Welcome to the hotel Canoga Park?

IF Tim Alexander has his way, business travelers to the San Fernando Valley won't ever have to stay in a chain-operated hotel again.

No more faded floral print bedspreads. No more beige curtains. No more hunter green carpeting or long hallways to an elevator that seems to never arrive.

You could say that Alexander, a Los Angeles condo developer, aspires to be the Valley's version of Ian Schrager. He's the guy responsible for taking a string of old, rundown and, in some cases, abandoned hotels along the east end of the Sunset Strip and transforming them into what's come to be known as boutique hotels.

The concept of a boutique hotel is viable, industry experts say, provided you know your market. They have been cropping up in cities across the continent over the last decade. And they are growing increasingly popular with certain business travelers because of their funky juxtaposition of urban settings with trendy decor and whimsical amenities, such as tarot card readings, music lending libraries and in-room sound machines that help lull the weary traveler to sleep.

Hoping to do for the Valley what Schrader and others have done for places like the west side of L.A., Alexander has sunk roughly $1 million into renovating the former Clarion Suites Hotel on Sherman Way in Canoga Park. Four months ago he opened The Alexander Hotel, which now features original artwork by Valley artists in the lobby and a separate gallery for buyers or those who simply love to look.

All 95 rooms, some of which are suites or junior suites with kitchenettes, wet bars and high speed Internet access, also feature art from the gallery, wrought iron, four-poster beds with canopies, and silky down comforters.

The old cafe is now Cavaliere Ristorante & Bar, flanked by a small piano bar and common meeting space. And the once concrete and otherwise nondescript courtyard is now a lush tropical setting, with giant banana palms, birds of paradise and a soothing Spanish fountain.

"It's clearly not the same hotel," says Alexander. "But we don't want it to be. We want to offer the business traveler, or all guests who come here, a unique experience apart from the commercial hotel stay."

Alexander bought the Clarion Suites Hotel in 2000 as an investment. (He declined to say how much he paid.) While still in escrow, Clarion's contract ran out and the hotel became a Red Lion, part of the Hilton chain. Alexander stayed with that for about a year and a half, until the chain downgraded the hotel to an Embassy Suites unit, at which point he decided he'd had enough.

"We were already on the path to do an independent brand," Alexander said. "We felt we could do more on our own in creating a unique concept."

But the concept is tricky to market, says one industry expert. And, while it's worked successfully in many cities, it doesn't mean it's going to work anywhere.

"In the lodging industry you'll find a lot of trends get started, and you'll find that a lot of people try to copy those trends, but it doesn't always work," said Jim Abrams, executive vice president of the California Hotel & Lodging Association. "The boutique concept is very popular, and very viable for some, and more and more business travelers are looking for a different experience from the cookie cutter hotel room. But you have to do some very serious marketing beforehand, and you have to know who your potential guests will be. Otherwise, you've really missed the mark."

Boutique hotels typically do well in clusters, such as San Francisco's waterfront or Miami's South Beach. The Alexander is a stand-alone situated between a moving and storage company and some residential and commercial properties near Winnetka Avenue.

Alexander markets the hotel as a Warner Center entity, and he says it's paid off: roughly 75 percent of the hotel's guests are doing business somewhere in that cluster, he said. However, it is a good two and a half miles away and, if proximity means anything to a guest, the Alexander can't compete with the Warner Center Marriott or the Hilton Woodland Hills.

Indeed, it's been a tough year for The Alexander and hotels across the board. The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 brought business travel to a standstill for weeks. The industry is just now beginning to recover, albeit at a pace that isn't likely to change dramatically for some time.

Alexander says occupancy rates have remained in the 60 percent to 75 percent range for months. PKF Consulting, which polls Los Angeles area hotels monthly, said average hotel occupancy rates in the San Fernando Valley for June (the most recent data) were 75 percent, down from 80 percent a year ago.

Revenues for August this year, Alexander said, were down $5,000 from August 2001. He's projecting revenues for this year of roughly $1.6 million.

Rooms start at $95 a night; suites range from $139 to $149. For an extra $20, guests can get the European Plan, which includes breakfast and a lunch or dinner at Cavaliere.

In addition to the business traveler, Alexander says his goal is to tap the entertainment market, particularly ancillary companies with Valley headquarters. He'll have some competition: Music industry executives and lower-budgeted film companies who don't head to the Westside typically stay at the Van Nuys Airport-based Airtel Plaza Hotel, primarily because it's close to where they fly in and out of.

Besides attracting guests from companies such as Boeing, Flame Enterprises, Countrywide Mortgage and Panasonic, the Alexander has hosted The Harlem Globetrotters, producers from The 5th Wheel Television Show and, in a few days, will open its doors to all of the contestants in the Mrs. & Miss Black America Beauty pageant, which will be held in late September at the Madrid Theatre, also in Canoga Park.

The hotel and the Madrid are also linked in a city-sponsored arts partnership program: visitors to the theatre can see some of the artwork commissioned by the Alexander.

"There's a huge low-profile entertainment business market for hoteliers in the Valley besides the Alrtel," said Alexander;

One example of that is Canoga Park Rumbo Recorders, a recording studio owned by Daryl Dragon, also known as "Captain" of the Captain and Tennille singing duo.

Vicky Smith is the studio manager and responsible for booking accommodations for musicians. coming in from out of town to record. She says one thing her clients like about The Alexander, aside from its proximity to the studio, is the fact that the hotel offers an extended stay package, but not one that comes wrapped with the trappings of a larger, commercial property, where they have to make their own beds and clean their own rooms.

Burbank got its own version of a boutique with the opening of the Graciela Hotel roughly five months ago.

The 90-room hotel in the city's media district offers rooms starting at $170, a rooftop sundeck with Jacuzzi, a library where lunch is served in the daytime, cocktails at night, a breakfast room, full concierge service, a business center, high tea and free shuffles to the studios. Jerome Strack, the hotel's general manger, said the hotel's aim is to give studio executives an alternative to the Strip or the Westside. But he admits, some business travelers still want their mileage points and the anonymity of a big commercial property.

"What we can do as boutiques is provide personalized service, and there's no reason why a guest should come through our doors and our staff not know their name," said Strack.