Southern California may be best known for red carpets and movie stars, but there’s more to see than celebrities, especially if you’re traveling with kids who aren’t unlikely to dazzled by the sight of fame in over-sized sunglasses and a trucker hat. Take advantage of a spring special from a beach-side hotel in Redondo Beach and take in larger-than-life sights of the sea.

Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach & Marina Hotel is a business class hotel in the small beach town of Redondo Beach west of Los Angeles. You’re unlikely to run into anyone famous in the lobby, but the clown fish in the aquarium by registration bears a striking resemblance to Nemo.

The Crowne Plaza doesn’t quite live up to its advertised “resort” title, but it is a comfortable hotel with spacious rooms and balconies overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Better still, access to that ocean requires just a short walk across the street and down the pier, making the hotel a perfect home base for a Pacific vacation.

Activities within walking distance include:

• Whale watching tours
• Paddle boat rentals
• Surfing
• Shopping on the pier
• Eating fresh caught seafood
• Swimming in a unique sea lagoon

Guests at Crowne Plaza can receive a discount on whale watching tours, as well as bike rentals and day passes to the Gold’s Gym next door. On site, enjoy a heated pool and Jacuzzi tub, perfect for cool spring nights.

Rooms at the Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach start at $99 a night.

In a frugal age where hotel owners are counting every penny spent on upkeep, the Custom Hotel in Los Angeles has enjoyed two major renovations in 4 years.

The 250-room Custom Hotel at LAX is being “re-introduced” after yet another makeover given to it by JDV Hospitality, which is now in charge. The previous owners had spent more than $20 million on a full renovation as recently as fall 2007.

Custom Hotel LAX

One of the obvious advantages is its Westchester location – one mile from LAX and a few minutes from Los Angeles attractions like the Venice Beach Boardwalk and the Santa Monica Pier.

While a gazillion other LAX airport hotels can lay claim to the same convenient location, the Custom Hotel still manages to stand apart as the only boutique property among the lot.

As per the JDV custom that each of its hotels have a unique personality befitting its location and culture, this one too has a decor and theme that harks back to the golden years of air travel in the 60′s, when flying was fun and glamorous, and 9/11 didn’t mean anything much.

The guest rooms and suites offer more choice than the cookie-cutter brand-name hotels lined up on W Century Blvd, since each floor of the Custom Hotel has its own graphic concept. In fact, you can actually custom-ize your room, because the LED lighting allows you to change the color of the lighting to suit your mood. Read More »

When checking into certain hotels in Southern California this summer, don’t be alarmed if you find some guests suddenly start singing out loud.

It’s just the JDV Hospitality ’Singing for an Upgrade” offer and video contest at five of their SoCal hotels. The concept is simple – the first guest willing to sing a song at check-in gets a free upgrade.

Singing for an Upgrade

Currently participating hotels include:-

1. Hotel Erwin in Venice, CA

2. Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles, CA

3. Pacific Edge Hotel in Laguna Beach, CA

4. Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach, CA

Another one – the Custom Hotel at Los Angeles Airport, will also join in later this summer, after it becomes a JDV run property.

The rules are that each hotel will be offering one free upgrade per day – to the first guest who starts singing at check-in. Each hotel also has its own compilation of songs from which the guest can choose to sing any one song.

Oh, and one more small thing – the whole performance gets recorded and the video will be uploaded to YouTube and Facebook where it will be voted on – a chance for viral stardom! Also, the winner gets free 2-night stays at the aforementioned five hotels.

The runner-up gets a 1-night stay at one of the five hotels, and a third place winner will get a $100 gift certificate for dining at one of the JDV restaurants in these hotels.

Even if the free upgrade for the day has already been sung for, guests can still belt out their own performance at check-in, have it recorded and entered into the contest.

The promotion is valid until Sept 30, 2011. More details here.

Photo – JDV

Related posts:
SoCal Dreamin’ With JDV
A Heal of a Deal From JDV
Joie de Vivre’s Eco-Romance Package

Like all the gazillions of daily deals weren’t enough, now we have a HealDeal to contend with. That’s what HealLA calls them, and these are deals offered to people who donate small amounts to charity.

For example, let’s say you give $10 to the LA Mission to help the homeless in Los Angeles via the HealLA website. In return, hotel company Joie de Vivre will either pledge $20 towards a stay at any one of their Southern California hotels or $15 towards a meal at one of four Joie de Vivre restaurants.

HealDeal from JDV Hotels and HealLA

JDV is a San Francisco based company, and they have over 30 hotels in California. Most of their hotels are in Northern California, but they do have a few select hotels in Los Angeles and Orange County.

These SoCal hotels where the vouchers can be redeemed include:-

1. Hotel Erwin in Venice, CA

2. Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles, CA

3. Pacific Edge Hotel in Laguna Beach, CA

4. Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach, CA

Participating restaurants are West in Los Angeles, Zimzala in Huntington Beach, Hash in Venice Beach and High in Venice Beach.

You can complete your HealDeal transaction here – http://healla.myshopify.com/collections/healdeals.

All the money raised from this particular HealDeal will go toward providing healthy and comforting meals for the homeless and impoverished people who visit the refuge that the Los Angeles Mission provides.

HealLA’s tag-line says “Do Good Things & Get Good Stuff.” But the offer expires on May 25, 2011 so you better hurry up, do your good thing and get the good stuff from JDV before it runs out.

Photo – HealLA

Related posts:-
JDV Hotels Wants to Plant a Tree For Your Love
Joie de Vivre’s Eco-Romance Package
Hyatt Regency Dallas Shelters Homeless on Christmas Eve