Crowne Plaza Hotel Ventura Beach (formerly Holiday Inn) 450 EAST HARBOR VENTURA, CALIFORNIA 93001 UNITED STATES  Property Type:  Resort - Beach Rating:  AAA 3 Diamond Guest rooms:  260   Ventura, Calif.-- Ventura is a lovely seaside city with arts, culture, beaches galore, excellent dining, entertainment and a charming downtown. It offers a great weekend getaway or weekday vacation in a mellow, lovely city. Be sure to visit the mission, the County Museum, the adobe, and beaches, of course.   THE PERFECT WEEKEND GETAWAY FOR SAN DIEGO, ORANGE COUNTY, INLAND EMPIRE, CENTRAL COAST RESIDENTS AND WORLD GUESTS...lies along the Central California Coast in Ventura. We drove by the hotel well over 100 times on our trips along Highway 101 and were always interested in this place.  It is right on the ocean, overlooking Ventura pier and the Channel Islands.    Downtown Ventura shops, theatres and the mission are only two blocks away and an easy walk, there's an Amtrak train stop across the street from the hotel, the fairgrounds down the road a short distance and outlet shopping not far from here in Oxnard and Camarillo.    We hesitated to tell people about this because we like the rates and realize that they go up when a hotel fills its rooms. We can't help but share this gem, however.  It has restaurants on premise and overlooks a seafood restaurant at the pier, as well. There are surrey rentals and a beautiful paved path that runs along the hotel to the pier and past some condominiums nearby.    The swimming pool overlooks the ocean and pier where you can watch surfers who prefer the wave breaks along this section of coast.  In fact, we noticed several hotel guests had surf board racks on their automobiles. It is a gorgeous spot, right off the freeway and rated with a AAA three star.  Directions:  101 North Exit California Street. 101 South Exit Ventura Avenue. Located on the Beach. Area Airport:    Oxnard (OXN) , Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) approx. 1.25 hours drive, Burbank approx. 50 minutes Area Attractions around Crowne Plaza Hotel Ventura Beach  Ventura Pier  Ventura Harbor for Boat Tours - 2 miles County Fairgrounds - 2 blocks Golf and Tennis - 5 minutes Oxnard Airport, Lake Casitas - 15 miles Santa Barbara - 22 miles Restaurants nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel Ventura Beach Seafare Restaurant - on site Breakers for Live Entertainment -on site Bayview Lounge - on site