Smart Meetings

The city came into the spotlight in 1969 when a local estate became the Western White House. But despite recent residential and commercial development, a full-service meetings hotel has yet to arrive. It does have a few places for small groups, however. The 50-suite Comfort Suites San Clemente (sanclementecomfortsuites.com), a mile from Trestles Beach, has a boardroom. The freeway-handy Country Plaza Inn (countryplazainn.com) has 2,400 sq. ft. of divisible conference space.

If you go, don’t miss Iva Lee’s (ivalees.com), a New Orleans-inspired restaurant in the heart of town whose owners trace their Southern roots to the 1600s. It’s a dining delight for any occasion and can host private parties of up to 70 indoors and 30 on the patio.

A remarkable unique venue in San Juan Capistrano, inland from Dana Point, is Villa Marconi (714-258-3001), the private estate of philanthropists Dick and Priscilla Marconi. Set on 1,800 acres of nature reserve, the estate houses a wildlife preserve of exotic animals and is available for exclusive day tours, luncheons, dinners or receptions. The Marconi Automotive Museum (marconimuseum.org) in Tustin, 30 minutes’ drive inland from Newport Beach, is likewise available for events for up to 300 amid a $30 million collection of cars—nirvana for a Ferrari-lover. To date, proceeds from the use of the museum have raised over $1 million for youth-oriented charities. Back to Top

Getting There

John Wayne/Orange County Airport (ocair.com) is served by 10 commercial airlines and five commuter lines and offers roughly 250 daily flights to 24 nonstop destinations. Time from airport to destination ranges from about 10 minutes to 40 minutes, depending on destination.

Long Beach Airport (lgb.org), located halfway between Los Angeles International Airport and John Wayne Airport, Long Beach is the West Coast hub of JetBlue Airways, which has nonstop service to New York. It is also served by Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and America West. Long Beach Airport is between 20 and 45 minutes from all coastal cities. It is the closest airport for Seal Beach.

Los Angeles International Airport (lawa.org/lax) is the major international arrival point for Southern California as well as just over half the domestic arrivals. The airport is 60 to 90 minutes from coastal OC cities, depending on traffic. Airport bus and shuttle services are easily available.

Drive Market Coastal Orange County is within a day’s drive of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson. Interstates 5 and 405, along with the 57, 91, 55 and 22 freeways, link the county to surrounding areas. About 21 million people reside within this distance. South coastal cities also have easy access to Metrolink (metrolinktrains.com) in San Clemente or Amtrak (amtrak.com) in nearby San Juan Capistrano to take them to San Diego, Los Angeles or points east.

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