Concierge

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Michelle Phillips will be checking in as new cast members with recurring roles on ABC's "Hotel" when the series starts its fourth season this fall. Zimbalist will be representing the Cabot family in legal matters, and Phillips will be the hotel's new concierge.

Interesting question from Bill Bergfeldt in "On the Spot" ["Worldly Wisdom," Aug. 9]. I have four additional suggestions for sources of travel information: travel books and concierge service, local chamber of commerces or visitors bureaus, and AAA. On our first visits to Chicago last year and Seattle the year before, I bought some local guide books. I usually buy a Fodor's and Frommer's and others. I made notes and underlined items we might find interesting. Then I called the hotel and spoke with the concierge about our choices.

The newly completed $65-million Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills will celebrate its grand opening on Tuesday. The 473-room hotel, with general manager Jon Loeb at the helm, is at the core of Warner Center Plaza, consisting of six office buildings with 2,128,000 square feet being developed by Warner Center Properties. Marriott Woodland Hills, with its special concierge level, has more than 16,000 square feet of meeting space and is highlighted by its 12,400-square-foot Grand Ballroom.

Sorrento, Italy "Good kids, good kids," the concierge assured me as I stood in the lobby waiting for my 15-year-old daughter and her friend to return to the hotel. It was 1:05 a.m. in Sorrento, and the girls, who were out with a group of Italian teenagers they had met that evening, were supposed to have been back at 1 a.m. "Very good kids," the concierge said as he smiled and shifted his weight from the heels to the toes of his shiny black shoes. "It is better not to worry," he told me, rocking back and forth.

What do you look for in a beach? Judging by TripAdvisor, most travelers prefer long stretches of sand and not much else. The top finishers in its Travelers' Choice Beach Destinations  awards tend to be rather featureless. Top U.S. beaches, according to reviews by readers: 1. St. Pete Beach, Fla. 2. Miami Beach, Fla., 3. Myrtle Beach, S.C. 4. Virginia Beach, Va., 5. Honolulu. San Diego, at 9 th , was the top California finisher . . . . From March 22-30, three-star Michelin chef Pierre Gagnaire returns to his eponymously titled restaurant , Twist by Pierre Gagnaire at Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas . . . .  All drinks are just $1 at selected bars at Cannery Casino , beginning St. Partick's Day afternoon in Las Vegas . . . . Spirit Airlines and MyAssist are teaming up to provide concierge services to Spirit customers for $9.99.

Plague Detected in Squirrels: Blood Tests on Animals Captured in Agoura Park Are Positive --Headline in The Los Angeles Times The unusual events described in this chronicle occurred in 194- at Oran. Everyone agreed that, considering their somewhat extraordinary character, they were out of place there. For its ordinariness is what strikes one first about the town of Oran. --Albert Camus, "The Plague" It was with a mixture of impatience and consternation that Dr.

Tower 17, a $26-million office structure under construction at Douglas Plaza, adjacent to John Wayne Airport, marks a breakthrough in the 15-story code barrier for that area. It is the first 17-story development to be approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors under its recently approved plan for selling air space above 150 feet at the airport. Tower 17 is being built by McDonnell Douglas Corp. through its Irvine-based real estate subsidiary, the Douglas Development Co.

With three active kids and no trust fund, my husband and I are big believers in the vacation rental over the hotel experience. Granted, there is no room service, but frankly, who can afford it for five? Over the years we've rented houses and apartments in many states and countries, and we have never been disappointed, never had a bad experience. Why anyone would want a small hotel room rather than a spacious flat is beyond us ? not only do you have more space, you have a kitchen and, more often than not, laundry facilities that do not require fistfuls of change.

Custom-made men's dress shirts were once considered the privileged peacockery of the moneyed set -- a dash of sartorial swagger that could be afforded only by Hollywood A-listers, Wall Street bankers and monocle-wearing aristocrats of a bygone era. But today, thanks to advances in technology, a competitive market and consumer demand, custom clothing has moved within the barrel-cuffed arm's reach of the common man. Click a button in Burbank and...