The Gila and Colorado rivers create lakes and valleys as they flow through western Arizona, providing miles of coastline and lakefront real estate in the Mojave Desert. On enormous water reservoirs and lakes, visitors dine on houseboats and canoe through
gorges and canyons. Cities rise along riverbanks, where travelers enjoy oasis-like settings surrounded by arid landscapes.
Yuma
Situated at the confluence of the two rivers in the southwest corner of the state, Yuma is the gateway to “Arizona’s West Coast.” It’s also one of Arizona’s most fertile agricultural regions and one of the West’s most historical cities.
The Guinness Book of World Records cites Yuma as the sunniest place on Earth, with 339 bright days a year and less than three inches of rainfall annually. Sun-seekers find golf courses, river tours, Native American and Mexican cultural centers, astonishing wildlife encounters and a city in the midst of a major redevelopment project.
The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area became the first federally designated heritage area west of the Mississippi in 2000, and has been a catalyst for change along the historic riverfront. The first phase of the downtown riverfront redevelopment is under way, with a 150-room Hilton Garden Inn and 18,000-square-foot conference center scheduled to open this fall. In all, roughly $100 million in private investment is being poured into the redevelopment, including residential, office and retail projects.
Elsewhere in Yuma, five new hotels are set to open this year, including a 120-room Holiday Inn Express, a 90-room Candlewood Suites, a 76-room Wingate and an 81-room Marriott Townplace. In addition, the Cocopah Indian Tribe will open a 101-room hotel and a 3,000-square-foot conference center adjacent to its casino just south of Yuma.
Yuma’s venues and tour options are truly unique. Parks and wetlands throughout the region offer opportunities for hiking, canoeing and excellent bird watching, while walking tours of Yuma’s historic districts can end with a medieval candlelight banquet at Old St. Paul’s Church, built in 1909. Attendees can cruise the Colorado River on a paddleboat or a jet boat and check out petroglyphs and a miner’s cabin, or dine amid towering sand dunes at sunset.
Lake Havasu City
With a 45-mile-long lake and rugged desert peaks as a backdrop, Lake Havasu City pleases water lovers and landlubbers with its bountiful amusements.
The London Bridge, purchased by the city’s founder in 1986 for more than $2 million, is certainly the city’s most striking landmark. The English village at the water’s edge is another surprise, as are the gondolas gliding beneath the bridge at sunset.
“There are a wide variety of venues, which pleasantly surprises a lot of planners,” says Jarrod Lyman, vice president of the Lake Havasu City CVB.
A total of six properties, including the beachfront Nautical Inn Resort and Conference Center, have meeting facilities. Nautical Inn’s 5,600 square feet of indoor meeting space and three outdoor spaces are complemented by an onsite waterpark and the 18-hole executive Havasu Island Golf Course.
Perched atop a hill on 110 waterfront acres overlooking the Bridgewater Channel and the bridge, the London Bridge Resort offers 10,000 square feet of meeting space and patios, lawns and gardens. More than 12,000 square feet of meeting space is available at the C.V. Wood Community Center, named for the famed designer of the city (who also played a key role in the design of Disneyland). Waterslides and wave pools are added attractions at the center, providing amusing escapes from work.
“As you might expect, Lake Havasu City has a very aquatic culture,” Lyman says. “As a result, we offer one-of-a-kind meeting events and recreation possibilities.”
Planners can arrange receptions on houseboats on the sparkling waters of Lake Havasu or sunset cruises on the Dixie Belle paddle wheeler.
Lyman says affordability and high service standards are among Lake Havasu City’s other top selling points for groups.
“Lake Havasu City truly is an affordable meetings destination,” he says. “A lot of the contributing costs aren’t as high here as they are in a lot of major metropolitan areas. But while you are paying less, you aren’t losing out on any value. In addition to broadcasting our reputation as a total adventure destination, we emphasize Lake Havasu City’s commitment to event service and assistance—as a place where business and pleasure can truly come together.”
