Incentive - April 2008 - (Page 38) TRAVEL A Hipster Hideaway Major chains like Hilton are also delving into contemporary colors and design and adding to the flourishing aesthetics of the Gaslamp. Opening this fall is the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel, which, according to Donovan Henson, director of convention sales, is situated in a prime location. Says Henson, “Hilton, in recent years, has been moving away from owning hotels, but felt so strongly about this location and this destination as a project that we staked 40 percent of the 350 million dollars to get this project started. And we have long-term management. It will always be a Hilton.” Located just a block and a half away, the Hilton San Diego Bayfront is the closest of the large hotels to the Gaslamp Quarter. Henson adds that the city of San Diego is building a pedestrian bridge. A practical as well as aesthetic piece, the bridge, says Henson, will stretch from the Hilton parking garage over Harbor Drive—the main road in front of the hotel—to the edges of the Gaslamp. Says Henson “You absolutely do not need a car at our hotel. Everything downtown is within walking distance.” The Hilton San Diego Bayfront takes the natural beauty of the area to South Beach heights, with ultra-luxe design attributes such as a porte cochere that bathes guests in picturesque views of the Bay on their way to the main lobby. Says Henson, “People come to San Diego to see water. You want to feel water. Within ten minutes of leaving the airport [en route to the Hilton], you’re seeing water as you arrive at the hotel. That’s a nice way to get there.” Other brow-raising highlights of the 1,190room hotel are a 300-seat Fox Sports Grill with enormous windows overlooking the bay, an in-house premier restaurant created and overseen by Napa restaurateur Donna Scala, an oval-shaped lobby bar—called O—with sweeping panoramic views looking north and west over the bay, a 7,300square-foot fitness center, and a spa featuring seven treatment rooms and four treatment cabanas on the pool deck. Room amenities include “all the new bells and whistles,” says Henson, such as wired and wireless Internet connection (available throughout the hotel); 37-inch plasma HDTVs; and workstations featuring Herman Miller ergonomic chairs and Lavazza two-cup coffeemakers. Outdoor features include a 4.3acre park that is entirely owned by the hotel and can accommodate 15,000 people for a reception. Called Waterfront Park, it is located alongside the hotel’s bayside promenade. Group sales for Hilton San Diego Bayfront started two years ago, and the hotel already has confirmed meeting bookings into 2018, according to Henson. On the incentive side, where the planning window is much shorter than with meetings in terms of booking ahead, there are still available dates in November and December, according to Henson, but the number of reservations for incentive groups are beginning to ramp up, stretching into 2009 and 2010. Send comments to alee@incentivemag.com SAN DIEGO @ ST MARTIN RESORT, MARINA & SPA 38 | Incentive | April 2008 | incentivemag.com http://Radisson.com/StMartin http://Radisson.com/StMartin http://incentivemag.com
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