Is There a Motel on the Sea Shore in Santa Monica?

Yes, indeedy. That's the Sea Shore Motel, two blocks from Santa Monica's beach, located on Main Street, along with some of the city's best restaurants, funky coffee houses, retail stores and boutiques, art galleries, and the other attractions in Santa Monica.


You can count on your fingertips the number of indie motels in Los Angeles, and out of this handful, there must be less than 3-4 motels which are not plagued by unsavory transients and other nefarious elements.


One of these hard-to-find clean motels is the Sea Shore Motel. It's location within walking distance of the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach ensures that it remains popular among tourists inspite of being a motel, and this popularity in turn ensures that the management keep the place 'family-friendly', in a manner of speaking. Of course, in Los Angeles, the whole family-friendly concept is a bit hazy, but relatively speaking, the Sea Shore Motel is not a dump.


The 19 standard rooms, 1 junior suite, and 4 deluxe suites feature in-room refrigerators, free cable television, terra-cotta tile floors, and granite counter tops. The suite also has a sitting room and a microwave oven. The motel offers free parking, a sun deck, an on-site restaurant, and a laundromat right next door. Rates from $105 onwards.

Info: 2637 Main Street Santa Monica CA 90405; (310) 392-2787; www.seashoremotel.com/

California Suites You? Extended Stay Lodging in San Diego

That's the California Suites Hotel in San Diego, which offers budget rooms at prices comparable to any of the other San Diego motels, has extended stay options on a weekly and monthly pricing structure, and, as the name implies, offers suites and amenities good enough to compare against any decent hotel.

Basically, the California Suites is whatever type of lodging you want it to be, as long as you append the word 'cheap' to all shapes and sizes of accomodations offered. Standard rates from $59. If you stay for 2 nights, you get a 15% discount, so it becomes $50, and if you book in for 3 nights, you get a 20% discount, so you end up paying $47 per night for the standard room. If you want a standard room with 2 double beds, then the rate varies from $51 to $64, depending on how long you stay. For extended stay options, the rates are even lower.

The standard room with one queen bed comes kitted out with internet access (surcharge), premium TV channels, blackout drapes, iron/ironing board (on request), complimentary newspaper, cable/satellite TV, air conditioning, housekeeping (daily), cribs and rollaway beds (on request), and hair dryer. All rooms have a refrigerator, microwave, table and chairs.

Amenities offered include outdoor swimming pool, air-conditioned public areas, complimentary newspaper in lobby, spa tub, laundry facilities, complimentary breakfast, and safe-deposit box. The rooms overlook a neat and flourishing courtyard garden in the center, next to the pool, with a fountain and statues and all.

Breakfast buffet includes cereal, breads, Danish, muffins, bagels, cream cheese, fruit spreads, fresh fruit, juices, coffee, tea, espresso or hot chocolate.

Best of all, the California Suites offers a good central location as a base for your vacations in San Diego. It's only 15 minutes away from San Diego International Airport, San Diego Zoo, Sea World, major shopping centers, and San Diego's white sandy beaches.

Info: 5415 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego CA 92117; (858) 560-0545; www.californiasuiteshotel.com/

Weekend in DC at the Morrison-Clark Historic Hotel

Washington DC is not really as stylish as New York or as much fun as Los Angeles or Miami, but the one thing they do have are really luxurious and grandiose hotels. That's probably because almost everyone who comes to visit DC has an ego the size of the Capitol, and needs to be treated like royalty.

And royalty like nothing better than to be at places which are steeped in tradition, like the White House, or the Morrison-Clark Historic Hotel. The Morrison-Clark is one of the few hotels in Washington DC which has seen many a President come and go. It's housed in a 19th Century Victorian mansion listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

It's location one block from the Washington DC Convention Center isn't too shabby either. It's 4 blocks from the Metro Center and Mt. Vernon Square Metrorail stations, and 10 minutes from Reagan National Airport, which doesn't hurt either.

Minutes from renowned restaurants, nightspots, theaters, museums, and other cultural destinations. And it's a short distance to the White House and Capitol Hill, the biggest attractions in Washington DC.

The Morrison-Clark offers authentic antique furnishings, Italian Carrera marble fireplaces, and private balconies. The Victorian rooms boast original turn of the century furnishings and crystal chandeliers with one queen bed. It includes mini bar, iron and ironing board. All rooms are non-smoking. Parlor suites are decorated in French Provincial or Neo-classic decor with a bedroom with one queen bed and a separate living area with a sofa bed.

Best of all, inspite of all this history and the whole Victorian experience, rates at the Morrison-Clark are low enough to tempt even the most die-hard fans of Washington DC motels. Their weekend getaway package, which includes complimentary continental breakfast for two, free parking, early check-in and late check-out upon request, has rates starting from $129 per night.

Info: 1015 L St NW Washington D.C. 20001; (202) 898-1200; www.morrisonclark.com/

Landing Inn Normandy, Waking up in Minneapolis

We're talking about the Best Western Normandy Inn & Suites in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's supposed to be a cheap and decent alternative to save you from being savaged by the bugs and other nefarious elements that inhabit the dark corners of almost all Minneapolis motels.


But in truth, it looks more like someone picked a cozy cottage from the shores of Normandy and plonked it down in the twin cities. Decor aside, the Normandy Inn isn't so bad location-wise either.


Skyway across the street, 6 blocks from the Metrodome and the Minneapolis Convention Center, 3 blocks to the light rail line to the airport and Mall of America, it's a short stroll away from Orchestra Hall, the Orpheum and State Theatres, the Target center and other downtown Minneapolis attractions.


The Hotel's Landmarc Grill offers casual American dining at prices as affordable as the rooms themselevs. Speaking of which, the new suites are excellent and offer a 32-inch flat panel television, large work tables, free wireless internet, state of the art bathrooms with walk-in showers and a sleeper sofa.


Amenities include a garden atrium with a heated indoor swimming pool, hot tub and sauna. There's also a fully equipped fitness room. And the kicker - $99 rooms with children below 17 staying for free. You also get freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with cold milk at 10:00 pm.


If you really want to enjoy your Minneapolis vacations without maxing the card, then best place to start would be a landing at the Normandy Inn & Suites.

Info: 405 S 8th Street Minneapolis MN 55404; (612) 370-1400; website

Flop Down at the Bellwood Hotel, Chicago

$38 per night for a hotel room on Lincoln Road in Chicago. Is it possible? Apparently it is, if you do not book in advance. The Bellwood Hotel (1409 W Diversey Parkway Chicago, IL 60614; 773-404-6000) offers you dirt cheap rooms which you cannot book.

You have to land up in person, because apparently they haven't heard of this latest fad called a reservation system, or credit cards, or a website. You slip cash under a window to the guy behind the counter which is inside a cage. But they compensate for their lack of technological advancement by keeping rates as low as they were in the previous century.

I've seen a lot many Chicago motels in better shape than this so-called hotel, but even the motels usually charge in excess of $50 per night. Of course, these motels don't blow in stale cigarette smoke along with the air conditioning, which is what the Bellwood's airconditioning system seems to do. Or maybe it's just the years and years of ash and stubs which have penetrated into the walls and layered the furniture and floors and everything else.

On a positive note, if all you want is a place to sleep near to the attractions in Chicago without paying through your nose, well then, hold your nose and sleep soundly at the Bellwood.

$49.99 Per Night at Royal Sun Inn Palm Springs

The thing about Palm Springs is that your ordinary run-of-the-mill hotel is priced at or just above the standard price for the motels in Palm Springs. Bad deal for the motels, one might say. One might also be wrong, considering that the oridinary run-of-the-mill motel here is just about as decent and comfortable as the standard hotels. Point here is that in Palm Springs, the grey line between hotels & motels is kinda hazy.

Hotels like the Royal Sun Inn are offering rooms or $49.99 per night. The hotel has 66 rooms and suites, and each of them offers a private patio or balcony with views of the San Jacinto Mountains, shower and bath combo, complimentary buffet breakfast and in-room coffee service, cable TV, in-room safe, microwave and refrigirator. The suites additionally have kitchens and a jacuzzi tub.

Amenities offered include a sun terrace, internet access in the lobby, 2 gas barbeques and a picnic area, large heated pool, spa jacuzzi, and guest laundry.

And like all good hotels in Palm Springs, the Royal Sun Inn is located on Palm Canyon Drive, so it's a good place for a weekend getaway, and convinient if you're a tourist looking to see the prominent tourist attractions in Palm Springs.

Info: 1700 South Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs CA 92264; (760) 327-1564; www.royalsuninn.com/

Motel 6 Los Angeles - Hollywood

Looking for budget lodging in Los Angeles is like asking for a cheeseburger in a classy French joint. They got lots of cheese and lots of bread, but they won't put it together and give you a cheeseburger even if you put a gun to their head. It's just not done.

And if it is done, then it's a dump. Meaning that any kind of cheap digs in the City of Angels is very likely run over by transients, strugglers and potheads with more hope and dope than you'll find in any other city. But... There are a few Los Angeles motels which are cheap, decent and clean.

Like the Motel 6 Los Angeles - Hollywood on North Whitley Avenue. Being a Motel 6 means they try to maintain at least a bare minimum set of standards and basic amenities including free local calls, wireless internet, free morning coffee and a coin operated laundry.

And it's conviniently located within walking distance of the most visited attractions in Los Angeles including Hollywood Walk of Fame & Grauman's Chinese Theater. Rates from $62.99, which gives you an option to choose either a room with 2 full beds, a queen bed or a King.

Info: 1738 N Whitley Ave US 101/Hollywood Fwy at Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA, 90028; (323) 464-6006; website