Whether it’s a desert oasis, coastal idyll or mountain retreat, California’s incredibly diverse landscapes set the stage for a vast array of meeting environments. Destinations beyond the urban hubs offer more laid-back alternatives, but are no less dynamic in creating new ways for groups to find inspiration and renewal.
Here’s a look at what’s happening in some of the state’s key resort areas.
North Coast/Napa
With their close proximity to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, plus heightened interest in wine and culinary experiences, it’s little wonder that the neighboring wine meccas of Napa and Sonoma counties are hot destinations for meetings and incentives.
New hotels, restaurants and venues are coming on the scene in downtown Napa as well as in Napa Valley, says Theresa Savage, vice president of sales for Visit Napa.
“Downtown Napa has really been revitalized in the past few years,” she says. “Places like the City Winery, which can hold up to 300 people, and the Uptown Theatre are great new venues within walking distance of hotels.”
New downtown properties include the luxury boutique Senza Hotel, which offers 41 rooms, a full-service spa, meeting space and an art collection. Slated for late next year, the Archer Hotel Napa will be a luxury boutique property that will feature rooftop event space and a restaurant operated by chef Charlie Palmer.
Palmer, who recently took ownership of the Harvest Inn in St. Helena, also opened a new restaurant there. The property also has new loft-style rooms, bringing its room count up to 78. The Indian Springs Resort and Spa in Calistoga also recently expanded, with 75 new bungalows and lodge rooms as well as new function space that includes an events barn and two garden venues.
Upcoming properties include Auberge Resort’s VieVage Napa Valley, a destination spa resort set for the Carneros district in 2017, and Starwood’s Las Alcobas, a 68-room luxury hotel in St. Helena scheduled to open next spring.
Neighboring Sonoma County promotes its wide range of options for groups, including sophisticated conference properties, over 400 wineries, organic farms and an abundance of outdoor activities, says Paula Johnson, director of group sales for Sonoma County Tourism.
Its major meetings hotels, the Fountaingrove Inn and Flamingo Conference Resort & Spa in Santa Rosa, and the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa in Sonoma, have all recently completed renovations.
Up the coast in Mendocino County, the Inn at Newport Ranch opened in July near Fort Bragg with space for executive retreats and events for up to 99 people. The 2,000-acre property in a setting of dramatic coastline and redwood forests offers hiking and horseback riding trails. It has suite accommodations as well as a dining room with a 20-foot fireplace, a conference room and a hot tub on top of a water tower with panoramic views.
Central Coast
The Central Coast, an area stretching from Monterey Bay to Ventura County, likes to promote the fact that it has everything that attracts visitors to California minus the crowds and traffic of the state’s more urban areas.
“We’re like California used to be,” says Chuck Davison, CEO of Visit San Luis Obispo County. “We have the four-star restaurants, wineries, resorts and great things to do, but you can enjoy it at your own pace.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that the region isn’t moving forward with new infrastructure for meetings. In October 2016, downtown Monterey will debut an all-new meetings facility when the Monterey Conference Center reopens after a year-long renovation that will reconfigure the structure with more flexible space and updated technology. With 41,000 square feet of meeting space, the Silver LEED-certified center will be ideal for groups of 500 to 800, according to Scott Wilson, vice president of sales for the Monterey County CVB.
In Santa Cruz, a local surfing legend and marine advocate is the inspiration behind the Jack O’Neill Lounge, a popular new gathering spot at the Dream Inn with floor-to-ceiling windows framing views of Monterey Bay. The lounge exhibits a prototype of the wetsuit invented by O’Neill and is adjacent to the site of his original surf shop. Another piece of Santa Cruz history is showcased at the new Rio Vista Luxury Suites, a Victorian mansion converted into a boutique hotel with 12 suites and ornate architectural features.
In San Luis Obispo County, a new luxury property named Allegretto Vineyard Resort opened in September in Paso Robles. Surrounded by vineyards and orchards, the 171-room resort offers 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space as well as a spa, wine-tasting room, restaurant, pool and bocce ball court.
In Santa Barbara, three upcoming properties, all of them transformations of older hotels, are certain to boost the city’s already strong appeal as a corporate meeting and incentive destination, says Cat Puccino, national sales manager for the Santa Barbara CVB.
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They include the Santa Barbara Inn, a 60-room oceanfront property set to reopen late this year after a complete renovation that includes the addition of a new conference room, restaurant and fitness center. Expected to open in summer 2016, the Entrada de Santa Barbara complex will include restaurants, retail shops and a 123-room hotel that preserves part of the Hotel Californian, which dates back the 1920s.
“Entrada is very exciting for Santa Barbara because it is redefining the lower State Street area and enhancing it as a visitor destination,” Puccino says. “The area is also getting MOXI, a new science museum opening next year that will have rooftop meeting space.”
In 2018, the luxury Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito will open on the site of the Miramar Beach Hotel, an historic property that has long been shuttered. The destination resort will offer 122 rooms, many in beachfront bungalows, as well as a spa and 12,000 square feet of meeting space.
Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara is slated to complete a renovation of its 358 guest rooms in November following the recent introduction of a wine-tasting room and other amenities.
North of Santa Barbara in the Santa Ynez Valley wine region, the 122-room Hotel Corque in Solvang, which offers 7,500 square feet of meeting space, recently enhanced its outdoor gathering spaces with private cabanas, fire pits and a resort bar. Also in Solvang, a 41-room boutique hotel called The Landsby recently opened after a conversion of the former Peter Village Inn.
South of Santa Barbara and only an hour or from Los Angeles, Ventura County West, a tourism marketing district under the auspices of the Ventura County Lodging Association, encompasses the cities of Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo. It’s known for its 23 miles of beaches, wineries, farm-to-table cuisine and resorts catering to small and mid-size meetings.
One of the region’s most historic properties, the 105-year-old Wyndham Garden Ventura Pierpont Inn in Ventura, recently underwent an ownership change and offers 77 newly renovated guest rooms and 6,000 square feet of meeting space. Among the area’s many culinary hot spots is Ventura Harbor Village, which recently added several new group-friendly restaurants, including the Wild Local Seafood Co.
Palm Springs
One of California’s premier desert destinations, which includes not only Palm Springs but other glamorous communities throughout the Coachella Valley, continues to add everything from hip boutique hotels to destination resorts.
In downtown Palm Springs, these include the Hotel Palomar Palm Springs, scheduled to open in fall 2016 with a chef-driven restaurant and 24,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a rooftop bar and pool.
Recently opened properties include Triada Palm Springs, a 56-room hotel in downtown Palm Springs’ Movie Colony district with spacious suites and poolside event space. Part of the Autograph Collection by Marriott brand, the hotel is the former Spanish Inn, a historic hacienda-style property once owned by actor Alan Ladd.
Last year marked the long-awaited reopening of The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage, a 260-room hotel with multiple pools, a full-service spa and 31,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. Another resort that has completed major renovations is the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa.
While long a popular drive-to destination for Southern California regional meetings, national association and corporate business is on the increase thanks to continually improving air service into Palm Springs International Airport, according to Rick Blackburn, vice president of convention sales for the Greater Palm Springs CVB.
“We still suffer from the perception of poor air service, but the truth is that we’re getting a lot more flights coming in, including during the summer,” he says.
High Sierra
The first new resort for the Yosemite National Park area in 25 years is set to open in spring 2016 about a mile from the park’s Highway 120 West entrance. Set on 20 wooded acres in Groveland, Rush Creek Lodge will offer indoor and outdoor meeting space for up to 250 people as well as 143 guest rooms, a restaurant and a guided recreation program.
Located in California’s “Lost Sierra” region about 45 minutes north of Lake Tahoe, the 42-room Lodge at Nakoma opened this past summer in Clio. The luxury lodge, which is available for executive retreats and board meetings, is an addition to the Nakoma Golf Resort & Spa, which offers a clubhouse with function spaces designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. These include the Wigwam Room, a stunning dining room available for events that has a dramatic vaulted ceiling and central stone fireplace.
