Southern California makes bid to be the Riviera of the U.S.: new resorts lure travelers with promise of pampered luxury.

Southern California's resort market began more than a century ago with lodging like San Diego's Hotel del Coronado. In those days, it was usually celebrities who benefited from special service at top-notch resorts. Today, families with young children are just as likely to be found at a five-star resort as that celebrity couple. And don't be surprised if Fido comes along, too.

Sure, celebrities still congregate in places like Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara and Palm Springs. But in the past decade, Southern California's resorts have reached out to a broader segment of the affluent market with new resorts dotting the coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego. Urban resorts--often more limited in physical size--have added spas and services to suit the most finicky guests, while desert resorts have sprung up around the active lifestyles of golf, tennis and other recreation.

Some believe the new California Riviera is poised to rival even the most intrepid resort district--the French Riviera--as a destination attractive to travelers throughout the world.

From Santa Barbara to San Diego and east to the deserts, this vibrant region offers a diverse range of resort products and spas to cater to every whim. Caviar may welcome guests at one resort, while a personal butler does the unpacking at another. At some, a private phone number is assigned to repeat guests. Horseback riding, ropes courses, kayaking and mountain biking are just some of the amenities travelers can find at resorts in the region. And a plethora of spa treatments are designed to pamper stressed-out executives typically on call 24/7.

There are signs that pampering is exactly what affluent Americans seek. The hospitality industry may have suffered since 9/11, but top-tier lodgings have maintained an occupancy rate of about 61% in the past year as of June 1.

Individual portfolios that not too long ago soared in value may look more vulnerable at today's prices, but their owners still want to travel.

To that end, the California resorts are poised to draw this affluent market, according to Peter Yesawich, president and chief executive of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell, a Florida marketing and consulting firm that analyzes travel trends.

Yesawich said about one third of high-net worth individuals (those whose net worth exceeds $1 million) reside in the U.S.

These are consumers who view vacations as a birthright, have the means to travel and are looking for unique, quality experiences. Many luxury travelers are time-starved, dual-professional families who want to reward themselves for the work they've done. They want quality experiences, they want personalized experiences and they want to be pampered. But they also want good value in return.

"Just because you have a high net worth doesn't mean you want to overpay," Yesawich said at a recent travel industry conference.

Like many other Americans in a post-9/11 world, even affluent travelers are sticking closer to home and taking the whole family along when they go.

With new resorts like Bacara in Santa Barbara, a string of beachfront properties in Santa Monica, the Grand Californian in Anaheim, Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, Balboa Bay Club, Montage and St. Regis in Orange County and the Lodge at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Southern California is poised to cater to this home-grown market. What's more, Southern California boasts 55 resorts and full-service hotels that bear a four- or five-star or diamond rating. They range from Art Deco '30s-era boutique hotels to full-scale resorts. And a host of new as-yet unrated properties wait in the wings to join them.

Many of the new resorts opened to less-than-perfect market conditions. But a drive-in market of about 21 million people, a trend toward shorter getaway vacations, the lingering hassle factor of air travel and the fact that 84% of California's tourists come from other parts of the state combine to bode well for the California Riviera's future.

Southern California's climate, diverse geography and variety of resort properties also contribute to its appeal. From working ranch resorts and remote desert hideaways to urban chic or waterfront living, Southem California has a resort for all seasons.

Meeting planners today are seeking value and unique experiences--and they are increasingly turning to resort properties to provide it.

Planners say that the higher rates they may pay at a resort are worth it for the service they get in return. And so you'll now find state-of-the-art conference centers with video walls, on-site screening rooms with full dressing room facilities and 'coffee breaks' that consist of yoga instead of caffeine.

Meeting planners also like an all-inclusive resort where attendees don't have to worry about transportation. Resorts within walking distance of shopping and dining districts are in particular favor. But so are those with full-service spas, onsite marinas and golf.

"Golf is important, but a spa is gaining," said Bret Jarvis, partner in Laguna Beach-based International Site Alliance. "People are looking for a destination spa."

Whether that spa is on the beach, downtown or in the desert doesn't matter--it's the destination as a whole that matters the most.

A spring 2003 lodging forecast by Ernst & Young suggested that Southern California will be the leader in helping to overcome the state's budget woes. San Diego's hotels outperformed other leading U.S. markets in 2002 and Orange County outperformed other California lodging markets last year. So it wouldn't be surprising if the upscale resort market of the new Riviera makes other areas sit up and take notice this year and in the future.