From S/V Rapture

The Marina del Rey Convention & Visitors Bureau is holding a digital photo scavenger hunt called Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Cute, huh?

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know much about MDR other than it’s a beach town, so I think doing a scavenger hunt would be a good way to explore and learn more about the area. And the visitors bureau is giving away some great prizes to the winners, too.

To participate, you’ll have to take photos of yourself in front of or next to the “iconic, unique and quirky” items listed in certain categories representative of the MDR community — family, foodie and wedding. You’ll need to collect at least five photos to qualify for prizes; if you collect all 10 photos in a category, you’ll be entered to win grand-level prizes.

Each category has prizes with values up to $2,200, including:

To enter, upload photos either to Facebook, Twitter or by email to marinadelreycvb@gmail.com. The deadline to submit all photos is Oct. 27, 2010. The grand prize and runner up winners will be announced via Facebook, Twitter and the Visit Marina del Rey Blog on Nov. 10, 2010.

You see, I was invited by the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa, a Marriott property, to stay a night and experience its restaurants, Sirocco and CAVA. I wasn’t sure about the desert location as I knew very little about Indian Wells other than a big tennis tournament happens there every year, but then I saw this on the hotel’s website

and immediately changed my mind. Indian Wells, here I come!

In this post I’ll discuss the hotel property, and in a subsequent post I’ll feature the resort’s food, so stay tuned.

First, Indian Wells isn’t as far as I thought it was. With very little traffic, Rory and I made it out there in two hours from Los Angeles proper. Upon arrival, we were greeted by very nice valets, bell hops and front desk receptionists. When we got to our room, there was someone in there trying very hard to set our clock radio to the correct time, but neither she nor I could figure it out. No matter; she came by later with another one already set.

We were given the Ambassador Suite, which mimics a one-bedroom apartment but without a full kitchen. This suite is an upgrade from the standard rooms, which currently range from $99 to $169 per night. The Ambassador, which is currently priced between $399 and $469 per night, has a living room and work space with a kitchenette that can be closed off from the bedroom. There is also a half bath in the living area and a full bath (with a bidet (!) and a Whirlpool Jacuzzi tub) attached to the bedroom.

Living room

Kitchenette

Snacks and beverages

Bedroom with king-size bed

Jacuzzi tub

Perhaps the best part of our room was the view from our two balconies:

There's that pool again!

And we got this as a welcome gift.

The room could use a facelift, something that the resort was planning to do before the recession hit. The public areas were nicely remodeled within the last year, though.

Anyway, our room also had two flat screen televisions, though we could get only one of them to work. We couldn’t get one of the lamps in the bedroom to turn on, either. A few other quibbles: The bidet made a sound as if the water was running the entire time, which meant I had to close the door to the bathroom to sleep, and when I dialed 0 for the front desk, no one picked up. Also, while wireless Internet is free in the public areas of the resort, it’s $12.95 per day in the rooms (my Internet access was complimentary). If I had stayed any longer than one night, I probably would have been more annoyed with these points, but as it was, I wasn’t too bothered by them.

Something that did bother me, though it couldn’t really be helped, was how crowded the pool area was. As the day wore on, the chaise lounges filled up, and by the time we got down there, we were hard-pressed finding two free chairs. And it was tough getting towels, too. It was a hot Saturday, so the crowd was understandable, especially because non-guests are allowed to use the pool, too. I really wanted to enjoy some quiet time poolside, but that would have been possible only in the early morning, it seemed.

Instead, I chose to spend my Sunday morning in the resort’s fitness center, which is accessible only using a room key card (score!). The gym is nicely equipped with state-of-the-art machines, towels, spa water and even ear buds. There’s also an attendant to make sure everything stays clean, which is much appreciated.

Some more photos of the property:

The grand staircase in the lobby

Fountain leading up to the pool area

Golf course behind the property; technically not part of the resort but easily accessed

I also got a manicure at the resort’s spa, which is a calm, quiet sanctuary away from the busyness of the public areas. A hair salon and outdoor patio are part of the spa facilities, too. I would have to say that the price for a manicure ($35 plus an automatically charged 18 percent gratuity) is a bit steep for what you get, which is basically a regular manicure with nice products and a brief hand and arm massage. I know that manis and pedis at spas always cost more than they do at nail salons, but even at Burke Williams you get to sit in a massage chair. Oh, well.

What really made this stay an enjoyable experience was the food. I know that resort food isn’t exactly known for its quality, but the meals we had at the upscale Sirocco and more casual CAVA were very good. I’ll discuss that in an upcoming post.

Renaissance Esmeralda is currently offering a summer promotion: For a $109 room rate, valid Sunday through Thursday with a 2 night minimum stay, you can get a $50 per-night resort credit to be used toward spa or dining amenities. Do it, and go with the food.

Note: Our one-night stay, valet parking (normally $25 per day) and in-room Internet were complimentary. I paid for the manicure myself.

SLS Hotel: To celebrate its first anniversary, the SLS Hotel is randomly giving away two rooms a week for $1 a night to lucky winners who happen to visit its Web site at the right time. But hurry because the promotion ends Nov. 30.

Embassy Suites: If you stay at any Embassy Suites before Dec. 31, you can enter to win a grand prize of a trip to one of nine Embassy Resorts, which include properties in Lake Tahoe, Waikiki and Myrtle Beach. The prize includes a five-day/four-night stay, airfare and ground transportation. There will also be 100 first place prizes of $100 Visa gift cards.

Marriott Hawaii: Marriott has put together the granddaddy of giveaways — seven nights at two of five Hawaii hotels (so you can visit more than one island), airfare (including inter-island flights) and a private luau for you and 11 of your friends. Yes, that’s right, a trip for 12 to Hawaii. All you have to do to enter is make a three-minute video before Dec. 20 showing why you love Hawaii.

Cezanne restaurant at Le Merigot

Saturday, Aug. 15, would have been Julia Child’s 97th birthday. To celebrate (and capitalize on the popularity of the new film “Julie & Julia,” no doubt) the Le Merigot JW Marriott hotel in Santa Monica is having a special dinner featuring dishes from Child’s famous book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

For $40 per person, Cézanne restaurant at Le Merigot will give you a three-course meals featuring an appetizer of coquilles St. Jacques à la Parisienne (scallops and mushrooms in wine sauce), a main course of piece de bouef braisée (beef braised in red wine parsley potatoes, leeks, glazed turnips and carrots), and a dessert of tarte tatin with crème fraiche. (Drinks are extra.)

This dinner is served from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. To make reservations, call (310) 395-9700. And if you can’t make it on Saturday, you can always check out the hotel’s late-night happy hour during the week.

Le Troque terrace bar at Le Merigot hotel. From LeMerigot (Flickr).

• Cafe Roma: The Beverly Hills eatery just reopened after a remodel, and it has a happy hour from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays where you can get two-for-one drinks (per person) and free finger foods at the bar. That’s one way to get people back in the door!

• McCormick & Schmick’s: Through September (or until supplies last), anyone who buys a dinner entree can also purchase a movie ticket for $5. Here’s a list of L.A.-area M&S restaurants and their participating movie theaters:

Los Angeles at 633 W. Fifth St. and Laemmles’ Grande 4-Plex

Beverly Hills at 206 N. Rodeo Dr. and AMC Theaters – Westfield Century City

Pasadena at 111 N. Los Robles and Pacific Theaters – Paseo Stadium 14

El Segundo at 2101 Rosecrans Ave. and Pacific Theaters – Beach Cities

Burbank at 3500 W. Olive Ave. and AMC Theaters – Citywalk Stadium 19

The restaurant is also holding a sweepstakes contest called Reel to Reel. The prize includes airfare and hotel accommodations for two to Park City, Utah, and VIP passes to the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. You can register to win in the restaurant or online.

San Juan Marriott. From Don Riddle (Flickr).

Through June 12, Marriott International Inc. is offering a “Deal of the Day,” with up to 60 percent off rates at a different Caribbean, Hawaii or California hotel each day for 24 hours. Other deals that’ll be offered include free nights based on a minimum length of stay, and free services and amenities. You can find the deals starting at 7:00 a.m. on either Marriott’s Twitter feed (@marriottintl) or at www.MarriottDealoftheDay.com. Today’s deal is 10 percent off daily room rates to $167, with a fourth night free on either a pool- or ocean-view room and free daily breakfast for two at the San Juan, Puerto Rico, Marriott. Though Marriott won’t release the locations of the hotels beforehand, the company says most will be beach resorts. You’ll have to find your own way there, though.

Of course for L.A. locals, the Westin Bonaventure has been giving away free rooms since March via its Twitter feed (@thebonaventure).