If money could talk, it could recite a soliloquy about Los Angeles’ Westside. Flooded with cash and cachet, the Westside is home to exclusive communities like Bel-Air and Brentwood, ritzy shopping along Rodeo Drive and high-end dining in celebrity-rich West Hollywood.
“The bulk of our high-end products in the city are on the Westside,” says Michael Krouse, senior vice president of sales for LA Inc., The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s not a mixture of three-, four- and five-star, it’s mostly five-star. I think that’s an important distinction.”
There is also an increase of international demand regarding meetings on the Westside, according to Krouse, mostly due to the weak American dollar.
In an effort to attract more leisure and business travel, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Marina del Rey, and West Hollywood banded together two years ago to form the L.A. Westside Tourism Partnership.
“We work closely with Santa Monica, Marina del Rey and West Hollywood to position the Westside,” says Kathy Smits, executive director of the Beverly Hills CVB. “It’s nice to have a collaboration between four CVBs.”
Alison Best, director of sales for the Santa Monica CVB, says the CVBs are working together on the public relations side and making joint itinerary pitches to meeting professionals and incentive houses.
“We’re making the most of what the Westside has to offer,” Best says. “Each area has a unique product the others are not known for.”
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills shines for its celebrity sightings and star-studded dining, shopping and bar hopping.
Though the city’s couture and cultural appeal draws a sophisticated clientele, younger visitors are increasingly snooping around its restaurants and bars.
“What’s interesting is the stereotype, that some think Beverly Hills is too expensive, they can’t afford it, or it’s an older demographic. That’s what we try to combat,” Smits says, adding that one of the recent trends is nightlife inside the hotels, “which is fun for groups.”
Hot spots include Bar 1912 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Trader Vic’s at the Beverly Hilton and the Tower Bar at the Sunset Tower Hotel.
Though Rodeo Drive draws the most attention, more accessible and casual for visitors are the boutiques and restaurants along Beverly Drive and Canon Drive.
“There’s more to explore in Beverly Hills,” Smits says. “One of best things about Beverly Hills is you can walk everywhere.”
Other highlights include the Greystone Mansion, an old estate that sports million-dollar views of the city and is available for group rental. Groups can also book a ride on the Beverly Hills Trolley, a tour that spotlights some old homes of the stars.
The Beverly Hilton is the largest meetings hotel in town, with 55,000 square feet of space, and other options include Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel; Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills; and Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive.
West Hollywood
A-list bars, haute cuisine, galleries, and boutiques, combined with a progressive counterculture, make up the fabric of West Hollywood, or “WeHo.” Shopping mavens head to the Avenues of Art & Design District (Robertson Boulevard, Beverly Boulevard and Melrose Avenue), dining connoisseurs frequent La Cienaga’s restaurant row, while nightlife seekers go clubbing along Sunset Strip.
At less than two square miles, the city’s hotels are undergoing a Hollywood-worthy makeover.
“For a small city with 14 hotels, there are a lot of changes,” says Bill Hynes, vice president of sales and marketing for the West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau. “We’re getting a new stratosphere of clientele. Everybody is going high-end.”
West Hollywood offers 50,000 square feet of meeting space, more than 130 group-friendly restaurants and over 300 shops and boutiques.
Hotel openings include London West Hollywood, formerly the Bel Age Hotel, which debuted in April and includes private dining options courtesy of star chef Gordon Ramsay. Boutique hotel Palihouse Holloway opened early this year, offering meeting space and a rooftop for receptions.
Andaz, a new luxury chain run by Hyatt, is also in the works, and the hip Philippe Starck-designed SLS Hotel Los Angeles will replace Le Meridien later this fall.
Meanwhile, the Sunset Marquis Hotel and Villas debuted an additional 40 Mediterranean-style villas in February, and Hyatt West Hollywood is undergoing a $30 million transformation, including enhancements to its ballrooms and lobby, which are temporarily closed until the renovations are finished in November.
Other properties that have been renovated include the Le Parc Suite Hotel, Mondrian Los Angeles, Le Montrose Suite Hotel, and Ramada Plaza West Hollywood.
Groups can also take advantage of the Pacific Design Center, a 14-acre campus of buildings with meeting space.
VIP-style backstage tours of the Comedy Store club are possible as well as private access to the Foundation Room at the House of Blues and private shopping tours.
West L.A.
The West L.A. region, consisting of Culver City, Century City, Venice, Westwood, and Bel-Air, among other areas, is home to some of the city’s grandest attractions, including the Getty Center and Venice shopping hot spot Abbot-Kinney Boulevard. Culver City is also gaining ground as an art haven, with numerous galleries that can host group events, and the new restaurant Craft from celebrity chef Tom Colicchio is putting Century City on the culinary map.
Other off-site options for groups include the Hammer Museum in Westwood, UCLA campus and Skirball Cultural Center.
The region has a variety of meetings-friendly hotel options. Hotel Palomar, formerly a Doubletree, recently opened in Westwood. Other options include Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, which recently debuted the trendy X Bar; Sofitel Los Angeles; Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard Bel-Air; and Hotel Angeleno. InterContinental Century City also finished upgrades last year, while the secluded Hotel Bel-Air is also attractive for groups, mainly for incentives or retreats.
“The hotel is tucked away in a beautiful setting with a creek, and it’s all bungalows,” Krouse says. “If you want a high-end experience, you couldn’t ask for more. Oprah goes there. It’s a unique experience that can only happen in L.A.”
Santa Monica
For the quintessential SoCal beach experience, Santa Monica provides all the party favors, including surf, sun, sand, and the historic Santa Monica Pier, now sporting a new Ferris Wheel in time for the pier’s 2009 centennial celebration.
Yet Santa Monica defies its beachside boundaries. The city has all the trappings of a sophisticated urban center with some of L.A.’s most revered restaurants, shops and nightlife. It is also home to Bergamont Station, with 40 art galleries and open space for groups. The new Broad Stage, opening in August, will present live theater, and is partly founded by Dustin Hoffman, who will run a theater school there.
“It’s the best of both—a beautiful beach resort community but also the amenities of an urban city,” says the Santa Monica CVB’s Best. “There are amazing shopping boutiques, one-of-a-kind designers and galleries.”
The Santa Monica Place Mall, closed for two years, is being redeveloped into an open-air, high-end shopping mall.
Many of Santa Monica’s boutiques, restaurants and hotels are upscale.
“We are thinking we need to make a move into the incentive market,” Best says. “We just have so many properties falling into the luxury set, and there is a high caliber of dining and spa experiences.”
Some of Santa Monica’s meetings properties include Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Shutters Hotel on the Beach, The Fairmont Miramar Hotel, Casa del Mar Hotel by the Sea, and Le Merigot–A JW Marriott Hotel and Spa. The Shangri-La Hotel is reopening by early fall following a $25 million renovation.
Marina del Rey
Sun and sailing are the hallmarks of tranquil Marina del Rey, a short hop from the Los Angeles International Airport.
Cruise companies FantaSea Yachts and Yacht Club and Hornblower Cruises and Events cater to groups looking for water-based excursions, whether it’s a team-building sailing regatta race or a posh dinner cruise.
For its small size, Marina del Rey features a large share of meetings-oriented properties. The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey recently opened a spa and offers special spa programs for groups staying at the hotel.
Other properties include Marina del Rey Marriott, Marina del Rey Hotel and Marina del Rey International Hotel and Bungalows.
Malibu
Stretching along more than 20 miles of the Pacific, Malibu offers respite from L.A.’s freeways and urban setting with a lineup of alluring beaches and park areas.
“The advantage of Malibu is the quiet serenity of either the ocean or the mountains,” says Rebekah Evans, CEO of the Malibu Chamber of Commerce. “Malibu is a very unique place. Coastal breezes, incredible sunsets—you get all the five senses covered.”
The area is a natural for groups.
“We are not pushing for groups because they come anyway,” Evans says. “We don’t have a lot of meeting space, however what we do have is very high-end.”
One of the main meetings properties is the upscale Malibu Beach Inn, while the Malibu Performing Arts Center, formerly a church, offers seating for up to 500. Nearby, though not on the water, the Calamigos Ranch has conference space for up to 2,000. The Villa Graziadio Executive Center is part of Pepperdine University and has meeting space for up to 500. Additionally, the Malibu COC is planning to open a visitor center that will have a conference room.
For More Info
Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau 310.248.1000 www.lovebeverlyhills.org
Century City COC 310.553.222 www.centurycitycc.com
LA Inc., The Los Angeles CVB 213.624.7300 www.discoverlosangeles.com
L.A. Westside Tourism Partnership www.westla.com
Malibu COC 310.456.9025 www.malibu.org
Marina del Rey CVB 310.306.9900 www.visitmarina.com
Santa Monica CVB 310.319.6263 www.santamonicameetings.com
West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau 310.289.2525 www.visitwesthollywood.com
