Unique Meeting Venues

Author: Kathy Chin Leong
February 2008

Features

“A train! A train! A train! A train! Would you? Could you? On a train?”

Whether on a train, in a boat or inside the basket of a hot-air balloon, the popularity of the lucrative meetings market means you can host an event virtually anywhere. Here’s an opportunity to flex your creativity muscles with a guide to rare venues and activities that will have your attendees boasting to their friends about their amazing time.

Meeting planners and industry experts agree that taking people to places they wouldn’t ordinarily go make for both goodwill and good morale. “It’s all about what you are trying to accomplish,” says Liza Graves, owner of BeautifulPlaces, a management company of luxury villa rentals in the Napa and Sonoma valleys. Ideally, “what you want to have is a setting that makes people feel great and feel inspired,” she says.

VILLAS
So, consider a private mansion estate that takes people worlds away. One credit card company that rented a villa with BeautifulPlaces commissioned Graves to hire a celebrity chef to conduct a cooking class along with a wine expert who organized a wine tasting. A well-known car company brought in customers to a villa to see their SUV lineup and enjoy a picnic on the premises, she says. Unlike other rental management companies, BeautifulPlaces not only rents the dream house, but also helps craft an experience to achieve retreat goals. It offers all the concierge and booking services clients are accustomed to at five-star hotels.

The company offers a bevy of luxury properties in its inventory, from hilltop mansions with magnificent views to country estates set in lush vineyards. Décor ranges from ultra modern to wine-country casual, and Graves matches the property to suit each client’s taste. Want a glass house with a panoramic view of Napa with a pool? Need a stocked refrigerator with organic produce and juices when everyone arrives? How about a ballooning excursion followed by lunch at the hottest restaurant in town? Graves says she takes care of as much or as little planning as the client wants. “When you have a home environment, people are more relaxed. They connect more, and the interaction is different,” she says. “At a regular business meeting, you are not in front of a fireplace with a glass of wine.”

HOTELS
Villas are excellent venues for small group retreats, but unique hotels and inns with a proven track record are also a surefire way to shake off the doldrums and give your attendees something to look forward to.
In Paso Robles, Calif., Hotel Cheval is an exclusive 16-room inn well-designed for intimate groups. With an on-site wine bar called Pony Club, this new property features an upscale equestrian theme with masculine, tailored bedroom furnishing rooms, antique horse-related artwork inside and out, an outdoor fireplace for lounging and a library and patio that can be reserved for parties or meetings. If you stay on a Friday or Saturday, Chester the Belgian draft horse can take guests to dinner in a carriage.

For something on the wacky side, consider the 45-year-old Madonna Inn, in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The property features 109 themed rooms of all sorts, from its infamous Caveman room with rock walls, ceiling and rock shower to the Buffalo room with a buffalo head and prairie decor. The independent hotel recently opened the Alex Madonna Center, a 20,000-square-foot convention hall, located adjacent to the inn, ideal for exhibitions and trade shows.
Yosemite National Park’s historic Ahwahnee Hotel and western-themed Wawona Hotel host groups from around the world. You can book your most special guest in the John Kennedy Suite at the Ahwanhee, the room where the former president and his family stayed for a night. Nature lovers can lodge in Yosemite and have access to plenty of team-building activities, including rock climbing, hiking and golf.

Segueing from the mountains of Yosemite to the urban vistas of Portland, attendees should get a kick out of lodging in a 1915 schoolhouse: Welcome to the Kennedy School, an elementary-school-turned hotel. Its 35 classrooms have now been transformed into comfortable bedrooms, but they still maintain the classroom charm with original chalkboards. It’s run by a family-owned company called McMenamins, which operates a string of 53 Oregon and Washington pubs, unique hotels and restaurants. Its newest property is another educational institution, Old St. Francis School, a former Catholic schoolhouse with 19 rooms and four cottages in Bend, Ore.

UNUSUAL ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES
When it’s time to flip on the fun switch, the list of adrenalin-pumping action items is endless. Tai Kuncio, owner of Absolute Adventures, San Francisco, says client requests for unique thrills for their attendees are continually increasing. “When you are at a three-day conference, you can only talk so much when you are sitting down. Having a shared experience outside is so much better,” Kuncio says.

IN THE AIR
Whistler, Canada is known for its amazing skiing and snowboarding runs on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountain. If you are looking for a team-building opportunity, consider the Ziptrek, a five-line zip system that spans across Whistler’s breathtaking canyons and valleys. During the winter and summer, imagine crossing from treetop to treetop not from a rope, but riding across a steel cable wearing a harness and helmet. Groups can rally one another on. It doesn’t take any skill to maneuver across, but you shouldn’t be afraid of heights!
Afterward, you can debrief at the Four Seasons Hotel Whistler and take advantage of the 10,000-square-foot meeting space and four meeting rooms. The hotel also features a full-service spa and gym. Along with its sister properties in Vancouver and Toronto, the Whistler gym offers a customized iPod workout that coaches you through a sweat-building marathon with the encouragement of an audio trainer. And the spa offers a one-of-a-kind caviar anti-aging facial with massage dubbed the Diamond Class Caviar Infused Facial Experience.
Does your group need a fresh perspective? How about a cloud’s-eye view above the mountains? Colorado Balloon Rides can help you with a literal “product launch” with this special adventure. Hot-air balloon rides are available for small groups throughout the year, weather permitting. Each ride features breakfast, champagne, music and a portrait to take home. Ballooning is also a must-do activity in Napa Valley; St. George, Utah; and Albuquerque, N.M.

WITH AN ANIMAL
Animal encounters are part of the thrill when planning a memorable event. Take your group to an animal park or zoo. The San Diego Zoo, the largest in the nation, provides behind-the-scenes tours. The adjacent Wild Animal Park is an open-air reserve, and you can book a safari bus ride just for your group.
For other safari activities, go to Wild Things in Salinas or to Santa Rosa’s Safari West. At both venues, you can treat conference attendees with a tour and an overnight gourmet tenting experience so they sleep “in the wild” among the sounds of elephants and other African mammals.
For close encounters with water creatures, get your group into the water with a wetsuit to touch a beluga whale at Sea World, San Diego. Give commands to the dolphins in Hawaii at Sea Life Park on Oahu or at Dolphin Quest at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on Big Island.
At the Kahala Hotel and Resort on Oahu, the Dolphin Quest experience goes a step further. Clients can book a spectacular dolphin show for an opening night ceremony. They can also sign up for official “dolphin meeting breaks,” so that attendees can take a break in the middle of a daylong meeting, and go outside to see the dolphins and meet the trainers.
One of the most popular Dolphin Quest corporate experiences is the Lessons from Dolphins package. Taught by motivational speaker and professional dolphin trainer Bill Wolden, the tailored seminar correlates training dolphins to successfully motivating and communicating with employees and colleagues. According to Jason Price, sales and marketing director at Quest Global Management (Dolphin Quest’s parent company), Wolden will find out the biggest challenges a boss has to face on the job and will customize his talk. “Bill works with all different kinds of clients, and he can do this anywhere,” Price says. Wolden recently returned from a Lessons from Dolphins talk delivered on a cruise ship.

ON FOOT
Taking a team into the great outdoors is another way to create a spirit of togetherness. Hiking in a breathtaking place offers an opportunity to get fresh air and exercise. Professional hiking guides can take your group on hikes with great payoffs, such as waterfall, mountain or skyline views. In Sedona, Ariz., guide Dennis Andres, a.k.a Mr. Sedona, is the author of a local hiking guidebook and is also a motivational speaker and comedian. Wearing his signature cowboy hat, this popular guide takes all types of groups on trails he has known for more than a decade. Hikes last anywhere from one hour to half a day. In Sedona, you can see well-named rock wonders such as The Mitten, Cathedral Rock and Sleeping Snoopy. Kathy Schmitt, an event planner for Sigvaris, recently sent a group of medical professionals with Andres. Response was great, she says. “We patterned this activity after a conference in Switzerland where the doctors went hiking.”
Michael Fliegelman, president of Innovative Planning Services in Woodbury, N.Y., doesn’t hesitate to take his business colleagues out on a hike with Andres. During a recent trip, Fliegelman’s group rated the Andres hike the highest in comparision to their ballooning and jeep-tour outing in Sedona. “His ability to tell stories about history and nature and the terrain made our time with Dennis that much more special,” Fliegelman says. “He has an uncanny ability to draw people in, not only to feel a connection with him, but also a connection to Sedona.”

ON THE WATER
In Mendocino, Calif., at the Stanford Inn by the Sea, you can rent handcrafted outrigger canoes made of wood and fiberglass. Beautiful in construction and easy to maneuver, these seafaring vessels are the most popular rental on the premises, according to Rick Hemmings, manager of Catch-A-Canoe. The outriggers can seat four to six people each and move quickly on the water—they’re faster than canoes and kayaks. With a rudder on each of the 20 outriggers, they are easy to turn.
“It is beautiful on the river here, and these boats are very safe because they are not going to flip or tip over. You’ll see lots of bird life and harbor seals,” he says.
Nancy Bernys, meeting planner for office products distributor Acco Brands, San Francisco, says her successful stay at Stanford Inn was a rewards trip for the sales staff. “We just loved it up there and returned two years in a row,” she says. “The [inn] had a variety of activities, from bicycling to kayaking, so people had their choice. It was very homey and relaxing.”

UNUSUAL PARTY AND MEETING VENUES
When you want to stage a meeting or event with the Wow! factor, let your mind wander unrestricted, and you’ll be surprised with the creative results.

ON A TRAIN
Train excursions will especially appeal to transportation and history buffs in the entourage. You can throw a private party aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train and tempt attendees with gourmet meals prepared while the train is moving. You can hire actors to perform a murder mystery, rent a comedian, celebrate top sales performers and, if absolutely necessary, host a serious meeting. Groups of up to 370 can charter a boxcar and glam it up with a dressy dinner. The trips last only two-and-a-half hours.
Want something longer? Consider the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, an all-day, six-and-a-half hour journey that spans Colorado and New Mexico. The adventure aboard this authentic 126-year-old steam train includes a one-hour lunch in a Colorado restaurant. Later, you conclude the round trip in either Antonito, Colo. or Chama, N.M. Along the way, your attendees can spot eagles, mountain lions, cattle and even bears. The ride runs from May through October.

IN A FISHBOWL
If you prefer a stationary environment, aquariums are cool, inviting, almost surreal places to play host. For instance, sip a cocktail in front of a great white shark as fashion-show models walk a runway staged in front of a three-story fish tank.
At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, Calif., you can hold a private movie screening in its state-of-the-art movie theater and reserve the entire aquarium for viewing after hours. A new wing of the Seattle Aquarium is so talked about that groups vie for bookings in its Great Hall, a cavernous space with a wall-length, 120,000-gallon fish tank called Windows on Washington.
Special events are commonplace at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif. According to Erica Noriega, special events manager, people who call insist that they need a unique venue and look to her to create a special gathering. “People have parties here for all sorts of things, from awards parties to fashion shows,” she says. One company even hired acrobats from the Cirque du Soleil troupe—“I don’t know where people dream this stuff up, but they do.”
Most popular among organizations is the aquarium’s Great Hall, the vast entryway open for rental after official public closing hours. The room is visually stunning, with a 98-foot-long whale sculpture hanging from the ceiling, a three-story fish tank anchoring the entry and two other fish tanks embedded along the walls.

IN CONCERT HALLS AND AMPHITHEATERS
When you want to corral folks into a meeting place that’s vast and spectacular, a concert pavilion or amphitheater is one way to say, “Thank you.”
The Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, is the West Coast’s equivalent to the opulence of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. It is a stainless steel marvel and a meeting planner’s dream. It has four meeting rooms for up to 350 people, including a rooftop garden. The actual performance hall is a remarkable venue that is also open for private lectures and concerts. It is more accessible in the summer, when the Los Angeles Philharmonic shifts locales to the Rose Bowl amphitheater.
Outdoor amphitheaters can be places of inspiration for large groups. In Mountain View, Calif., Shoreline Amphitheater hosted more than a thousand people at the 20th anniversary of Jubilee Christian Center. This past summer, it hosted a worship service in the outdoor theater, held concerts in the afternoon and ran an all-day picnic with food and game booths on the acreage.
Breathtaking locales, such as the ones at the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater in Springdale, Utah and the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo., make for standout events amid natural splendor. The O.C. Tanner facility offers the backdrop of Mt. Zion National Park, while 868-acre Red Rocks Park is set up against the side of Mt. Morrison with sandstone monoliths thousands of years old. Red Rocks also provides indoor facilities for meetings and parties.

ON A BOAT
Rent a boat for a day to do some private sightseeing, host a meal or reception, or have a sit-down dinner meeting. Options on the water vary from deck to deck. The Red and White Fleet in San Francisco lets you take a day or night cruise on the bay and, as it disembarks at Fisherman’s Wharf, attendees can spend the night at the newly refurbished Hyatt at the Wharf. On one weekend, a computer company hosted a buffet and a casino games night as the boat cruised
along the bay.
Want more water time? Meet on a houseboat for a few days and enjoy parasailing, kayaking or jetskiing in Lake Havasu, Ariz. Experienced destination planners at the Lake Havasu Convention and Visitors Bureau commonly work with groups from 10 to 1,000.

IN A CASTLE?
Wrap your mind around bringing your team on a glamour tour of Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Calif., where the likes of Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin and other old-time celebrities would party for nights on end. While you cannot spend the night, groups can rent rooms for events and meetings at the historic mansion for a lasting impression.
In Calistoga, Calif., the new Castello di Amorosa (a castle and winery) is open for group wine tasting, cooking events, chef demos, dinners, luncheons and tours year-round for up to 300 people. The 150,000-square-foot medieval castle, built with period construction methods, features 200-year-old bricks imported from Europe and local stones chiseled by hand. Replete with colorful frescoes, medieval chandeliers and five sturdy defense towers, it resembles a castle drawn from Lord of the Rings and took 12 years to complete.
Meanwhile, the castle is already fielding repeat visitors, even though it has been open less than a year. According to Pat Krueger, vice president of Castello di Amorosa and V. Sattui Winery, service is so superior that “my staff receives more flowers and thank-you notes than you can imagine.” Owner Daryl Sattui built his dream after the success of an earlier dream, the popular V. Sattui Winery, St. Helena, which can also host groups up to 250 in its outdoor terraces and cellars. This month, the winery will have completed a major renovation throughout the premises.

ARE YOU GAME?
Meeting planners agree the trend toward inventive hotspots is definitely increasing, as leaders look to venues and activities that inspire and foster bonding. As long as you plan ahead and consider the interests and abilities of your attendees, you will have a hit on your hands. Says Kuncio of Absolute Adventures: “The key to all of this team building and communicating is having fun. People are different in social settings than in an office. Give them a unique environment and unique experience, and everyone has a good time.”

Kathy Chin Leong has written for local and national publications since 1990, including Working Woman Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Bay Area Parent Magazine and Silicon Valley Bay Area Parent.

RESOURCES
320 Guest Ranch
320ranch.com

Above the West Ballooning
nvaloft.com

BeautifulPlaces: Vacation Homes
of Distinction
beautiful-places.com

Castello di Amorosa
castellodiamorosa.com

Colorado Balloon Rides
coloradoballoonrides.com

Costanoa Coastal Lodge
costanoa.com

DolphinQuest
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa, Big Island, Hawaii
Kahala Hotel & Resort, Honolulu, Oahu
dolphinquest.org

Four Seasons Whistler
fourseasons.com/whistler

Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort
furnacecreekresort.com

Hotel Cheval
hotelcheval.com

Hotel Congress
hotelcongress.com

I Fly
iflysfbay.com

Lake Havasu CVB
golakehavasu.com