LIKE IT? IT'S YOURS THIS TRAVEL EXPERT ENJOYS HIS STAY EVEN WHEN HE GETS BACK HOME.

Byline: Barbara De Witt  Staff Writer

Travel expert Peter Greenberg has never taken a hotel ash tray or towel in his life.

Yet the 51-year-old bachelor's Sherman Oaks home is filled with items from at least 47 hotels around the globe.

``I never took towels ... they weren't good enough ... and I don't smoke so never cared about ash trays ... but the Savoy in London has the best terry-cloth robes,'' says Greenberg, travel editor on NBC's ``Today Show'' and author of the hefty new paperback ``The Travel Detective'' (Villard; $15.95), which is also the name of his weekly radio program, airing at 8 a.m. Saturday on KABC-AM (790).

So, instead of dust-collecting tchotchkes, Greenberg prefers utilitarian souvenirs of the world's best hotels that reflect his decorating taste.

``When you travel 400,000 miles a year,'' says Greenberg, also chief correspondent for the Discovery Network's Travel Channel, ``you know what does and doesn't work in a hotel. So, when I find something I like, I say I want to buy it. But I'm not talking about decorative items, as the things I buy are all about function and substance - not style.''

Everything in a hotel is for sale, he says, whether it's directly from the hotel or from its supplier. You only have to ask, and the management may even offer you a catalog with all the prices.

Even so, designing a house with the stuff takes a certain kind of person.

``I'm sure his home represents the best of the best because this man has the most discerning eye for comfort and service and detail. He knows what makes a difference,'' says Bruce Tracy, Greenberg's book editor.

Longtime friend and fellow travel expert Rudy Maxa (the original host of ``The Savvy Traveler'' on public radio), says he was skeptical when he heard Greenberg's design idea. ``I thought it was going to be a hodge- podge, but it came off smoothly, incorporating elements of various cultures.''

Evidence of his travels and taste starts at Greenberg's front door, where there's one of many door handles from the St. Regis Hotel in New York.

Instead of ringing a bell, you pull a string that emits a riverboat whistle from a box on the other side of the door. ``That's from the Mississippi Queen, which is a hotel, too,'' he quips, as we step onto a spacious maple floor from the Sheraton Stockholm in Sweden.

Pointing to the floor, he comments, ``I figured if the floor could stand up to the traffic of a hotel, it would hold up well in my home ... and that little piece of dark wood in the center, well, that's from the original floor of this house, before it was leveled after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.''

That sentimental touch, plus the door knob from the original structure that's integrated into a crushed tile design on the patio, indicate Greenberg is not entirely about function.

And then there's the ``Media'' sign over the sink in one of the bathrooms. ``I liked it because I'm in the media business, but actually it's a train station sign from Media, Pa. But the blue sink is from the Hotel Europa & Regina in Venice, Italy,'' he fondly recalls.

While there, he also admired the hand-blown glass drawer pulls in the same shade of blue, so he bought dozens for his 4,300-square-foot home.

But the master bathroom down the hall is where his favorite hotel finds are. First, there's the giant shower head - the size of a dinner plate - he bought for $240 at the Savoy in London. He laughs and says they'd never sold them before he inquired, but now anyone can order one.

Another point of interest in this huge room are a spa-style tub from the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and the adjoining glass wall that allows him to soak in the tub and see down the hall to the kitchen. He's still tickled about the window, which becomes opaque at the touch of a button. ``When I saw the bathroom in the Princeville Hotel in Kauai, I noticed there weren't any blinds ... but I eventually found the button and pushed it. And I kept pushing it ... I love it and I figured that if everybody who stayed there did the same thing, then it probably was well-made. So I bought it, too.''

His California king-size bed is another hotel discovery. It's a $1,600 Sealy mattress from the Four Seasons Hotel New York that Greenberg claims is the best bed he's ever slept on during his 25-year career.

His walk-in closet with an unusual vertical drawer for his ties? It's from the Oriental Bangkok, Thailand. Next to it is the study with a huge clock from the lobby of the Hilton Hotel in Akron, Ohio; a game machine from the airport in Sydney, Australia, and a teak desk from the Regent Bangkok. The guest room that he refers to as the Upgrade Room has a pair of gray leather seats from the first-class section of a DC-10.

The kitchen, another huge room with an island and built-in bar that serves as a partition, has an international flavor. The granite counters are from the Hyatt Hotel Aryaduta Jakarta, the brass faucets and stainless steel sink from the Four Seasons in Chicago, and the stove and refrigerator from the chef's kitchen in The Mark in New York, while the old-fashioned white stove is a keepsake from his previous home in San Francisco.

In the dining room is a table from the presidential suite at the Century Plaza in Los Angeles, teak cabinets from the Regent Bangkok and more Venetian glass from the Hotel Europa & Regina.

Returning to the light-flooded Asian-themed living room, where the tour began, one finds sofas and chairs from the Regent Bangkok and the Peninsula Manila, with a half-moon-shaped table from the Century Plaza that holds a 1920s telephone with Chinese characters on the dial that Greenberg brought home from Hong Kong's original Peninsula Hotel. It, like all the other vintage phones in his home, work well, but you have to dial 9 first.

The Zen mood continues through the French doors and down to a long, narrow pool with a waterfall.

``I was at the Westin Resort St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and saw the pool, and I asked who built it. And we got the specs and copied it, complete with the fiber optics that subtly change colors at night,'' he says.

The walkway is studded with real airport lights, and nearby is his built- in barbecue inset with a tile that says, ``You can if you want,'' in Portuguese.

``It's my motto, and I never had a hotel that said, 'No, you can't,' '' Greenberg says with a smile.

But can you buy those little mints for your pillow?

Most hotels expect you to take ash trays as souvenirs, but travel experts will tell you it's more polite to ask. The management will usually charge you anyway because they keep track of the inventory.

Crazy about the the shower head, the breakfast tray, the bathrobe or maybe the mattress?

Peter Greenberg, author of ``The Travel Detective'' (Villard; $15.95) says everything in a hotel is for sale, but you have to ask.

For those too honest to snitch a pillowcase and too timid to ask the price, several hotels have created in-room retail catalogs so you can shop at your leisure. Others sell through the hotel gift shop.

Bellagio in Las Vegas, which actually ran out of ash trays and decided to discontinue them, says the most requested items are shot glasses for $7 and the specially designed Serta beds, priced at $1,600 (including delivery and setup) for a king size. There's no catalog, but Bellagio's Tutto gift shop will sell you anything in the hotel. They can be reached at [phone].

Robert Redford's Sundance Hotel, located in Sundance, Utah, also has its own catalog so you can order the same rustic furniture that you saw in your room, as well as the clothing and handmade jewelry available in the hotel gift shop. To order the catalog, call the hotel at [phone] or fax them at [phone].

The Savoy in London got so many requests for its super-size shower heads that Greenberg says is his favorite hotel item, that they're now for sale. For information, call [phone] or fax them at [phone]. They accept most major credit cards.

Westin Hotels had so many requests for its custom-designed pillow-topped Heavenly Bed (trademarked) that a complete catalog was created with prices ranging from $700 for a twin size to $1,300 for a California king mattress. Inside its Heavenly catalog are pillows, blankets, sheets and a bed skirt so you can feel like you're still on vacation. And then there's the wooden bed tray with folding legs made by Portico for Westin that's $165 (pancakes not included). To order the catalog, call [phone] or go to the Web site at www.westin-hotelsathome.com. They even gift wrap!

The Plaza in New York doesn't have a catalog, so you'll have to talk to the manager about beds and such. But if you're still miffed that you forgot to pick up an ashtray or bath mat from your last visit, you can order one from the hotel gift shop. The ash tray is $15; the mat, $20. To order, call [phone].

The W Catalog represents signature items and luxury gifts from all of its hotels, including Westin, Sheraton, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis and Four Points. Among the offerings are those silver-plated trays (priced at $20) they use for the water carafe and glass on the bedside table. Forgot to buy a ball cap while you were there? This catalog has them in black for $20. To order, call [phone] or go online at www.whotels-hotelsathome.com.

Restoration Hardware stores don't have items from any specific hotel, but its catalog and store often carry hotel-quality items such as a hotel coffee server that you'll recognize from your travels. It's authentic, made of extra-heavy silverplate and big enough to hold six cups of coffee. Restoration Hardware also has matching creamers.

- Barbara De Witt

CAPTION} Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- cover -- color) Greenberg relaxes in a leather seat from the first-class section of a DC-10. The pale maple flooring of his living room is from the Sheraton Stockholm. The dark wood accent at the entry is from the home's original floor, which was demolished in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

(3 -- color) His tranquil pool is an exact replica of one he liked at the Westin Resort St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

(4 -- color) Greenberg's bed, which he thinks is the best hotel bed he's slept in during his 25 years of traveling, is from the Four Seasons Hotel New York.

(5 -- color) This is where friends usually congregate, says Greenberg of his huge kitchen. The refrigerator is from the chef's kitchen at the Mark in New York, while the old-fashioned white stove is from his previous home in San Francisco. The granite counters are from the Hyatt Hotel Aryaduta Jakarta.

(6 -- 7 -- color) The master bathroom, left, has Greenberg's favorite hotel souvenir, a fabulous shower head from the Savoy in London with fixtures from the Hotel George V in Paris. The guest bathroom, above, is called the Media Room; the plaque is a train station sign from Media, Pa., and the bright blue sink is from the Hotel Europa & Regina in Venice. The mirror? He just liked it, he says.

(8 -- color) Hand-blown glass drawer pulls from the Hotel Europa & Regina in Venice, Italy.

(9 -- color) no caption (Travel Expert Peter Greenberg)

The master bathroom has Greenberg's favorite hotel souvenir, a fabulous shower head from the Savoy in London with fixtures from the Hotel George V in Paris.

(10) One of many antique phones in Greenberg's home, this one is from the original Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, resting on a table from the Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

(11) The orderly built-in closet features a special drawer for his ties, modeled after one he used at the Oriental Bangkok in Thailand.

Photos by Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Box: But can you buy those little mints for your pillow? (see text)

CAPTION(S):

11 photos, box