecito. It has a beautiful setting, but “the best thing about them is their Sunday brunch,” said Madeline Goodwin of Westwood, who has been a frequent guest there.

Las Vegas

Readers were passionate about their favorite Vegas hotels. Susan Murphy of Germantown, Tenn., got a lucky break when she was there in October 1998 with her husband, Ron, for a convention. They were staying at a hotel that had “the ugliest, nastiest room--it looked like a medieval whorehouse,” she said.

Her husband picked up the phone and managed to snag a room at the $1.6-billion Bellagio--its opening weekend, no less.

“It was absolutely gorgeous,” said Susan, who found the reader poll on the Times Web site. “It was extremely plush, from the colors to the fabrics to the wall coverings to the carpeting to the bathroom.”

Forty-two other readers agreed, voting the Bellagio their favorite Las Vegas hotel.

That’s not surprising in this era of big, lavish, travel-themed Vegas hotels. The 3,005-room Bellagio is meant to evoke an Italian lakeside resort. It has 16 restaurants, a shopping concourse populated by Gucci, Chanel and other creme de la retail creme--and those delightfully silly dancing fountains.

Rosemary Torigian of Los Angeles likes all of those things about the Bellagio, but it was the overall ambience that got her vote. Torigian, who went to Rome 24 years ago for two weeks and ended up staying 21 years, had a reunion last September at the Bellagio with friends from Italy, and she’s planning another next month.

“At the Bellagio, they’re so Italian,” she said. “The whole reason we went to the Bellagio was to feel our Italian-ness.”

Runners-up: The Siamese twins of Vegas hotels, the Mandalay Bay and the Four Seasons, joined at the proverbial hip. Readers tended to lump them together because they share the same resort complex on the south end of the Strip. “Best place I’ve ever stayed in Las Vegas,” said Jim Davis of Rancho Cucamonga, who was at the Mandalay in late July. “You don’t have to leave to see Las Vegas.” Together, they were the No. 2 pick, with 35 votes (23 for the Mandalay, 12 for the pricier Four Seasons).

The Venetian nipped at the Mandalay’s heels in popularity: It got 21 votes. Merrill Sarty of Los Angeles liked the hotel’s spacious rooms, but he was enthralled with the enormous bathrooms. “The only bathroom more opulent was at the May Fair Inter-Continental in London,” he said.

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Romantic

The place that captured readers’ hearts and the top honors: the Post Ranch Inn. Nearly 5% of the 282 votes cast for best romantic went to the Big Sur hotel.

Nestled into cliffs overlooking the Pacific on 98 wooded acres, the Post Ranch has only 30 rooms, which are designed to blend into the environment. Each boasts a fireplace, spa tub and stereo system and offers the kind of privacy that keeps guests coming despite the rates, which start at $455.

Cindy and Paul Levy of Rancho Mirage stayed once and returned two other times. “We’ve been in Europe and Asia and some places that are unique, but I still look forward to the day when I go back,” said Cindy. “You really feel like you’re away. . . . You and your partner can really reflect on each other. It’s almost like a place you want to meditate [in].”

Dave and Susan Gerke of Laguna Niguel enjoyed the serene setting and ambience of the Post Ranch Inn too--”it’s special any time you go there,” he said--but much of their reflection was about their mattress there. The couple, married two decades, visited in February; then they came home and ordered the same brand (Restonic). “It’s a great mattress,” Dave said of his newfound love.

Runner-up: The Hotel Bel-Air. Readers cited its surroundings and groomed grounds. “It’s so close to downtown L.A., but you feel like you’re a couple of hundred miles away,” said Tom Trujillo of Diamond Bar.

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Family

Marty Maldonado feels like a kid when it comes to the Happiest Place on Earth. “I’m a Disney fan all the way around,” said Maldonado, so staying at the Disneyland Hotel in June with family from Seattle added to the pleasure for the 45-year-old resident of Littlerock. The Mouse does not come cheap; brochure rates begin at $195.

She and 15 others voted for the 990-room hotel as their favorite family place. It has been in business in Anaheim since 1955, but it’s changed in the intervening 45 years, most recently opening a new pool that has a 110-foot-long water slide.

The hotel also worked its magic on Johnny Eikeland, who voted for it by computer from his home in Copenhagen. The Danish fire captain, his wife, Gitte, and his children, Natasja, 15, and Patrick, 11, are frequent California visitors. Two years ago the room they had booked wasn’t available, so Disneyland Hotel management upgraded them to a suite. Eikeland hopes to return again, which seems likely: His wife works for the Scandinavian airline SAS.

Runner-up: A longtime favorite, the Hotel del Coronado on San Diego-adjacent Coronado Island, showed up in the family, mid-range, luxury and romantic categories. It got 23 total votes in all four, placing second in the family category with five votes. “They have a great kids’ program,” said George Kahn of Culver City, who vacationed there last summer with his wife and two sons, ages 15 and 5.

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Mid-Range

Repetition seems to be in the Apple Farm Inn’s repertoire. The San Luis Obispo hotel, which opened in 1988, was a favorite four years ago when we asked for reader recommendations on lodgings under $100 a night.

The 104-room inn garnered the most votes then, and although it has increased rates, it beat out the competition again in our most recent poll, where nine people named it as their favorite amid widely scattered voting.

Even with higher rates, customers keep coming back. Bob and Carol Marsh of La Palma have stayed there a whopping 13 times. “The ambience is so wonderful, and the staff is just outstanding,” said Carol. She’s enamored of the canopy beds, in-room fireplaces and “big, fluffy robes.” Another Apple Farm Inn fan, Larry Rossitto of Granada Hills, loved the robes so much that he bought one as a Mother’s Day gift for his wife, Marilyn, as a reminder of their multiple stays. They praised the hotel’s decor and, yes, its gift shop, where the robes sell for $85.

Runner-up: The Channel Road Inn in Santa Monica Canyon, about a block from the beach. Tracey Morgan of Winnetka, Ill., who just completed her seventh visit, calls it a “wonderful little gem.”

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Budget

There was no clear-cut choice here among the 185 California lodgings that readers named. Many places--mostly motels--got one, two or three votes. But certain chains emerged as hands-down favorites. The No. 1 choice was Motel 6, which opened its first property in 1962 in California--a bargain at $6 a night in Santa Barbara. Today Motel 6 room rates in California average $43. (Readers especially singled out Motel 6s in Carlsbad and Santa Barbara.)

Those seeking budget lodgings aren’t interested in frills, hotel experts note, but neither do they want shabby, rundown rooms. And that’s where the chain that promises to leave the light on for you shines in readers’ eyes.

Over four years, Motel 6 has spent $600 million on renovations, something Michelle Smith of Alta Loma appreciates. “The rooms are freshly painted, with new carpets and new bedspreads,” she said of a Santa Barbara Motel 6 where she stayed recently. “It’s a budget hotel, but the rooms are clean and nice.”

Barbara Mc Quade of Hollywood, a frequent visitor to one of the Santa Barbara properties, seconds the motion. “I love that Motel 6,” she said.

Runners-up: Holiday Inn--”a good value for the money,” said Lori Eade of Ontario, who has stayed at one of the San Diego locations several times--and Best Western hotels--”they usually have a swimming pool, which, with kids, is an important consideration,” said Mary Spencer Liming of Monrovia, who stayed most recently at one in Solvang.

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*Catharine Hamm is deputy travel editor

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GUIDEBOOK: Checking Into Readers’ Top-Rated Hotels

Following is a list of the top vote-getters in our informal reader poll. Prices quoted are so-called rack rates, hotels’ full published rates, per night. When reserving, ask for packages, promotional specials or other discounts, such as AARP, AAA or corporate rates. Entertainment and other coupon books may offer further discounts. Lower rates sometimes are available by calling a hotel directly instead of using its toll-free reservations number. Deals also may be available on the Internet, or through consolidators or reservation services that book rooms for many hotels. Vegas rates, in particular, vary widely depending on availability and day.

Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, 1 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Dana Point, telephone (949) 240-2000 or (800) 241-3333, fax (949) 240-0829, Internet https://www.ritzcarlton.com. Rates: $395 for a garden room, $575 for an oceanfront room. After Thanksgiving but before Christmas: weekdays $219 to $319 oceanfront room, $289 to $389 weekends.

Four Seasons Biltmore, 1260 Channel Drive, Santa Barbara, tel. (805) 969-2261 or (800) 332-3442, fax (805) 565-8323, Internet https://www.fourseasons.com. Rates: $280 for a moderate room; private cottages start at $480.

Las Vegas: Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South, tel. (702) 693-7111 or (888) 987-6667, Internet https://www.bellagiolasvegas.com. Rates: $159 to $699.

Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, tel. (702) 632-7000 or (877) 632-7000, fax (702) 632-7234, Internet https://www.mandalaybay.com. Rates: $99 to $399.

Four Seasons, 3960 Las Vegas Blvd. South, tel. (702) 632-5000 or (877) 632-5000, fax (702) 632-5195, Internet https://www.fourseasons.com. Rates: $200 to $450.

The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, tel. (702) 414-1000 or (877) 857-1861, fax (702) 414-1100, Internet https://www.venetian.com. Rates: $129 to $299.

Family: Disneyland Hotel, 1150 W. Cerritos Ave., Anaheim, tel. (714) 778-6600, fax (714) 956-6597, Internet https://www.disneyland.com. Rates: $195 for standard, city-view room; $375 to $575 for a suite.

Hotel del Coronado, 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado, tel. (619) 435-6611 or (800) 468-3533 (HOTELDEL), fax (619) 522-8262, Internet https://hoteldel.com. Rates: from $205 for a standard room to $450 and up for an ocean-view room.

Romantic: Post Ranch Inn, Highway 1 (28 miles south of Carmel), Big Sur, tel. (831) 667-2200 or (800) 527-2200, fax (831) 667-2824, Internet https://www.postranchinn.com. Rates: $455 to $755; seasonal discounts Sundays through Thursdays, December through March, excluding holidays.

Hotel Bel-Air, 701 Stone Canyon Road, Los Angeles, tel. (310) 472-1211 or (800) 648-4097, fax (310) 476-5890, Internet https://www.hotelbelair.com. Rates: $375 to $485; $650 to $2,500 for suites.

Mid-Range: Apple Farm Inn, 2015 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo, tel. (805) 544-2040 or (800) 374-3705, fax (805) 544-2513, Internet https://www.applefarm.com. Rates: $150 to $225 Sunday through Thursday, $195 to $280 Friday and Saturday, July 1 through Sept. 15; off-season $140 to $195 Sunday through Thursday, $180 to $255 weekends.

Channel Road Inn, 219 W. Channel Road, Santa Monica, tel. (310) 459-1920, fax (310) 454-9920, Internet https://www.channelroadinn.com. Rates: $160 to $335.

Budget: Motel 6, tel. (800) 466-8356, Internet https://www.motel6.com.

Holiday Inn, tel. (800) 465-4329, Internet https://www.basshotels.com/holiday-inn.

Best Western, tel. (800) 780-7234, Internet https://www.bestwestern.com.

Top Vegas Vote Getters

1. Bellagio

2. Mandalay Bay

3. Venetian

4. Rio

5. Paris

6. Caesars Palace

7. Four Seasons

8. Golden Nugget

9. MGM Grand

10. Mirage

11. Flamingo

12. Hard Rock Hotel

13. Luxor

14. Monte Carlo

15. Las Vegas Hilton,

Tropicana (tie)