The Central California Coast continues to be a midsize meetings mecca, whether your pleasure is small seaside getaways, wineries or culinary adventures. The area comprising San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties is witnessing a lot of change, with an expanding list of hotels and off-site venue options for groups. In spite of all the growth, the region retains its unique identity: inimitable California cool.
San Luis Obispo County
A wealth of attractions lures groups to San Luis Obispo County, or “SLO” County, a region containing some 15 towns. Its central location is one big selling point.
“We are only about a four-hour drive from San Francisco or Los Angeles, which is really convenient for people,” says Sarah Gomez, sales and marketing coordinator for the San Luis Obispo Visitors and Conference Bureau. “We have an airport in San Luis Obispo, and it’s a quick flight from those two cities or from Las Vegas and Phoenix. It’s a great getaway for groups wanting to relax and leave the big city.”
That brings us to the destination’s other big charm for planners: SLO’s slower pace. Picturesque beaches and its strong agricultural tradition, namely winegrowing, keep the vibe easygoing.
The county is the third-largest producer of wine in California behind Napa and Sonoma.
“I hear from people saying that Napa is always so packed with travelers,” Gomez says. “I think the San Luis Obispo region offers relief from all that and gives groups a unique experience: to check out the amazing wine-tasting venues and enjoy the Pacific Ocean.”
Two of the many wineries in the county that are well suited for tastings, tours and private gatherings are Vina Robles and Edna Valley Vineyard, both of which offer several indoor and outdoor event spaces. Vina Robles unveiled its new 14,000-square-foot Vina Robles Hospitality Center in 2007. The center features a tasting room, a retail center and deli, and a banquet facility.
The largest attraction in the region is Hearst Castle, the palatial estate built overlooking the Pacific Ocean near the town of San Simeon by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. The visitor center at this U.S. Historical Landmark recently completed a remodeling and upgrade of services. Highlights include a new entrance to the center that echoes the castle’s architecture, a new outdoor patio garden shop and a new Mediterranean-style courtyard with patio seating. The facility also offers new evening and holiday tours of the castle, including special photo tours.
The kitchen also upgraded its menu, according to Gomez.
“They now serve Hearst beef from cattle raised on the Hearst Ranch,” she says.
The 80,000-acre ranch, one of the largest working ranches in California, surrounds the castle. Cattle are raised on its sustainable grasslands.
Another new development is the opening of the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden’s Oak Glen Pavilion to the public for event use. The pavilion accommodates 90 people for a sit-down dinner and up to 150 people in a social or theater-style setting. The pavilion has a commercial kitchen for catering. Other facilities at the garden are also available for group use, including the outdoor Amphitheater Garden and the indoor Education Center.
The county can accommodate groups of up to 2,000, Gomez notes.
Notable meetings-oriented properties in the county include San Luis Obispo’s irrepressible Madonna Inn, a longtime gathering spot that offers a 20,000-square-foot expo center; Embassy Suites San Luis Obispo; Cliffs Resort at Shell Beach; Cambria Pines Lodge; Inn at Morro Bay; Shore Cliff Lodge and Pismo Lighthouse Suites in Pismo Beach; and La Bellasera Hotel & Suites in Paso Robles.
Avila La Fonda in Avila Beach partnered this year with the newly renovated Avila Community Center to offer meeting space for groups of up to 100.
Larger groups can set up shop at the Paso Robles Event Center, which offers a 40-acre fairground and 75,000 square feet of meeting space.
In other developments throughout the county, the Orchid Inn at San Simeon just underwent a $1 million renovation and is now known as The Morgan, and two hotels are slated for completion by the end of 2008: El Colibri Hotel & Spa in San Luis Obispo and a Hampton Inn in Arroyo Grande.
Santa Barbara County
It’s been four years since the movie Sideways was released. The film about two 40-something men who take a week-long drive through the wine country of Santa Barbara brought a lot of attention to the area. Groups are beginning to recognize that it’s more than just a poignant big-screen drama that makes Santa Barbara County worthy of exploration. Known as the “American Riviera,” the region offers a Mediterranean-like climate and idyllic beaches in addition to all the vino.
“The area has a number of historic adobe buildings, great gardens and beautiful estates to explore,” says Shannon Turner Brooks, director of communications at the Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau. “Groups can also go out on the water to the Channel Islands. Dinner cruises continue to be very popular.”
Groups can also take whale-watching cruises around the Channel Islands.
In addition to all the fun that can be had in and around the water, Turner Brooks says green events are all the rage with planners.
“Groups love our green wine tours,” Turner Brooks notes. “These tours show how organic wines are produced. A number of culinary tours also focus on more sustainable food items. Food and wine tours are generally a big hit. Groups can learn how to blend wines and even paint with wine.”
Numerous Santa Barbara County wineries are available for group tastings, tours and special events. One of the county’s newest options is Roblar Winery and Vineyards, which opened in Santa Ynez in 2007. Aside from indoor and outdoor event venues, the winery features a demonstration kitchen and cooking school, as well as a gourmet marketplace, and it hosts art shows and concerts.
Meanwhile, getting around the city of Santa Barbara is awfully eco-friendly thanks to electric shuttles, public transit and pedicabs. For attendees arriving by train, Amtrak takes them straight to the heart of downtown.
The big news for planners is the completion this summer of a $65 million renovation of the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club, which overlooks Butterfly Beach in Montecito. The private club is open to members and guests of the Four Seasons Biltmore Resort. The resort offers more than 24,000 square feet of event space.
Another new development is the completion of a $15 million upgrade at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort.
Other high-end meetings hotels geared toward groups include Bacara Resort and Spa, San Ysidro Ranch, El Capitan Canyon, Hotel Mar Monte and Hotel Oceana.
Solvang, the “Danish Capital of America,” is a quaint community in the county that attracts groups as large as 250.
The destination’s premier property is the Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort, located just outside town in the rolling countryside of the Santa Ynez Valley.
Another top group offering is the Royal Scandinavian Inn, which is scheduled for a major renovation that includes a redesigned restaurant spearheaded by celebrity chef Bradley Ogden.
Ventura County
Ventura County continues to draw groups, and Kathleen Fitzgerald, director of sales at the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau, says she knows exactly why.
“It’s because of the beach,” she says. “Our beach is our jewel.”
Several of the destination’s meetings-ready properties sit along the waterfront or just steps from the beach.
Among the property options are the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach, Ventura Beach Marriott-Clarion, Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor and the historic Pierpont Inn. The Ventura County Fairgrounds, Seaside Park and San Buenaventura State Beach offer more space for events, Fitzgerald says.
One local event planner recently started using the top of a parking structure across from the beachfront Crowne Plaza for events in Ventura.
“Now this is thinking outside the box,” Fitzgerald says. “This is sure to be popular with other groups once word gets out.”
Meanwhile, one of the hottest spots in Ventura is at Watermark, a new downtown restaurant that makes use of a renovated 1920s bank.
“The restaurant’s store of alcohol is kept in one of the bank vaults. People can see it when they’re inside the restaurant,” Fitzgerald says. “Is that cool or what?”
The top floor of the restaurant is available for private group events.
Ventura offers hot-air balloon excursions, culinary tours and a variety of activities on the beach for groups before they head downtown for a bite to eat.
Just inland, the town of Ojai is a quaint group retreat, home to the upscale Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, a favorite meetings escape.
Like the other cities on California’s Central Coast, Oxnard, the largest city in Ventura County, is seeing several brand-new developments, including new properties and revitalization projects.
Casa Sirena Hotel & Marina is set to receive a major renovation that will transform it into a luxury hotel, says Susan Stalley, vice president of sales and operations for the Oxnard CVB.
The Residence Inn at River Ridge is undergoing a $5 million renovation that is scheduled to be finished in January.
Other meetings properties in Oxnard include Embassy Suites Hotel Mandalay Beach Resort, Courtyard by Marriott-Oxnard and Hampton Inn-Channel Islands Harbor.
The city’s largest group venue is the Oxnard Performing Arts and Convention Center.
When meetings break, groups can hitch a boat ride to Channel Islands National Park to explore sea caves by kayak. Or let someone else take the helm aboard the Scarlett Belle paddle wheel riverboat, which is available for private events.
Agricultural tours are also popular, with Oxnard boasting sweet strawberries aplenty, and at Herzog Wine Cellars, groups taste the vintages of the nation’s largest kosher winery as well as gourmet kosher cuisine at its restaurant. Herzog Wine Cellars is also available for private events.
Another unique off-site venue option is Oxnard’s Carnegie Art Museum, with its Greek temple facade and its permanent collection of 1940s photographs of Hollywood legends such as Clark Gable, Rita Hayworth and Jane Russell.
For More Info
Oxnard CVB 805.385.7545 www.oxnardtourism.com
Paso Robles Visitor and Conference Bureau 805.238.0506 www.visitpasoroblesca.com
Pismo Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau 805.773.7034 www.classiccalifornia.com
San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau 805.541.8000 www.sanluisobispocounty.com
Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau 805.966.9222 www.santabarbaraca.com
Santa Maria Valley Visitor and Convention Bureau 805.925.2403 www.santamaria.com
Solvang Conference and Visitors Bureau 805.688.6144 www.solvangusa.com
Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau 805.648.2075 www.ventura-usa.com
