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Some of my favorite #TerraneaMemories

Terranea hotel and resort in Rancho Palos Verdes is celebrating its 5th anniversary this year, and to kick things off, it has announced a monthly photo and video contest that runs through May 31, 2015. The best part? Terranea is giving away some swank prizes to the winners!

The Terranea Memories 5th Anniversary Contest is asking visitors to highlight their favorite memories from the past five years at the resort. Each month will feature a theme tied to Terranea’s 5th anniversary pillars: community, wellness, discovery, epicurean and celebration. The monthly themes and prize packages will be announced in advance each month on the resort’s blog and event calendar.

June’s theme is community. To enter, submit a photograph or video and personal story of a sunrise or sunset you captured while at the resort or in the surrounding area. And remember to share using #TerraneaMemories.

This month’s prize package sounds awesome! It’s an overnight stay in the Shearwater Suite with the Terranea Lexus Drive Series Adventure Escape, which includes:

* Overnight stay in Terranea’s 1,800 sq. ft. Shearwater Suites
* Unlimited complimentary use of a Lexus vehicle during your stay
* A GPS-guided tour highlighting scenic points of interest, including the Point Vicente Interpretive Center to watch the whale migration and Portuguese Bend for hiking and wildlife spotting
* Choose either an aqua or terra activity from Pointe Discovery, such as a coastal hike, falconry, tide pooling, paddleboarding or kayorkling
* A picnic basket lunch from Sea Beans, complete with energy bars and water bottle
* A pair of binoculars for watching marine life off the coast — dolphins, sea lions and whales can be spotted along the shore on a regular basis

This month’s deadline is June 25. If you’ve been to Terranea or anywhere in the peninsula area, or have a chance to do so before the end of the month, then I’d suggest you get on this. I had the fortunate chance to stay here once, and it was amazing. It’s one of the best staycation spots for Angelenos.

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.

Keep Reading

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.

Summer is coming to a close, but don’t fret if you’re still hankering for a mini getaway. There are still deals out there for those of us in denial of having to go back to school/work.

• 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.