My husband and I are looking for a place to relax for a few days before visiting his parents in Los Angeles in Mid-March. We'll both be recovering from big exams. We are open to any place that's accessible from LA - Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, San Diego...We'd love to find a nice place with a spa, some good restaurants/shopping near by. Hubby is into golf - but I can live without it. I looked at the websites for La Costa and Ojai Resort but it's way too pricey for us. We don't want to spend much more than $200/night. Any recs would be greatly appreciated!

How about the Paradise Point Resort & Spa? It's in the Mission Bay area. I haven't been to their spa, but it is a nice hotel property, good sized rooms -the property sprawls over a fair amount of space. Good restaurants. Relatively close to downtown San Diego...

Also, about La Costa. Did you check the Expedia, Travelocity, et al? It looks like they have some special rates.

This might still be out of your budget (although I think there are some rooms for close to $200), but my former boss used to love getaways at The Simpson House in Santa Barbara. They really enjoyed the spa services and amenities offered there, plus being close to shopping and restaurants. However, they typically stayed in the more expensive rooms (yeah, while we toiled away at the office ), so I don't know how the other ones compare.

Check out Travelzoo Specials they are offering great deals on properties in S.Calif. See Estancia de la Jolla for half price at about $169.00per night, this site is great for their weekly specials.www.travelzoo.com
Good luch

The Renaissance in the Palm Springs area has a nice looking spa...

If the Estancia has a spa, that'd be a great spot. A pretty hotel!

Mid March is high-high season in the desert, so unlikely you will find anything at a reasonable rate there.

A nice Resort and Spa in Palm Desert, is the Las Palmas Marriott. It's one of our favorite spas in the desert. Will probably be busy Easter week.

http://spalaspalmas.com/