BuckBusters.

From suites and opera to wine-country ballooning--eight perk packages that give you a lot more for your money

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA Inn at the Opera, San Francisco 

You may find yourself sharing the hall with Placido Domingo and other in-the-know performers at this hip hideaway just a stroll away from the War Memorial Opera House and the Museum of Modern Art. Intimate and sophisticated, the Inn sports 30 rooms and 18 suites, all with half-canopy beds, sitting areas and wet bars, as well as Act IV, a restaurant and lounge with a classical pianist. Its special overnight package includes a deluxe room (normally $134 per night), a prime reserved seat for an opera, symphony or ballet performance (a $50 value), four-course dinner by chef Mark Murray and a European-style breakfast buffet, plus a real rarity in San Francisco--free overnight parking. $167 per person. Call 415-863-8400 or 800-423-9610.

FOODIE FEST Temecula Creek Inn, Temecula

Tequila lobster bisque with roasted corn, grilled T-bone veal chop smothered in merlot shiitake mushrooms, all the local wine you can drink . . . With Temecula's "Wine Country Dinner" package, the food alone is worth the price of admission. Located in the heart of the southern wine country inland from San Diego, the luxurious inn offers three days and two nights (Sunday through Tuesday) in a double room overlooking the championship golf course (normally $105 per night), two breakfasts and two four-course gourmet dinners by chef Steve Fohl, plus a tour of local wine country, including a lavish picnic lunch and tastings at such vineyards as Callaway, Maurice Carrie and Cilurzo. Golf will cost a little, but it's worth it--the original 18-hole course has been expanded with the addition of 9 challengers designed by Ted Robinson. $179 per person. Call 800-962-7335.

GRAPES & HOT AIR Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford

At the eastern edge of Napa Valley, set within an olive grove and gardens on 33 acres of Rutherford Hill, this superdeluxe French country inn is the wine country's class act, with 48 rooms and suites and its famed restaurant, where Udo Nechutny, whose training includes Maxim's in Paris and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, presides. The tony "Sunrise Balloon" package, available Sunday through Thursday, offers the ultimate romantic adventure: a top-of-the-line suite (normally $445 to $495 per night), complete with cozy fireplace, kingsize bed, down pillows, lots of tasty snacks and a bottle of Auberge's own cabernet sauvignon, plus a two-hour sunrise balloon ride over the verdant vineyards of Napa--not to mention champagne brunch. Afterward, you can kick back on the deck around the inn's Olympic-size pool or relax with a massage in the spa. $690 per couple; additional nights, $395. Call 707-963-1211.

ART AT THE BEACH Surf & Sand Resort, Laguna Beach 

Get artsy and tanned at one of the few Southern California hotels that's actually on the beach. The longtime hub for the posh seaside art crowd, the resort's "Pageant of the Masters" package not only includes a deluxe double room with marble bath, whirlpool tub and a balcony overlooking the surf (normally about $225 per night), a bottle of champagne and full breakfast, but you also get two main-tier seats and transportation to the hot-ticket pageant, where locals pose in still-life recreations of classic paintings and sculptures. The pageant runs July 10-August 30 at Irvine Bowl Park. $265 per couple. Call 714-497-4477.

THE TENNIS PIG-OUT Rancho Valencia Resort, Rancho Santa Fe

A few miles inland from the north coast of San Diego County, this place has become a haven for the tennis power set, with 18 courts, a world-renowned clinic and 40 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, plus a restaurant that boasts the culinary creations of its internationally acclaimed consultant chef, Bradley Ogden, formerly of Campton Place, and resident chef Salvatore Petrolino. The three-day, two-night "Epicurean Escape" package gets you one of the resort's beamed-ceiling casitas with private terrace, fireplace and wet bar (normally $295 per night); three days of breakfasts, lunches and gourmet dinners; croquet courts, pool and health spa--and lots of tennis, with a full staff of pros on hand to help you with your form. $795 per couple. (All taxes and restaurant gratuities are included.) Call 619-756-1123.

A ROOM WITH A RACE Sheraton Grande Torrey Pines, La Jolla

Feeling regal? How about this tony resort's "Sport of Kings" package? You get a deluxe double overlooking the ocean and lushly landscaped gardens near the 18th fairway of the Torrey Pines Golf Course (normally $135 to $195 per night), two full breakfasts, butler service, three lighted tennis courts, huge outdoor heated pool and one of the best restaurants in the San Diego area, the Torreyanna Grille, which specializes in southwestern cuisine. Add admission and reserved seating in the clubhouse at legendary Del Mar Racetrack, as well as limo transportation to and from the races. The 1992 season runs July 29-September 16. $185 per night. Call 619-558-1500.

LINKS & LOOKS Westin Mission Hills Resort, Rancho Mirage

The perfect antidote for weekend golf widows, this new Moroccan-style oasis on 360 acres adjacent to the upscale Mission Hills Country Club next door to the Springs boasts Pete Dye and Gary Player--designed golf courses, seven lighted tennis courts and a 500-seat stadium court, three swimming pools (one measures 6,000 square feet and has a 60-foot water slide) and a children's recreation center--all surrounded by secluded private estates. Its unusual four-day, three-night "Golf & Beauty" package offers something for both of you: The golfer in the family gets one round every day, while the beauty seeker gets $230 worth of treatments at the resort's Aida Grey Salon, plus daily lunch at El Chiquita Cafe. You also get one of the 512 oversize rooms with panoramic views of the fairways and the surrounding mountains (normally $165 per night) and continental breakfasts. $925, May 31-July 4; $860, July 5-August 29. Call 619-328-5955.

OPERA IN THE WOODS Big Bear Inn, Big Bear Lake

Where else are you going to find Greek architecture, Italian opera--and whispering pines? Opened by Paul Rizos, whose family owns three luxury hotels on the Greek island of Corfu, the 78-room inn sports lots of marble, Venetian-glass chandeliers and Byzantine icons--right below the slopes of Bear Mountain. A two-night "Weekend Opera" package celebrating Rossini's 200th birthday--yes, that's right--gives you a double room with king-size bed (normally $100 per night), Italian (what else?) wines and dinner at the inn's Orpheus restaurant, which specializes in Italian and continental cuisine. Top it off with two tickets to a Saturday evening lecture and concert in the elegant ballroom, featuring a roster of local and international artists performing Rossini's greatest hits. $230 per couple. Call 714-866-3471.