Smart Meetings

Each of the cities grew up independently, which allowed them to develop their own personality and style. Most were linked, at one time, by the Pacific Electric Railway; today, the slim ribbon of Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, is their connective thread, John Wayne Airport their easy-access hub.

Coastal O.C. has emerged as a year-round meetings destination as well as a leisure getaway, due to the area’s balmy temperatures, even in summer, when ocean breezes maintain a climate that offers that renowned California outdoor lifestyle. The resorts and hotels feature luxurious spas as well as well-appointed guest rooms and both indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. They’re close to great golf and also to terrific shopping, for those who pursue a different sport. Plus, the area is in close proximity to perennial favorite Disneyland.

While represented by the Anaheim Orange County CVB, each of the major towns has its own bureau. But there’s also a new organization that encompasses many of the resorts and destinations on the coast: The OCeanfront, an alliance of 12 four- and five-diamond properties (see hotel chart), retail centers and towns, among other members. Their niche is luxury—“but our product has a broad range of price points,” says Blaise Bartell, chairman of The Oceanfront (and general manager of Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna Beach). “More than 40 percent of their business is negotiated group business (on an annualized basis).”

The alliance also reflects a trend that has contributed to the recognition of coastal O.C. as a viable meetings destination: the upgrading and construction of properties more in tune with a planner’s needs. Plus, Bartell says, “With this amount of product, we’d love to attract more destination meetings [especially those requiring] multiple lodging establishments. We didn’t used to be able to do that.”

The area is a “perfect way to spoil your attendees and clients,” he says, with its extraordinary weather, beautiful beaches and a unique blend of shopping and activities. “It’s a visually stunning location that enhances a meeting, and it’s easy to get here—you land at John Wayne and in 22 minutes you’re at your destination. This is great for attendees, who can quickly decompress and address the purpose of the meeting.”

SEAL BEACH
Like something out of a black-and-white movie, Seal Beach—just south of the L.A. county line—invites nostalgia with its small-town charm, a long wooden pier that juts into the ocean and a mild surf-break that attracts more newbies than shredders. It’s not a meetings destination per se, but small groups can be accommodated at the Ayres Hotel a few miles inland from the beach, and the clubhouse at the Old Ranch Country Club can host groups of up to 340 people.

HUNTINGTON BEACH
This is the beach town of Jan and Dean, and numerous wannabes, who extolled the surf culture and inspired people across the U.S. to dream of the California coast. And why not? HB has a wide-open, 8.5-mile sandy beach, killer waves that draw the sport’s elite and a casual, laid-back attitude.

Today’s Huntington Beach still displays those attributes, but an extensive oceanfront revival has made over previously funky Main Street to include chic shops and restaurants and added two luxury resorts that draw attendees from around the world. (A testament to the town’s strong roots, the iconic Jack’s Surf Shop remains open to this day.)

Located on some of the most prime real estate in the state—let alone Orange County—are The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa and the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. The Hyatt, which has a dedicated conference center, also encompasses a pool (a second pool with water slides will open in 2009), the 20,000-square-foot Pacific Waters Spa and a lighthouse that bridges the highway and leads directly to the beach. Its meeting space, indoors and outdoors, totals more than 100,000 sq. ft., including the largest ballroom on the coast between L.A. and San Diego (20,000 sq. ft.).

Virtually “next door,” offering ocean views from many of its renovated guest rooms (a $10-million project wrapped up last year), is the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. Featuring a less corporate design than many of its Hilton counterparts due to its location, the hotel offers 21,500 sq. ft. of meeting space.

A third, smaller meetings hotel, the Hotel Huntington Beach, is located a few miles inland and can accommodate groups in 3,000 sq. ft. of space. The hotel, with a heated indoor pool, offers guests complimentary high-speed Internet.

When you’re in a town that celebrates its beach culture, you’d (of course) want your group to experience it. No problem. The Strand, a paved path that stretches for eight miles along the beach, is ideal for biking, jogging and Rollerblading. You can hold barbecues, or beach bonfires on any of 600 fire pits, complete with the requisite s’mores, or beach volleyball tournaments (both the Hyatt and Hilton hold city permits). You can arrange surf lessons through Corky Carroll’s Surf School or receptions at the International Surfing Museum. Or, for a fun afternoon, learn how to build a sandcastle at water’s edge with Dig It!. Other fun team-building options are available through Toes on the Nose. The Huntington Beach CVB is also a terrific resource for planning off-site events.

Two high-profile sports contests take place in HB—the US Open of Surfing (the largest surfing event in the world) in July and the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Huntington Beach Open in August. Build an incentive around them, or encourage your folks to add pre- and post stays.

NEWPORT BEACH
Newport Beach is like Beverly Hills with water—fashionable, affluent and fascinating. Here, on a nine-mile peninsula, you’ll find sun-splashed, multimillion-dollar homes (and yachts), beautiful beaches, Newport Harbor (one of the largest small craft harbors in the world), and a 1,000-foot ferry ride from the Balboa Pavilion to Balboa Island, whose “Fun Zone” offers entertainment, shopping and dining. (FYI, the famous cove in the TV series The OC is actually called Lookout Point.) Newport Beach is also home to Fashion Island—an enclave of trendy, high-end stores like Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom.

With the largest inventory of hotel rooms in Orange County outside of Anaheim, Newport Beach draws groups with a clutch of luxury properties. The Five-Diamond Island Hotel (formerly the Four Seasons), across the street from Fashion Island, recently emerged from a $21-million renovation that now features 295 guest rooms and more than 30,000 sq. ft. of meeting space.

The Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa—the largest of  Newport’s resorts (532 guest rooms), also recently completed a $75-million major renovation, and offers more than 40,000 sq. ft. of indoor/outdoor meeting and event space. Its Pure Blu spa, has 16 treatment rooms.

Overlooking Newport Beach’s Back Bay, the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach (403 rms) has 20,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space, with various outdoor options located throughout the property’s 26 acres. (If you’re looking for a small, private dining venue, arrange a catered dinner poolside at one of the resort’s bungalows. It’s the ultimate in exclusivity).

Balboa Bay Club & Resort (160 rms) is another meetings option, right on the waterfront. A recent reconstruction has positioned the property to better accommodate meetings, with 15,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space, including a 7,000-square-foot grand ballroom and ll additional conference rooms.

As a result of a $35-million renovation, The Fairmont Newport Beach has a fresh look to its architecture and interior design. Along with the 8,000-square-foot Willow Stream spa and new fitness center, it offers planners 440 guest rooms and 20,000 sq. ft. and 21 rooms of meeting space.

In addition to Balboa Island’s Fun Zone and beach activities, Newport offers myriad options for group activities. Arrange a morning yoga or stretching class in a private, grassy area at the Newport Beach Marriott, followed by a customized breakfast, that will give your team an energy boost for the day. Steps from the meeting rooms at Balboa Bay Resort is a fleet of watercraft spoiling to get your group on the water, either individually or as a flotilla, exploring the bay in kayaks or their own Duffy boats. Or arrange a shopping trip to Fashion Island, turning your incentive group (or spouses) loose at this high-end retail playground for an hour with a VIP discount card—as a starter.

LAGUNA BEACH
A tony-but-casual seaside village, Laguna Beach enjoys a different vibe than its sister communities. Its history as an artists’ colony dates back to 1903, after a San Francisco-based landscape painter promoted the destination to fellow artists, who came, saw and settled—in droves. Within a few years, in fact, nearly half of the town’s population was made up of artists. Today’s crop of more than 100 art galleries attest to the strong pull exerted by the seven-mile sandy beach, expansive ocean views and picturesque hillsides (First Thursdays Art walks are wildly popular, made even more accessible with trolley service throughout the evening.) Not surprisingly, art festivals abound, from the Festival of Arts, July through August,  to the renowned Pageant of the Masters, also held July through August, which features “living pictures” and draws visitors from around the world.

Two resorts, Montage Laguna Beach and Surf and Sand Resort, are the mainstays for meetings. Set on an oceanside bluff, Montage showcases Arts & Crafts-style architecture, 250 rooms and beautifully manicured grounds, which include three pools as well as numerous outdoor event sites. Indoors, the property provides 14,500 sq. ft. of meeting space.          

Surf and Sand Resort (165 rms) has much to boast about, from its resurgence from a ’50s-era motel to a full-service resort—plus toes-in-the-sand access on-property for beach volleyball and other team-building activities. Its five buildings offer a variety of guest-room types and locations, and the 10,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space can accommodate groups up to 250.

A third property, the historic Hotel Laguna, appeals to smaller meetings, with 65 guest rooms and 3,132 sq. ft. of function space.

DANA POINT
Sandwiched in between Laguna and San Clemente, the city of Dana Point was named for author Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (Two Years Before the Mast). Dana Point Harbor and the marina are the focal point, with 2,500 boat slips complemented by dozens of restaurants, shops and galleries. The harbor is anchored by the The Ocean Institute, an educational maritime facility  that also houses two historic replica tall ships, the Spirit of Dana Point and Dana’s ship, the full-size brig Pilgrim. The center’s lecture hall and conference center is available for groups up to 200.Dana Wharf is where you can arrange sportfishing or whale watching cruises, or charter a cruise on Catamaran Adventure Cruises, where—along with chance encounters with whales, dolphins and sea lions—you can also see marine life swim beneath the boat on flat-screen on-board monitors.

Several four-and-five star properties round out the meeting space along this beautiful stretch of California coast. Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa (376 rms), located above the harbor, has been a staple for meeting professionals for many years. Plans are underway to update its New England-style, shingled exterior, lobby and restaurants. Its meeting and function space totals 55,999 sq. ft.

Reminiscent of a Mediterranean villa, The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel (393 rms; 26,224 sq. ft.) recently wrapped up Phase II of a $40-million renovation project, which encompassed all of the hotel’s meeting space and has added a number of new features, including Eno, a wine-cheese-and-chocolate tasting room (all the guilty pleasures) where you can also hold private events.

Virtually across the street from The Ritz—meaning the two properties can easily work together for larger groups—is the Five-Diamond St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach (400 rms). In addition to 90,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, the resort has a private beach club with “Surf Butlers,” a spa, hard and clay tennis courts, and the renowned Monarch Beach Golf Links, adding convenience as well as cachet to a meeting here.

SAN CLEMENTE
San Clemente, Orange County’s southernmost beach city—and a tidy 15 square miles— was developed as a master-planned community in 1925. Noted for its Mediterranean-style architecture, with red-tile roofs, whitewashed stucco walls and arched walkways, it was once the home of the Western White House, during the presidency of Richard Nixon. Small groups needing only 2,000 or so square feet can meet at the Country Plaza Inn; Comfort Suites San Clemente has 60 suites and a boardroom.  Back to Top

Getting There

Getting to the Orange County coast couldn’t be easier.
John Wayne Airport (SNA) is about 20 minutes from most major hotels and resorts. The area is also accessible via Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Long Beach Airport.

Drive Market
Coastal O.C. is easily accessible via Interstates 5 and 405, along with the 57, 91, 55 and 22 freeways. Back to Top

Not To Be Missed

Surfing in Huntington Beach
Whale-watching from Dana Point
Pageant of the Masters,
Laguna Beach
Kayaking Newport Bay Back to Top