Following four years of drought, California finally reveled in rain for several months this past winter. When it rains in the lower elevations, it snows in Lake Tahoe, and all season it was quite a blanket of white. Even into April, skiers, boarders and those who love to otherwise frolic in winter wonderlands are enjoying a powdery paradise.
Not only is there fresh powder. All around the lake, split between the California-Nevada state line, there are fresh new offerings either on the drawing board, taking shape or already unveiled—from properties to cultural amenities to year-round outdoor adventures.
During this dynamic period of progress, planners can look forward to great new ways for groups to retreat and revitalize in the majestic mountain ambience of Tahoe, no matter what the season, along with a heightened focus on environmentally sustainable growth.
North Lake Tahoe
A healthy upswing in meetings business, interesting new trends in the way attendees are experiencing the destination and new developments on the horizon have Jason Neary, director of sales for the North Lake Tahoe CVB, feeling pretty optimistic these days.
“With the combination of a record- breaking summer last year for groups, followed by a great winter and moving into a really strong summer, we’re very excited about what’s going on up here and the way occupancy is trending,” Neary says. “Things are looking really good.”
One top trend is groups seeking creativity, both in content and meeting spaces.
“They’re looking to do things like Iron Chef competitions and unique outdoor teambuilding,” he says.
Most hotels have expo kitchens or portable kitchens to host group culinary events, he adds, pointing to options such as the Manzanita dining room in The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe and the Cedar House Sport Hotel’s Stella, a perfect venue for cooking classes and competitions. Truckee River Winery is another popular group choice nowadays, with a wine-tasting room and an outdoor area with bocce ball courts and barbecues.
For adrenaline junkies, Tahoe Treetop Adventure Park above Granlibakken has become a hot group activity.
“It’s one-of-a-kind on the West Coast,” Neary says. “It’s a zipline, ropes course and adventure park, and you’re attached by wires—a phenomenal teambuilding activity.”
Creativity in meeting spaces extends to both the indoor and outdoor ambience, Neary says. Inside, that includes more informal, comfortable features such as couches and bean bag chairs, and outside, groups utilize the Tahoe Queen or the Tahoe Gal paddle wheelers for breakouts, or head to High Camp at Squaw Valley.
“And regardless of which hotel you’re in, you can step outside and onto hiking paths and biking trails or just very beautiful outdoor settings where your group can meet in the middle of the forest,” Neary says.
On the development front, a Starwood Luxury Collection Resort that pays homage to the Frank Sinatra era is one of the new treats in store for groups, along with projects that are in the early stages of development.
Sinatra owned the Cal Neva Resort and Casino in Crystal Bay from 1960 to 1963 and often used it as a Rat Pack escape. Closed since September 2013, the 191-room property is scheduled to reopen under the Starwood portfolio at the end of May.
Boulder Bay, located across the street from Cal Neva, is a mixed-use residential, retail, restaurant and gaming complex that is in the planning stages with no set completion date. It will feature a 300-room hotel, along with 5.7 acres of open space.
Two other projects are also slated: the 120-room Tahoe City Lodge, a high-end boutique hotel, and Homewood Mountain’s plans to create a $500 million upscale destination resort with a boutique hotel, condos, ski-in/ski-out chalets and new retail space. Completion dates for both projects have not been set.
Meanwhile, the AAA Four Diamond Resort at Squaw Creek just finished a $7 million guest room renovation.
Aside from the Resort at Squaw Creek, North Lake Tahoe’s main meetings properties include The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe; Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino; the Village at Squaw Valley; Granlibakken Tahoe; and Northstar California. Squaw Valley Lodge, Cedar House Sport Hotel; and PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn are among the smaller options.
PageBreak
South Lake Tahoe
Change is in the air along Tahoe’s South Shore, and the transformation is making the destination more attractive than ever for meeting attendees.
“It’s a very exciting time,” says Carol Chaplin, executive director of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “The focus is on upgrading our infrastructure, amenities and activities, and creating a destination that is more pedestrian-friendly so you can walk and bike and shop and dine and be entertained in a compact area.”
While there is more than $150 million in new and improved lodging, restaurants and other businesses taking shape, in addition to new outdoor adventure offerings, it’s all being executed according to the highest level of environmental sensitivity, with businesses and regulatory agencies more aligned than ever on the goals to improve the infrastructure while maintaining lake clarity—a major priority, Chaplin says.
After all, the natural beauty is one of the main reasons groups are drawn to Tahoe, along with the great outdoor experiences that come with it.
“One of the biggest things we have always been able to offer is something to do outside the meeting room, and even those experiences are improving,” Chaplin says.
Heavenly Mountain Resort, long renowned for its breathtaking gondola ride, skiing, boarding, hiking and biking, is offering new teambuilding programs via ropes courses, climbing walls and ziplines.
On the entertainment side, planners can treat groups to Harveys Lake Tahoe’s outdoor summer concert series, which continues to raise the bar when it comes to drawing top-name entertainment. Last year, Aerosmith and Imagine Dragons were among the highlights. This year, Sting and Peter Gabriel are part of the long lineup of performances.
Property-wise, the hot new additions are the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which opened in 2015 following a $65 million “rock star” renovation of the former Horizon Casino Resort, and the Edgewood Tahoe Lodge, an exclusive property set to debut in 2017 next to the only golf course on the lake. Hard Rock has nearly 15,000 square feet of meeting space and Edgewood Tahoe Lodge will have a conference center.
“The Hard Rock is a really nice brand for us,” Chaplin says. “We think it fits with our self-appointed profile of being a little bit fun and entertainment-oriented. And the Edgewood Tahoe Lodge will be very high-end and allow us to look further into the incentive market.”
Meanwhile, the Landing Lake Tahoe Resort & Spa is a new upscale boutique property that has meeting space.
Renovations to other properties (including meeting space) are also part of South Shore’s revitalization, including MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Harveys Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel. The Ridge Tahoe is also undergoing renovations and expanding its meeting space.
Additionally, the downtown area of South Shore has been beautified with new sidewalks and street lighting, while new shops and restaurants have sprung up, and bike trails are being expanded down Highway 50.
The changes bode well for the overall meetings package.
“We are a terrific value,” says Mike Frye, event and media relations manger for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “In addition to the meetings competency and recreation, we offer drop-dead gorgeous scenery, the most restaurants, shopping and spas in the Sierra, plus there’s gaming and headliner entertainment.”
And while the destination is being transformed, visitors are still transformed by the experience.
“I’ve sat on [lift] chairs with people going to meetings here and they’ve said their company has come for two or three years in a row and they hope their company comes forever,” Frye says.
