Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. From Shell Vacations Hospitality.

Fewer things make me happier than a long weekend. The time off is reward in itself, but going on a trip is even nicer. For those of you who have the time (and money), here are a few travel deals to keep you sane…at least until Tuesday rolls around.

Terranea: Looking for a staycation in the L.A. area? Terranea in Rancho Palos Verdes is offering its Sunset Package, which includes the daily resort fee (I *hate* these things!) and a $75 dining credit, for $375 per night. Use your dining credit toward one of their special meals this weekend, which include a barbecue and a luau.

Las Vegas: Willing to drive a bit farther? Head on over to Las Vegas, where you can find some great deals. Expedia has the Sahara going for as low as $74 per night, which could be great if you don’t plan on spending a lot of time in your room.

Arizona: Want to go even farther? Shell Vacations Hospitality‘s Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix has rooms starting at $59 per night, with one-bedroom suites at $79 per night and two-bedrooms suites at $129 per night. Each suite has a full kitchen or kitchenette, living area, and either a balcony or patio overlooking the courtyards and golf course. And there are no resort fees!

Mondrian. From LA Snark.

Mondrian: The hotel’s special romance package, which starts at $295 per night, includes a bottle of champagne, $50 in hotel credit per stay, and service with our Romance Concierge, which includes a Kiki de Montparnasse service of your choice. Valid from Feb. 7 through Feb. 28.

Terranea: This resort’s V-Day special includes a shopping credit at Morgan’s Jewelers when booking two consecutive nights of the Fire and Ice package. The package includes an ocean view, breakfast for two, and sparkling wine and chocolate truffles on arrival. Guests who book two nights will receive a $250 store credit at Morgan’s Jewelers with rates starting at $450 per night. The nicer the room, the more store credit you get, up to $1,000. Available throughout the month of February.

La Costa and Rancho Las Palmas: Sister properties La Costa in Carlsbad and Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage are offering prizes over Valentine’s Day weekend through their “Couples in Sync” Sliders Cup, a race series that has guests competing down its waterslides. Winning couples get a bottle of champagne and appetizers at La Costa’s Legends Bistro or Rancho Las Palmas’ bluEmber restaurant.

La Costa is offering special Valentine’s weekend rates with 20 percent off a two-night stay or 30 percent off a three-night stay, plus a $50 resort credit per stay good toward golf, spa, tennis or dining. Rates start at $210 per night.

Rancho Las Palmas is offering 30 percent off over the weekend. Rates start at $240 per night.

Produce from Crows Pass Farm

I spent yesterday afternoon on the CBS lot in Studio City, eating and drinking my way through more than 30 of Los Angeles’ chefs’ food at the 23rd annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles event, which benefited the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. OK, I didn’t taste everything — I’m not a black hole of food — but I did taste a lot of good stuff.

BLVD 16‘s Simon Dolinky made butternut squash dumplings with mustard greens, pomegranate and brown butter. I like the food at BLVD 16 at the Hotel Palomar, so it’s no wonder that I enjoyed this dish, too. Topped with bacon bits, the crunchiness contrasted well with the doughy dumplings, and the greens were flavorful without being overpowering.

Akasha‘s short rib on pretzel bread with a side of cole slaw and pickle. The pretzel bread (I love pretzel bread!) soaked up the short rib’s tasty juices, making it all even better. The slaw had a spicy kick to it, and wasn’t creamy, which I prefer.

Bonadea, a Los Angeles-based company that makes bottled aguas frescas. I tried the jamaica flavor, which has nothing to do with the island country and everything to do with hibiscus. Its flavor was light, and a little sweet and a little tart. There was also a tamarind flavor, which I initially passed on because I don’t like tamarind, but after tasting a sip, I found it more peachy than tamarindy. Yeah, that’s not a word.

Neal Fraser of Grace and BLD fame made braised veal short rib with polenta that tasted just like a Chinese dish my mom makes. That’s because the polenta was cooked with chestnuts — yum!

Bottega Louie‘s panini with brie, blood orange and watercress, and a salad with roasted grape tomatoes, burata and pesto were light and refreshing, which was welcome since a lot of what was being offered at the event was heavy as this is technically fall.

Celestino Drago’s duck sandwich and butternut squash soup were also good, though I liked the sandwich more than the soup, which I didn’t find all that impressive.

Ford’s Filling Station‘s Ben Ford made a persimmon salad with goat cheese, candied pecans and a sherry vinaigrette. Beautiful and tasty. I’m obsessed with persimmons, and I wanted to ask Ford for a plate of just fruit, but that probably wouldn’t have gone over well.

Chef Ben Ford mixing up some salad

Yes, the Bazaar of the SLS Hotel was there, and yes, it served some pretty and fun stuff, including the liquid nitrogen-frozen caipirinha. It was really, really strong, but eating it with that sage on top was pretty amazing.

Keven Alan Lee’s East served up a scallop on the half shell with lemongrass sambal, wasabi creme fraiche, shiso dust and micro cilantro, as well as Hawaiian walu fish with miso mustard cream, micro wasabi, chive essence and smoked chardonnay sea salt. Many people liked this, especially the scallop, and I did too, but probably not as much as everyone else.

Scallops on the half shell

Hawaiian walu

Michael Fiorelli of Mar’Sel at Terranea Resort made braised wagyu beef cheek and creamed chard tortellini with ricotta and tiny autumn vegetables. The tortellini I could take or leave, but the beef was wonderfully tender, and the mini veggies were so cute — perfectly cooked, too.

And now for something completely different…I give you Sushi Popper! Is it sushi? Is it a push-up? Is it a sushi push-up? It is! I tried the seared albacore with smoked banana and a mild habanero sauce. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t good.

Esther of e*starLA popping a Sushi Popper

All in all, this was a really enjoyable event, despite the hot sun. I do have a gripe, though: The event’s theme was “Go Green, Go Organic,” yet there were all kinds of green violations. Sure, everyone used eco-friendly plates and utensils, but what’s with the bottled water? And the plastic cups? And the unnecessary packaging of the Sushi Poppers? Something to think about for next year…

It may very well look like this when you go (cloudy). Trying to be accurate here. From LA Times Travel & Deal Blog.

Terranea on the Palos Verdes peninsula is offering 50 percent off rooms, with prices starting at $210 a night. Book by Oct. 27 for stays through Dec. 17, including Thanksgiving weekend. That’s great for out-of-town guests and families that may want to get away for the holiday weekend. The hotel will serve you Thanksgiving dinner, too, so you don’t even have to leave the property…which is probably the point.

• Maison 140: Looking for a place to put up your wedding guests? This West Hollywood hotel is offering a wedding package where you pay just shy of $20,000 for a weekend to rent out all 43 rooms for your friends and family. And no, the package doesn’t include actually having your wedding at the hotel. What you do get, in addition to the rooms, includes a glass of champagne on arrival, continental breakfast, private Vin et Fromage tastings in the hotel’s Bar Noir, Wi-Fi and overnight parking. Pricey, yes. But the rooftop pool is pretty darn cool…

• Spa Resort Casino: Through Sept. 30, this Palm Springs hotel and casino is offering a Paradise Nights package that includes a room, dinner for two, a 25-minute spa treatment, $25 in slot machine play and a dip in the hot mineral springs for $164 a night. Sister property Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage also has a package good through the end of the month: a room, $25 in slot play and two-for-one buffet for $89 per night (Sunday through Thursday) or $129 (Friday and Saturday).

• Terranea: If you’ve got kids, I imagine finding a place that’s fancy and kid-friendly is tough. Terranea on the Palos Verdes peninsula is trying to change that with a family fun package.  The deal includes 50 percent off a second room for the kids, use of a private cabana at the pool, admission for one child to the resort’s kids camp with the purchase of an adult spa treatment, and a child’s breakfast with the purchase of an adult entree. The family package starts at $355 per night for the first room, which makes the second room $177.50.