Smart Meetings

At the center of the 5,322-square-mile sanctuary is an underwater canyon that's twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Gaspar de Portola eventually returned to its shores and established a settlement here, extending Spanish rule over California; the city later became the site of the state's first constitutional convention.

Early in the 20th century Monterey became a working-class fishing and canning factory town, but it's come a long way since then. Colorful Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row, once rife with smokestacks, now house seafood restaurants, art galleries and shops. Saloons have been replaced by tasting rooms for local wineries. Stylish and scenic, the city is a favored destination that hosted 8.1 million business and leisure travelers last year.

Situated in downtown Monterey, within easy range of nearly 12,000 hotel rooms and only three miles from Monterey Peninsula Airport, the Monterey Conference Center (montereyconferencecenter.com) and its meeting hotels provide 61,000 sq. ft. of flexible function space. Portola Plaza Hotel (portolaplazahotel.com) adjoins the center, offering a seamless transition from their function space; the Monterey Marriott (marriott.com), across the street, is connected by a walkway.

While each can also be booked separately, the three properties, plus the nearby Hotel Pacific (innsofmonterey.com), have strengthened their campaign to attract larger meetings (total 800-plus guest rooms) through the Monterey Meeting Connection, their formal marketing association, which offers one-contact meeting planning (montereyconnection.com).

On the northern tip of crescent-shaped Monterey Bay are two resorts of interest to meeting planners. Located on a ridge above Monterey Bay, Chaminade (chaminade.com) in Santa Cruz provides state-of-the-art conference facilities and fun-and-sun relaxation at its pools, tennis courses and a nearby golf course. The resort, which has just completed a $6-million renovation to its 156 guest rooms and 12,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, is offering a summer special to planners: Book a meeting during June, July or August and receive complimentary upgrades to their Benchmark Conference Plan, including a one-hour wine and cheese reception, a complimentary team-building event and more.

Seascape Resort (resortsgreathotels.com), in Aptos, nine miles south of Santa Cruz, is a sprawling, bluff-top resort whose 285 suites and villas overlook the bay and 17 miles of sandy beach. Meeting space totals 17,000 sq. ft. Sign up for Beach Fires to Go, and you'll be melting s'mores at the end of the day.

 

 

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Getting There

Monterey Peninsula Airport (MRY) now offers nonstop flights from Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Monterey Peninsula Airport (MRY) is located just three miles east of downtown Monterey. More than 80 flights daily connect it with major cities and flight hubs across the country. In addition, the Monterey/Salinas Airbus runs shuttles every 90 minutes from San Francisco International Airport and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport to Monterey Peninsula hotels.  

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