Smart Meetings

From the moment you approach the area along Highway 179, your eyes are saturated with color: the dramatic reds of the sandstone buttes; the brilliant turquoise blues of the skies with cottony-white clouds; and the deep forest greens of the ponderosa pines.
The green is often a surprise color for
visitors, says Jennifer Wesselhoff, director of tourism and public relations for the Sedona Chamber of Commerce Tourism Bureau.
But Sedona, which is surrounded by the 1.8 million-acre Coconino National Forest and bisected by rushing Oak Creek, “is a beautiful riparian area,” she says.
Another surprise is the pleasant temperature, which ranges from an average high of 74.7 degrees to a low of 45.7 degrees, due to the town’s elevation of 4,500 feet. “People
mistakenly think Arizona is so hot in summer, but we’re in the high desert, and we have mild temperatures here,” she says.
What’s not so surprising is that USA Weekend named Sedona as the #1 most beautiful area in the country in 2003. “There’s a timelessness about these ancient rocks that fires the imagination of all who encounter them,” its editors said.
Reason enough, we think, to contact the Chamber’s Tourism Bureau (visitsedona.com) to see how Sedona can fit your meeting and destination specs. After all, who can’t use a
little inspiration?
 
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Sedona’s rugged, geologically distinctive rock formations—colored by minerals and eroded over the eons—give the area its moniker,
Red Rock Country. These massive monoliths have fostered both inspiration and spirituality for thousands of years, since the time the
first Native Americans settled there. Later, homesteaders arrived and gave the then-village its name, after Sedona Schnebly, wife of a prominent businessman.
Sedona remained a rural ranching community until the early 1920s, when it captured the lens of Hollywood, starting with The Call of the Canyon in 1923 (and continuing through television shows and commercials today). Since then, generations of artists—and, in the 1970s, New Age spiritualists—have gravitated to Sedona, drawn by its unique geology and its Native American cultural influences. The migrations have made the small town “less of an ethnic community and more of an eclectic one,” Wesselhoff says.

PLACES TO STAY AND TO DECOMPRESS
In an area so attuned to spirituality and
well-being, it’s not surprising that many of Sedona’s major hotels and resorts feature spas and spa treatments among their amenities. Enchantment Resort (enchantmentresort.com), tucked into Boynton Canyon and revered
by some Native American tribes as their birthplace, is perhaps the best known. It
has 236 rooms and 12,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting space, plus 8,000 sq. ft. for outdoor events. Its spa, Mii Amo (miiamo.com),
is a self-contained spa destination within
the 70-acre resort, complete with its own guest rooms, although Enchantment guests are certainly welcome.
Along the banks of Oak Creek are the AAA Four-Diamond Amara Creekside Resort (amararesort.com), with 100 rooms and meeting space for 10–300 guests and a 12,000-square-foot spa. Its signature restaurant, the Gallery on Oak Creek, has been honored by Wine Spectator magazine for its outstanding wine list. Also located creekside is Radisson Poco Diablo Resort (radisson.com/sedonaaz), a 22-acre oasis that recently underwent a
multimillion-dollar renovation. The resort, which offers 138 guest rooms and can
accommodate up to 300 guests, has a fitness center, whirlpools, massage treatments and
a nine-hole golf course.
For larger groups there is the Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa (hiltonsedona.com), which is part of a complex that encompasses the hotel, the Sedona Golf Resort (an 18-hole championship course) and the new, full-service Hilton Spa. It has 219 rooms, along with 16,000 sq. ft. of meeting and function space.
The newest hotel on the scene is Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa (sedonarouge.com), which breaks out of the Southwestern décor mold with its Mediterranean and North African-influenced interior design. Featuring 77 rooms, the hotel can accommodate up to 120 for meetings; its spa features personalized treatments that change with the seasons.

EXPLORING SEDONA AND RED ROCK COUNTRY
It’s not possible to choose between exploring the outdoors, with all that exuberant color and geology, and the indoors, with Sedona’s wealth of galleries, so plan to do both.
First, there’s hiking and horseback riding. Endless miles of hiking trails surround Sedona, whether you’re interested in a leisurely walk or a challenging climb (many trailheads are near the city’s hotels and resorts). Guided hikes are available through Southwest Outside (southwestoutside.com), a long-time area company. Or let herbalist Feather Jones guide your group on a tour that focuses on medicinal and edible wild plants (canyonspiritventures.com). Depending on your interests, she and other, similar, guides can also assist your exploration of Sedona’s “power spots,” also known as vortexes.
Saddle up with A Day in the West (adayinthewest.com), mosey along picturesque trails and wrap up the fun with a cowboy cookout. If you prefer horsepower to horses, you’ve got numerous options. Go trail trekking with Pink Jeep Tours (pinkjeeptours.com),
a member of the Tread Lightly organization,
or board a railcar on the Verde Canyon Railroad (verdecanyonrr.com), where a
diesel-powered train makes tracks from Clarkdale to Perkinsville through nearby,
scenic Verde Canyon. You can also rent their newly renovated caboose (the former ATSF Ce-2 Waycar, if your group’s into trains).
Or, for team-building fun, try a scavenger hunt put on by Red Rock Jeep Tours (redrockjeep.com). You’ll absorb the local geology, plant and animal life, and history
of Sedona as your Jeep takes you up and among the rocks looking for clues. They’ll even incorporate questions about your
organization into the hunt.
For the adventuresome, take an “aerial nature walk” with Red Rock Balloon Ad-ventures (redrockballons.com) or helicopter around Sedona, then buzz off to the Grand Canyon, about 120 miles away, with Sedona Sky Treks (skytreks.com). Many outdoor adventure companies also offer Sedona/Grand Canyon excursions.
When you’re done with all that rock hopping, try gallery shopping—Sedona’s other favorite pastime. Galleries proliferate around town, featuring traditional to contemporary fine art and crafts that reflect the diverse interests and talents of its residents. A good starting point is Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village (pronounced a rhythmic “Tla-keh-pah-keh”; tlaq.com). With shady sycamores, a courtyard fountain and cobblestone paths, this traditional Mexican-style complex features more than 40 galleries and shops plus Rene at Tlaquepaque (928-282-9225), a noted restaurant whose Southwestern-influenced French cuisine is popular with locals as well as visitors. The complex can also host special events in its courtyards, says Wesselhoff, such as a recent Western Governors Association opening night reception and dinner for
about 100 people.
Depending on your group’s timing,
you may be there during the week-long
Plein Air Festival (October 23–29, 2006; sedonapleinairfestival.com), where scores
of artists wield their brushes outdoors, and
the famous Sedona Jazz on the Rocks (September 21–24, 2006; sedonajazz.com), which is celebrating its 25th anniversary
this year.

IDEAL GROUP SIZE
With 3,000 rooms and 40,000 total sq. ft. of meeting space, Sedona attracts a lot of incentive meetings, plus a lot of small meetings and board retreats, says the chamber’s Wesselhoff, although “we can accommodate large corporate meetings of 200 to 400.”
USA Weekend concluded, “We hear the canyon’s call and cannot resist.” We couldn’t have said it better.  Back to Top

Getting There

• The most popular gateway to Sedona is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, a picturesque, two-hour drive away. PHX is served by 23 airlines, which provide nonstop flights to 89 cities in the United States, plus 17 to Mexico, Canada and Europe. While Flagstaff Pulliam (FLG) is only about 45 minutes north of the city, it requires connecting flights with America West. Sedona Airport (SEZ), located high on a mesa, welcomes private aircraft. Back to Top