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BARTLESVILLESBEST Oklahoma

Less than an hour from Tulsa, The Inn at Price Tower is a prarie surprise--a 19 story jewel of a hotel in Bartlesville, which has a population of 35,000.

Of all the towers that Frank Lloyd Wright conceived, only this abstract edifice made it off the drawing board. Its 21 guest rooms are comparable to those in a big city Kimpton, with classic Wright lines and accents. The space age desk, the low slung teak beds, the pentagonal tile shower room all add to its appeal. The tile floors are in Wright's signature copper hue. Behind sheer olive curtains are windows that span the width and height of the suites, give a panoramic view of the nearby art deco brick and the shadow of distant rolling mountains.

Just below, the Bartlesville Community Center (which houses an opera and ballet) resembles a huge, rust-colored flying saucer with portholed windows. Finishing off the Jetsonian-Usonian look is the near-flat Sony Trinition T.V. set perched on a marble-topped teak stand. The art doesn't end in your room- there's an Arts Center inside.

Enjoy the endless view from the 16th floor's Fallingwater restaurant, which features filet mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, and a moist pecan crusted chicken, which you should follow with their apricot tart.

There's plenty to do in this oil town, acts such as Marvin Hamlisch and the play "Greater Tuna," visit the Community Center, and take a trip to Woolaroc. Yycoon Frank Phillips' country estate, offers everything from roamning bison and longhorn steer on a spacious preserve, an impressive Western heritage museum, and the luxury lodge where Frank entertained the likes of Will Rogers and President Truman. Don't skip town without checking out Phillips' primary residence- his personal upstairs bathroom had a refrigerator, barber chair, sauna, and a cigar lighter built into its wall. Now that's livin'.