What’s in a name? Plenty, if you’re in the hotel industry

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,” says the biblical Proverbs. But sometimes a good name is great riches. And that’s why travelers need to take note: When it comes to a hotel’s location, things are not always what they seem.

Take the 297-room Le Meridien at Beverly Hills, where published room rates begin at $310. The hotel’s Web site gives its address as “465 S. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, 90048.” But Beverly Hills is a separate city, and 90048 is a Los Angeles ZIP Code (also used in the city of West Hollywood). The hotel says it’s actually in Los Angeles, adjacent to the world-renowned ritzy enclave.

“We’re about two feet from Beverly Hills,” General Manager Larry Saward cheerfully concedes. So why not call it “Le Meridien at Los Angeles”?

“There is some magic to Beverly Hills,” Saward says. “And people like to say they’ve been to Beverly Hills.” Which they have -- almost.

Then there’s the 285-room Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, where published room rates begin at $330. The hotel, whose frequent guests include movie stars, is at 300 S. Doheny Drive, also in the 90048 ZIP Code. (Hint: ZIP Codes used in Beverly Hills start with 902.)

The Four Seasons is across the street from Beverly Hills, says Martha Sullivan, director of marketing. The Beverly Hills moniker was added not for reputation but for information -- to locate the hotel’s area, she says.

The hotel’s Internet home page, www.fourseasons.com/losangeles, says “Welcome to Los Angeles” and lists the address in Los Angeles. Then it refers to its Windows Lounge as “Beverly Hills’ popular meeting place.”

“Most people think we’re in Beverly Hills,” Sullivan says.

One could argue that these are harmless embellishments, rather like a one-time date -- which, after all, many hotels are -- who hints that he’s danced in many a Broadway show. He didn’t, but you had fun and felt glamorous, right?

In the case of hotels’ locations, however, some fudging may inconvenience travelers.

Take the fancy, 360-room Bacara Resort & Spa, which sprawls over 78 ocean-side acres and has published room rates starting at $395 per night. Its Web site, www.bacararesort.com, lists its address as 8301 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara. The resort’s name, officials said when it opened three years ago, is a neologism combining “Santa Barbara” with “Anacapa,” the name of a Channel Island off the coast.

You might assume from this that the resort is just steps away from State Street, the tourist and shopping hub of the affluent beachfront city sometimes dubbed the Riviera of California. But in fact it’s about 12 miles north of State Street -- and a freeway away. Get ready to drive.

What city is Bacara in? That depends on whom you talk to.

“We’re in Santa Barbara,” says Oliver Unaka, the hotel’s public relations manager. “You may see some references to Goleta. But Bacara is located within the city of Santa Barbara.

“Goleta,” he adds, “is a very near neighbor of ours.”

That comes as news to government officials.

City planners in Goleta, which is north of Santa Barbara and incorporated last year, lay claim to Bacara. Kristen Amyx, president and chief executive of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce -- of which Bacara is a member -- also says the resort is within Goleta city limits.

Robert Peirson, finance director of the city of Santa Barbara, agrees.

“It’s part of the relatively new and beautiful city of Goleta,” he says, choosing his words carefully after a sometimes divisive campaign that led to the independence of Goleta, which sports Pacific Ocean beachfront and other attractions but lacks Santa Barbara’s cachet.

Is Peirson sure? “I’m very certain,” he says.

Steve Foley, a planner in Santa Barbara County’s Planning and Development Department, also says Bacara is in Goleta. Before Goleta became a city, he adds, the resort was in an unincorporated area of the county.

Bacara is not alone in its affinity for Santa Barbara. I recently thumbed through a Motel 6 directory, looking for hotels in Carpinteria, a low-key beach community about 12 miles south of Santa Barbara. Nothing appeared under “C” in the alphabetical listings. But under “Santa Barbara,” I found two Motel 6s in Carpinteria (so labeled in smaller letters; rates starting at $44.99) and one in Goleta.

Sometimes hotels shift their listings to better-known areas because travelers would otherwise have trouble finding them. Amyx, of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, says of Bacara, “I’m sure they use ‘Santa Barbara’ because who knows where Goleta is?” Or, like the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, they say they want to pinpoint their location within a vast urban area.

But what is one to make of the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa? It owns property on the beach, but the hotel building is on the inland side of Pacific Coast Highway. Guests take a short tram ride to a private waterside beach club run by the resort.

Heidi Jung, the hotel’s public relations director, says the resort, where published room rates start at $405, is named for the Dana Point community of Monarch Beach.

After years of encountering surprises, one super-concierge to the stars, Bill Fischer of New York, says he visits the hotels he recommends for clients. When I spoke with him, he was just back from Europe and heading out to the Riviera.

The most common fudges, he says, are beaches, golf courses and tennis courts that sound as though they’re on a hotel’s premises but aren’t.

Few of us can afford to retain Fischer or to jet to Europe at a moment’s notice to check out a hotel. But a well-informed travel agent or a few well-placed questions before booking can pay off even for budget travelers.

Jane Engle welcomes comments and suggestions but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or e-mail [email protected].