A SURPLUS OF GREAT DECORATING IDEAS LIQUIDATION OUTLET OFFERS HIGH-END HOTEL FURNITURE AT BARGAIN PRICES.

Byline: Nancy Dillon Staff Writer

Riva Klein loves it when hotels redecorate, but her thrill has nothing to do with vacations. It involves her West Hollywood house.

A regular shopper at Hotel Surplus Outlet in Van Nuys, Klein, 42, knows what savvy decorators, property stagers and set designers try to keep secret: that a hotel renovation means truckloads of used but often ultra-chic furniture are headed for liquidation.

``I really love a bargain,'' Klein said upon discovering a slightly damaged watermelon-colored sleeper sofa for $200 in the outlet's 15,000-square-foot showroom.

``The pink and sage stripes are so cheerful. I can put this in the kids' playroom and not have to worry about it,'' she said, comparing the wear and tear on four identical models from the Hotel Oceana in Santa Monica.

Hundreds of solid-wood credenzas, armoires, headboards and other furnishings that once graced hotels from Santa Fe to San Francisco are on sale every day at the area's two biggest hotel salvage stores.

Bargains galore

Prices are generally 70 percent to 90 percent lower than what the hotels paid, and buyers can negotiate based on damage.

Hotel Surplus Outlet, which moved to Van Nuys from East L.A. last month, has been featured on HGTV's ``Design on a Dime'' and currently has a showroom packed with stylish castoffs from the Regent Beverly Wilshire, the Beverly Hilton and the Four Seasons in Newport Beach, now the Island Hotel.

Anaheim-based Hotel Services, which occupies an old 30,000-square-foot Tower Records store on North Beach Boulevard, sells discarded furniture from clients including the Ritz Carlton in Marina del Rey and the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad.

Drexel Heritage cherrywood armoires that the Ritz likely purchased for $2,000 each are marked down to $249, Hotel Services owner Richard Herrera said.

Treasures of all kinds

``We've walked into rooms we're clearing and found mother of pearl clocks, original oil paintings, real silver dinnerware,'' Herrera said. ``When a hotel changes hands, nobody's paying attention to what's been there, what's going out the door during a redesign.''

Apocryphal stories abound, like the one where a Colorado woman bought a liquidated painting from Denver's Brown Palace Hotel for $300 in 2002 and later had it appraised for $23,000.

Others are more believable.

``I bid $6 apiece on some beautiful prints that had been misnamed. I recognized the style, from this famous artist named Avatar, and they later appraised for $2,300 each,'' said Tom Scholet, owner of Colorado-based National Hotel Liquidators, which has a public showroom in Las Vegas. ``If you know what you're looking for, you can find some real treasures.''

Scholet, whose company handled a 2003 liquidation for the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, said he's already sold two of the Avatar prints for a total of $2,800.

``My favorite find was a stunning metal and marble table from an old Loews hotel. I bought it for $1,000 (at Hotel Surplus Outlet). It's easily worth $10,000 on the open market,'' Los Angeles Realtor and professional home stager Jennifer Morgan said.

``We buy $200 sofas there and just strip them down. They're commercial grade in their bones, so we refabric them and repad them, and for $1,200 they become a $4,000 sofa. There isn't any better value,'' Morgan, 59, said.

``You never know what you'll encounter, and that's the romance,'' said Don Fenning, owner of Hotel Surplus Outlet.

Fenning said he decided to move from East L.A. to the Valley after taking a poll of the 1,300 local customers on his e-mail list.

``I gave them a choice of Vernon, Torrance or the central San Fernando Valley, and 42 percent wanted the Valley,'' Fenning said. ``It costs me more to be here in Van Nuys, but the proximity to studios and upscale buyers makes it a great opportunity.''

His company is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary and averages about 30 to 35 major hotel liquidations a year. But he's not about to sink into his easy chair.

The rising popularity of flat-screen plasma TVs, luxurious pillow-top beds and plenty of comfortable seating for wireless laptop users -- good- bye, bulky ergonomic desk chairs -- is generating a boom in hotel renovation.

Business is booming

``Tourism is up, and hotel occupancy is up, and there's a fierce competition between properties to attract a high-end clientele,'' Fenning said. ``If a property competing with you down the street has 42-inch plasma TVs and all you have are 27-inch conventional TVs, you're in trouble.''

The new flat-screen models are mounted right on room walls, he explained, eliminating the need for space-hogging entertainment armoires.

Long Beach resident Lionel Williams was happy to find caramel-colored Drexel Heritage desks for $169 during his first visit to Hotel Surplus Outlet on Monday.

``They're a little chewed up, but they're solid. I'll fix the scratches myself,'' Williams, 24, said. ``You won't see these prices anywhere else.''

Nancy Dillon, [phone]

nancy.dillon(at)dailynews.com

WHERE TO FIND IT

Hotel Surplus Outlet

6843 Valjean Ave.

Van Nuys, CA 91406

www.hotelsurplus.com

[phone]

Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday,

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday.

Hotel Services

200 N. Beach Blvd.

Anaheim, CA 92801

[phone]

Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Esprit decor

Enthusiastic decorators look to hotel surplus for chic castoffs

(2 -- color) Hotel Surplus Outlet owner Donald Fenning, top left, talking with employee Monroe Alexander, moved his business to the Valley and is now reaping the benefits of having TV and film studios nearby. Above, customers browse the extensive selection of sofas, chairs, plasma TVs and more.

(3 -- 5 -- color) Small electronics and housewares items line the shelves at Hotel Surplus Outlet, above. Armoires and chests are also on hand in the Van Nuys showroom, left. Furnishings come from upscale hotels, including the Four Seasons, the Beverly Wilshire and Santa Monica's Oceana.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Box:

WHERE TO FIND IT (see text)