Hotels offer haute holidays on the ice

Does the ABC-TV show “Skating With the Stars” leave you longing to glide around an ice rink? Chill out this holiday season with a new hotel trend: temporary rinks.

Skating areas can be found at or near hotels throughout the nation. Some, such as the seventh-floor rink at the St. Regis Atlanta, are within the hotel. Others, such as Hotel del Coronado’s seaside rink, have been installed nearby.

Many hotels offer room-and-skate packages too. Among those in California:

-- Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey: “Nothing quite captures the essence of the season,” said Janine Chicourrat, the hotel’s general manager. “Who knows? You may be skating in shorts.”

The hotel’s “Stay and Skate Free” package includes a room and a free day of skating for a family of four in the Custom House Plaza behind the hotel; rates begin at $199 plus tax. Contact: Portola Hotel & Spa, (831) 649-4511.

-- W Los Angeles - Westwood: At the W, the pool deck has been transformed into a winter playground with a rink called CHILL. Rates are $10 an hour; or book the “Ice Skate, You Skate, We All Skate” package, starting at $259 a night, plus tax including skating and cocktails. Contact: W Los Angeles-Westwood, (310) 208-8765.

-- The Hotel del Coronado, across the bay from San Diego, has added an oceanfront rink for the holidays for the past six years. A three-hour skating session is $20 for adults and $15 for children. The “Free Skating by the Sea” package starts at $215 per night plus tax and includes four skating sessions. Contact: Hotel del Coronado, (800) 468-3533.