Smart Meetings

“People come and feel inspired,” says John McMahon, president and CEO of the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau (MCCVB). “They come from a world that is black and white and gray. Now their world becomes colorized very quickly, and they have a total feeling of awe.”

Those colorful skies are changeable on the Monterey Peninsula, for the fog billows in at will. At one moment visitors are warmed by a flood of sunshine. At the next, clouds and fog rush in, blanketing the bluescape with wisps of gray. Keep a sweatshirt handy, for layering is a must. Temperatures hover in the 60s and 70s year-round.

This 99-mile coastline south of San Francisco is nature-lover territory, but it’s also a meeting planner’s dream: choices for lodging, food and activities can successfully meet anyone’s budget. To date, at least 250 lodging properties and more than 10,000 guest rooms grace this county along California’s central coast. Victorian inns, Italian eateries and French-styled wineries hug these shores that are so often celebrated on covers of national magazines. And few places in the world offer the opportunity to sip merlot in front of a million-gallon fish tank teeming with sharks, tuna and sea turtles.

We’ve highlighted meeting-friendly communities in Monterey County that will deliver an outstanding gathering. Northernmost is the booming town of Seaside. Farther south are Monterey and Pacific Grove followed by exclusive Pebble Beach, with Carmel and Carmel Valley, positioned on the southeast, making up the tail end of the chain.
The original Ohlone Indian inhabitants—not to mention California’s mission-founder Father Junipero Serra and his contemporary explorer Gaspar de Portola—would have been astounded by the more than 20 golf courses and 85-plus wineries of today’s Monterey Peninsula. But the early conquistadors found Monterey sufficiently appealing to establish a settlement, first as the capital of California under the flag of Spain, passing later to Mexico and then, in 1846, to the Union as California became part of U.S. territory. 

By the late 19th century, artists, poets and writers flocked to this matchless haven, resplendent with offshore kelp forests viewed from tree- and cave-lined coves. These early bohemians dwelled like kids at camp in batten-board cottages by the sea, their continuous source of inspiration. Authors Robert Louis Stevenson and John Steinbeck wrote epic novels while living here. Some of California’s greatest historic painters struggled along the beaches and bluffs in endless effort to capture the ceaseless movement and ephemeral light of the ocean.

In the 1850s, the Chinese initiated the fishing industry on Monterey’s Cannery Row, which in its heyday supported 18 canneries, 100 fishing boats and 4,000 workers who processed and canned the silver bonanza of sardines. Decades later, after the fishing business played out, private investors rescued the dilapidated area with hopes of turning it into a special visitor region filled with shops, restaurants and entertainment. It worked.

Today, the Maritime Museum of Monterey gives visitors context for the seafaring history of the region. The architecturally-impressive Monterey Bay Aquarium tells many a story of ocean survivors in the Monterey Bay, the nation’s largest marine sanctuary. The seascapes and portraits in local art galleries give a sense of life in early Monterey County.

SEASIDE  
When you want very little distraction, choose this 10-square-mile suburb close to many of Monterey’s tourist attractions.

Many of the Monterey region’s locals live in Seaside, and you’ll find honest ethnic markets, vintage clothing resale shops, as well as taquerias, Mexican bakeries and candy makers like Monterey Bay Chocolates (montereybaychocolates.com), a small chocolate factory which boasts a 40-foot-long chocolate buffet in its showroom. Tours are free for small groups.

Seaside is also the home of the challenging Bayonet and Black Horse golf courses (montereybay.com/recreation), set among fragrant chaparral. Blackhorse has scenic views, live oaks and a driving range. Bayonet is the trickier of the two, with elevated greens and tight doglegs. Both are championship ranges.

Walkable stretches of sand and views of wildflower-covered dunes can be enjoyed at Seaside Beach. The site is perfect for long walks, Frisbee tossing or kite flying with your favorite (or least favorite?) CEO.

Seaside’s largest meeting space is currently the Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center, which has 13 meeting rooms for a total of 12,500 sq. ft. However, this residential town is in for big changes as a new Fairmont Hotel will be breaking ground later this year.

MONTEREY  
The city of Monterey is just the place for gatherings of a thousand or more attendees, or when you need full business services and plenty of elbow room to maneuver.

The award-winning Monterey Conference Center (montereyconferencecenter.com) is the largest in the region, with 58,000 sq. ft. distributed over its three levels of meeting real estate. The center is only blocks away from the beach and is situated near Cannery Row (canneryrow.com), a historic district filled with restaurants, hotels and stores. By next summer, the area will also offer a new luxury beachfront hotel.

For an unforgettable event location consider the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium (mbayag.org), which regularly hosts private parties from 30 to 3,000 people after hours. Corporations such as Hewlett-Packard have hosted dinners and cocktail parties in front of the impressive Outer Bay tank, a vast 54-foot long, 15-foot high glass window looking into a re-creation of the marine ecosystem of Monterey Bay.

The Maritime Museum of Monterey (montereyhistory.org) is another visually stimulating location for arranging a gathering. The museum is open for private groups daily from 5 p.m. to midnight and can hold up to 400 for a reception or up to 120 for dinner. Groups can use the theater, lobby and museum.

Those planning small gatherings can opt for hosting soirees at local historic homes. The 1843 Casa Serrano (montereyhistory.org), one of Monterey’s original adobe buildings, is open to125 people for outdoor receptions and 66 for indoor seating. It has a commercial kitchen for full catering and cooking. Nearby, the Carriage House (montereyhistory.org) features a Victorian garden that is kept blooming year-round, a rose pergola and a stained-glass ceiling.

ACTIVITIES
Monterey offers plenty of venues for exercising that ol’ credit card. Retail stores and eateries along Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf are walking distance from each other. An additional shopping retreat about a mile away is Old Monterey (oldmonterey.org) which spans Alvarado Street, which, in itself, is a quaint retail area with more restaurants, galleries, and boutiques.

Group activities are numerous in this region of land and sea delights. The Culinary Center of Monterey (culinarycenterofmonterey.com) can set up cooking lessons for your entourage. Occupying an old cannery building, the center features a kitchen classroom with ocean views. Parties of 12 to 75 can compete in a contest preparing a meal where your hand-picked judges evaluate dishes based on appearance, taste and garnishing. Don’t want to get your hands messy? The center can host receptions for 200 and banquets up to 1,000.

Whale watching is also another popular adventure for those who don’t get seasick. While whale sightings cannot be guaranteed, this boat ride is one means to see Monterey Bay up close. Passengers on Monterey Whale Watching Cruises (montereywhalewatching.com) meet at Old Fisherman’s Wharf #1 all year long.

Group kayaking is yet another alternative, especially in the morning before the waves kick up in the bay. Look to Monterey Bay Kayaks (montereybaykayaks.com) or Adventures by the Sea, (adventuresbythesea.com) to set up a kayak expedition. Adventures by the Sea also offers bike and surrey rentals, as well as guided bike rides.
Land lovers can go walking or biking along the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail. This paved stretch goes on for 18 miles, with nonstop ocean scenery. Bring your camera. 

Take advantage of the beach with a tropical beach party. Adventures by the Sea will set up the food and decorations and Olympic-type games for those with a killer competitive streak.

Walkers can embark on the Monterey Path of History (mtycounty.com) to see 40 historic buildings in 45 minutes. Participants can walk this on their own or, if you schedule ahead of time, you can arrange for a California State Parks representative to guide you around to see the old Spanish buildings and learn more about Monterey’s fascinating pioneers, a mix of Spaniards, Mexicans and New Englanders.

Meeting planners have a wealth of options to suit the avid, can’t-sit-still adventurer to the cultural elitist, just south of Monterey in nearby Salinas. Groups can sign up for racing school at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (laguna-seca.com).

They can also learn all about animal husbandry at Wild Things (wildthingsinc.com). The same town brings visitors to the National Steinbeck Center (steinbeck.org), a museum and monument to the late author who is the only writer in history to win both the Pulitzer and the Nobel. The center is also the site of the Rabobank Agriculture Museum (rabobankamerica.com), with exhibits touting the region’s historic produce legacy. 

Your best friend in Monterey is the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau (montereyinfo.com). With a minimum of 10 people in your party, you can work with the bureau staff, which will assist you for free. They will give you the insider’s scoop on hotels, convention spots, quirky and glam venues, restaurants and banquet rooms. The MCCVB provides a free conference facilities guide as well as a complimentary Monterey County DVD.

“It would take over a week to do all the things you’d want to do in Monterey,” says McMahon of the MCCVB. “There is such a variety of excursions, a diversity of different things to do and see. We are one of the highest-rated destinations in California. Once people come here, they want to make it their second home.” No wonder it was the first choice for the location of California’s first capital.

PACIFIC GROVE  
Frankly, it’s hard to find a town any higher on the quaint scale than Pacific Grove (pacificgrove.org), which oozes charm from every gabled Victorian rooftop. P.G. has 1,253 homes and commercial buildings featuring Bungalow, Arts & Crafts and Victorian architectural styles. Anything built prior to 1926 is legally protected from alteration.
To further retain its sense of community, P.G.’s local laws restrict anyone from purchasing a house for weekend vacation rental purposes. Also, unlike neighboring Monterey, in Pacific Grove no buildings sit on the water’s edge; hence, views of the ocean are unobstructed.

That said, meeting planners will have no trouble drawing small to medium-sized groups to this quintessential American town. According to P.G. Chamber of Commerce President Moe Ammar, the first retreat for the YWCA was held here in the early 1900s. “We have always been a retreat town,” he says.

Local “PacGrovians” are fond of its volunteer traditions such as its folksy Good Old Days Celebration in April and the Butterfly Parade held each October. Every July, the entire community embraces the Feast of Lanterns, a romantic tradition started in 1905. Households suspend paper lanterns on porches weeks before the event. On the culminating Saturday night, the town shows up at Lover’s Point with lanterns in hand to watch fireworks over the water and to listen to the ancient story of a pair of Chinese lovers who eloped across the sea.

Myriad inns are open for small group business. The largest retreat site, however, is the Asilomar Conference Grounds (visitasilomar.com) within the confines of Asilomar State Beach. Asilomar, which translates from the Spanish as a “refuge by the sea,” features 27,000 sq. ft. of conference space and has 28 buildings with 313 rooms spread throughout the nature-inspired property. Built in 1913 as a retreat for the YWCA, it is a warm and inviting property that emphasizes rest and relaxation. There are no phones or televisions in the rooms.

Pacific Grove’s main drag is Lighthouse Avenue, which is alive with galleries, an independent bookstore, boutiques and bistros. The old-fashioned Pacific Grove Market is an adorable fixture of the community, and visitors will enjoy the free Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History (pgmuseum.org), with its displays of local shorebirds and mammals.

The Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Club House (pacificgrove.org) opened recently, and this brand new building with fabulous ocean views is open for meetings, says Ammar. It also features a private dining area that can seat 80 guests. Shoppers will find the American Tin Cannery (americantincannery.com) outlet center a great way to invest a free afternoon. While bargain hunters sleuth for deals through Pacific Grove’s boutiques, quilt shops and garden stores, golfers can work on their handicap at the 18-hole Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links (ci.pg.ca.us/golf).
Walking distance from the Asilomar is the Point Pinos Lighthouse (ci.pg.ca.us/lighthouse), the oldest working lighthouse on the West Coast. Tours run from Thursday through Sunday.

“Nowadays safety is a big issue for meeting planners,” says Ammar. “People feel safe walking around Pacific Grove at night. When people come here and walk around, they are in awe as they look at the buildings and the location we have. It is one of the most scenic places on the West Coast. Everything about this place is retreat-driven.”

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
Carmel-By-The-Sea (carmelcalifornia.org) is a classic locale for small retreats of 75 people or less. On your first site inspection, you’d think that Snow White and her dwarf entourage live here, after you drive past Carmel-By-The-Sea’s $2 million (and above) storybook cottages fronted by patches of roses, foxgloves and delphiniums. It seems that every business and residence must live up to an unspoken cuteness code.

Flagstone-lined alleyways that lead to art galleries and coffee houses are the stuff Carmel paintings are made of. Not surprisingly, artist Thomas Kinkade has a painting called “Sunset on Ocean Avenue.”

This city of 4,000 residents has its fascinating quirks. Keeping with an early tradition, none of the houses in this one-square-mile city have addresses or mailboxes. Instead, residents pick up their mail at the central post office, a hangout for local gossip. 

FYI: because the sidewalks are so uneven, if you wear high heels, you must get a city permit. And ice cream cones were once outlawed because they were so messy. This artist enclave and golfer’s mecca has also been home to Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, George Lopez and, notably, Clint Eastwood. In the 1980s Eastwood was mayor and he currently owns the Hogs Breath Inn restaurant (hogsbreathinn.net) and Mission Ranch (missionranchcarmel.com), a rustic tennis ranch resort outside downtown Carmel.

Last year’s remodel of the Carmel Plaza (carmelplaza.com) shopping center signaled a societal shift for the old-money, golf-loving community. Out went Sak’s Fifth Avenue and a number of independent shops and in came (gasp!) trendy, hip chain stores such as Anthropologie and Chico’s. Posh purveyors such as Tiffany & Co., Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton have also moved in, following the area’s new moneyed class from just over the hill in Silicon Valley.

Downtown is anchored by Ocean Avenue, which slopes down directly to Carmel’s white-sand beach. Strolling along Ocean Avenue’s blocks and parallel streets, you’ll meander through a minimum of 30 pet-friendly restaurants and stores that put doggie water bowls in their doorways.

Purposefully lacking a convention center, the town’s three meeting hotels each have around 5,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. But one truly unique venue for gatherings is the historic Carmel Mission Basilica (montereyinfo.org), one of California’s original missions. It is open for private groups to host parties and receptions.

A must-see while in Carmel is the Point Lobos State Reserve (parks.ca.gov), the jewel of the state park system. Carmel art galleries often display oils of jagged rocks with aquamarine waves crashing violently against the shore. If you look carefully at the titles, many of them incorporate the words Point Lobos. It’s no wonder: Point Lobos, located about 3 miles south of Carmel on Hwy. 1, offers one of the most breathtaking vistas on the California coastline.

The ocean at Point Lobos often appears like a vast paint palette; it’s navy blue along some parts, then turquoise further away, with a mix of grays and greens in gemstone hues in between. The aquamarine waters of tiny China Cove are exquisite. With nine parking lots, three areas for picnicking with restrooms, a museum and interpretive center, the reserve makes for a memorable outing. Docents offer free, one-hour guided walks daily at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. as staffing permits.

PEBBLE BEACH
Welcome to Pebble Beach (pebblebeach.com), an enclave so luxurious you can smell the Gucci golf bags. It’s also home of world-renowned golf courses where, for years, the former Bing Crosby Open lassoed dignitaries and celebrities from around the planet. Now called the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the tournament highlights the spectacular beauty of the Pebble Beach Golf Links, rated in 2003 and 2004 as the top public course in America.
Pebble Beach is its own unincorporated little world, a stone’s throw away from Carmel. It is ringed by the 17-Mile Drive, a pathway sweeping past forests, mansions, golf courses, coastline and its three Pebble Beach hotels. Everything in this picture-perfect hideaway is so pristine, even the tide pool rocks look as though they have been hand polished and placed there purposely by a landscape architect.

Pebble Beach Golf Links, launched in 1919, is what makes Pebble Beach what it is today: a golf destination for those who can afford green fees that go up to $475. The other stunning Pebble Beach courses include The Links at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Del Monte Golf Course and the Peter Hay Golf Course, making it the ultimate meeting sanctuary for golf fanatics.

Think of Pebble Beach as the Cape Cod of the West. As a pair of seagulls fly overhead, you can be working out on the bicycling machine at the Beach & Tennis Club. The ocean vistas of craggy rock islands that slit Stillwater Cove and the waves that each resemble the shape of a long rolling pin all help make the calorie burn less painful.
Pebble Beach Resorts (pebblebeach.com) is the company that manages The Beach & Tennis Club and all three hotels. If you stay at any of these resorts, you can cruise in appropriate style through the well-heeled region in a Lexus for free for two hours during your stay. Guests also get top priority for tee times at The Links at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill.

Not a golfer? Even the pickiest of spa aficionados will be impressed with The Spa at Pebble Beach, a stately 22,000-square-foot oasis with 25 treatment rooms. Of significance is its solarium, an upstairs open lounge called the Conservatory crowned with lush plants and orchids, lounge furnishings, lavender ginger lemonade and tasty spa treats. This year the spa opened an adjacent vault-ceiling lounge featuring a fire pit at its center.  
Other activities at Pebble Beach include laps in the pool and lobs on the multiple courts at The Beach & Tennis Club, as well as horseback riding at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center, one-half mile from The Lodge. You can also rent bicycles at The Lodge to explore picturesque 17-Mile Drive.  

CARMEL VALLEY
Whereas seaside Carmel-By-The-Sea exudes fairytale charm, Carmel Valley is an entirely different animal, bordered as it is by the undulating Santa Lucia Mountains sweeping high above remote ranches, hidden lodges and award-winning, off-the-beaten track wineries. And, “we have guaranteed sunshine,” stresses Cheryl Fournier, general manager of the Gardiner’s Resort, Carmel Valley. “The coastal communities can be foggy and cold, but we are away from the fog, and it’s always sunny.”

Which is perfect for experiencing the unique Land Rover Experience Driving School at Quail Lodge. This excursion can be set up as a group adventure. Try a geo-caching scavenger hunt, a Mission Impossible team-building game, an off-road challenge or a four-wheel-drive vehicle operating lesson.

Your group can also take a fieldtrip to nearby Earthbound Farms (ebfarm.com). Its flower and vegetable fields are stunning, and you can come to shop, picnic and learn about organic agriculture.

Wineries are in abundance in Carmel Valley, and they are also essential to the valley’s architectural richness. Built to resemble a French estate, Chateau Julien (chateaujulien.com) draws crowds to its tasting room filled with stained-glass windows and antiques. Groups often enjoy gathering in the great hall crowned by a grand cathedral ceiling. 

Want to try organic wine? Heller Estate (hellerestate.com) bottles an organic cabernet. Using grapes only grown in the Carmel Valley, Heller is a true local winery that also blends chenin blanc, chardonnay, cabernet franc, merlot and pinot noir. Its sculpture garden and picnic area can also host private events.

An old fashioned hike is very often the best way to stretch after wine tasting and eating. The 4,500-acre Garland Ranch Regional Park provides miles of nature trails. Intense uphill hikes reward persistent souls with impressive valley views.

If you need help planning, AgVenture Tours (agventuretours.com) will take parties for wine tasting, sightseeing and agricultural tours throughout Carmel Valley and Monterey County.

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Getting There

At Monterey Peninsula Airport (montereyairport.com), less than five minutes’ drive from downtown Monterey, more than 40 scheduled flights arrive daily. Nonstop service is available from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City via United Express, America West and Delta’s Skywest. Transport via Monterey/Salinas Airbus (montereyairbus.com) from San Jose Airport (sjc.org) takes about 1.5 hours of driving time. From San Francisco International Airport (flysfo.com) allow at least 2.25 hours. Back to Top