The cool thing about the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, the two large valleys north of downtown Los Angeles, is that groups could visit the region consecutive times and have completely different experiences.
“The valleys are packed with attractions, and you can’t experience it all in one visit,” says Andrea Wyn Schall, owner of A Wynning Event, a special event production company in Los Angeles.
Surrounded by hills and mountains and the vast Angeles National Forest to the north, the two valleys have transformed from farmland to suburbs to destinations in their own right. The San Fernando Valley is Hollywood’s backyard, dotted with television and movie studios. Pasadena, located in the San Gabriel Valley, is a center of thriving arts and culture. Of course, downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood are easy to get to thanks to great public transportation. Plenty of venue space and affordable hotel rates and dining options in the valleys are other bonuses for groups.
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, or the “Valley of the Stars,” comprises 345 square miles and is home to nearly 2 million people—as well as ABC, CBS, NBC, NBC Universal Studios, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Most of the valley is within the city of Los Angeles, but independent cities are nestled within the valley, including Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills and Van Nuys, the administrative center, and Universal City, the site of many soundstages. In fact, one of the draws of the valley is a chance to see celebrities.
“The opportunity to watch live tapings of TV shows for free draws a lot of groups,” says Bruce Ackerman, president of the San Fernando Valley Conference and Visitors Bureau. “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is popular with visitors.”
In addition to getting starstruck, groups likely will find that San Fernando Valley’s centralized location isn’t too shabby, either.
“We are half an hour from the ocean, half an hour from snow skiing and half an hour from Hollywood. Plus, major attractions are right here,” Ackerman says.
One of the most popular of those attractions is Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, which includes the theme park and Universal CityWalk, a shopping and entertainment center that has an array of options for groups: an IMAX theater, the Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood, Dodgers Clubhouse Store, Tommy’s World Famous Hamburgers and The Los Angeles Sock Market, among many other stores and restaurants.
The destination typically handles meetings of up to 2,500 people, Ackerman says, but previously has hosted groups as large as 20,000.
The group-friendly, 9,600-square-foot Globe Theatre located inside Universal Studios Hollywood accommodates up to 700 for receptions and 600 for a plated dinner. Parties at the theater are catered by “chef to the stars” Wolfgang Puck.
Two of the valley’s largest meetings hotels are located near Universal Studios: the 482-room Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, offering 60,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Sheraton Universal Hotel, which has more than 30,000 square feet of meeting space and recently wrapped up a $30 million renovation just in time for its 40th anniversary this year.
Meanwhile, the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn Universal Studios is another recently renovated, meetings-ready property and is currently expanding its lobby.
The valley’s largest convention hotel is the 488-room Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center, which offers 50,000 square feet of space and is near Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.
A fun off-site venue in Burbank is the Warner Bros. Studio, which can host 20 to 10,000 people. Studio tours here are popular, which conclude with a visit to the Warner Bros. Museum. The museum currently is featuring a special exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of television.
More meeting space can be found at the Warner Center at Woodland Hills, where the choices include the Hilton Woodland Hills, with 17,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills, with 25,000 square feet of function space.
Other noteworthy valley hotels include the AirTel Plaza Hotel near Van Nuys Airport, the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City and the Hilton Los Angeles North/Glendale & Executive Meeting Center.
Also located in the valley is the NoHo Arts District in North Hollywood. This emerging area of offbeat cafes, art galleries and playhouses is becoming a regional hub of the valley thanks to the Metro Orange line, which opened in 2005 and travels between Warner Center and North Hollywood, and the Metro Red Line, which connects to downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood.
“You’re rarely more than one connection away from anywhere,” Ackerman notes.
Ackerman also adds that hotel and venue rental rates and food and beverage options generally are 10 percent to 20 percent lower than comparable product in downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and the LAX area.
Groups looking for retail therapy have plenty of options in the valley.
The San Fernando Valley is a shopping mecca,” Ackerman says. “We’ve got the huge Westfield Promenade, the Sherman Oaks Galleria and the Northridge Fashion Center. The retail options here continue to expand.”
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley lies east of the city of Los Angeles and west of California’s Inland Empire. It gets its name from the San Gabriel River. Some 45 cities and unincorporated communities make up the ethnically diverse valley, and Pasadena is its regional hub. The Metro Gold Line light rail links Pasadena to downtown L.A.
“One thing that impresses groups about Pasadena is how sophisticated it is,” says John Kearns, director of communications for the Pasadena CVB. “We have a lot of museums and a great arts and science scene because of the schools located here.”
The Art Center College of Design and the California Institute of Technology are located in the “City of Roses,” so named as it’s the home of the annual Rose Bowl and the Tournament of Roses Parade. This dynamic city is packed with 2,500 hotel rooms and 500 restaurants. Museum buffs will be happy with the city’s Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, The Huntington Library and the Norton Simon Museum.
To allow visitors to soak in all the arts their hearts desire, the Pasadena CVB recently launched its artpass program. The artpass, available through www.visitpasadena.com, enables visitors to choose from five themed options: Grand Pasadena, Mansions, Gardens, Pacific Rim and Millionaires Row. Visitors may also customize their own passes.
Pasadena will offer even more for groups as the Pasadena Convention Center completes its $150 million expansion this month. The facility is adding 85,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 25,000-square-foot ballroom, for a total of 115,000 square feet of function space. It’s seeking LEED silver certification so the complex is green to boot. Events at the facility begin in April.
Four hotels are located close to the center: the Sheraton Pasadena Hotel, Hilton Pasadena, Westin Pasadena and Old Pasadena Courtyard by Marriott. The Old Pasadena Historic District, where the art of Andy Warhol made its West Coast debut, is an easy walk from the convention center.
“People find that Pasadena is a very compact, dynamic place,” Kearns says. “It’s a great place to walk, to soak in the scenery, the people and the old mansions.”
The Langham, Huntington Hotel & Spa, a landmark located in a residential area in the San Gabriel foothills, has made it easier for guests to get around Pasadena with a complimentary shuttle service for guests seven days a week. The Langham is a former Ritz-Carlton property that is planning a $25 million renovation.
San Gabriel, located six miles south of Pasadena, is the home of the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, a still-functioning Roman Catholic Mission founded in 1771. The 222-room Hilton Los Angeles/San Gabriel includes 30,000 square feet of meeting space.
Other group-friendly properties in the region include the Embassy Suites San Gabriel Arcadia, Radisson Suites Hotel Covina and Pacific Palms Conference Resort.
For More Info
LA Inc., The Convention and Visitors Bureau 213.624.7300 www.discoverlosangeles.com
Pasadena CVB 626.795.9311 www.pasadenacal.com
San Fernando Valley Conference and Visitors Bureau 818.377.6388 www.visitvalleyofthestars.org
