Meeting News - October 20, 2008 - (Page 44)

Destination Insider: California By Terri Hardin terri.hardin@nielsen.com Unlike on TV, Orange County Plays Nice, Especially to Groups Unusually large-scale collaboration offers a wide range of luxury lodging options and unique team-building activities Earlier this summer, the OCeanfront—a marketing alliance comprising four- and five-star resorts, upscale shopping malls, and private golf courses in southern California’s Orange County—added two more properties to its prominent list. The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel and the soon-todebut Resort at Pelican Hill joined the ranks, featuring the likes of the Balboa Bay Club & Resort, the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort, the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa, Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa, the Marriott Newport Beach Hotel & Spa, the Montage Laguna Beach, St. Regis Monarch Resort, the Surf & Sand Resort, and the Island Hotel Newport Beach. Normally, one would expect these properties, which dot 42 miles of prime Pacific coastline from Huntington Beach to Dana Point, to engage in cut-throat competition. With the alliance, however, the resorts are maximizing their reach by offering groups a countywide experience— using one property as the headquarters hotel, nearby properties for overflow, and all properties for a selection of dining, golf, spa, and teambuilding activities. At Dana Point, for example, groups may select the 400-room St. Regis Monarch (90,000 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space) as base camp for VIPs, hold meetings at the four-star, 376room Laguna Cliffs Marriott (which has begun a multimillion-dollar upgrade and has 55,000 sf of indoor and ourdoor meeting space), play golf at the Monarch Beach links, and hold team-build- In the OCeanfront marketing alliance, a bevy of properties collude to keep groups happy. ing activities at the 393-room Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel (such as a wine charm and wine stopper-making class at ENO, the property’s restaurant for wine, cheese, and chocolate tastings; the property has 30,000 sf of meeting space). At nearby Laguna Beach, groups with families might choose the 250-room Montage (20,000 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space), where their children can enjoy the Paintbox program and then a nighttime poolside movie at the 165room Sun & Sand Resort (10,000 sf of meeting space and 500 feet of beach), while the grown-ups gather at the adjacent fine-dining Splashes. In Newport Beach, the 160-room Balboa (15,000 sf meeting space), the 295-room Island Hotel (30,000 sf meeting space), and the 204bungalow Resort at Pelican Hill (20,000 sf of meeting space), which is expected to open by year end (although the golf course is open now), represent the luxe life that’s associated with the OC, while the Hyatt Regency (20,000 sf of meeting space) and the 532-room Marriott (40,000 sf of meeting space) boast extensive grounds . But perhaps the most representative of California beach life are Huntington Beach’s 290-room Hilton (21,500 sf of meeting space) and the sprawling 517-room Hyatt Regency (100,000 sf of meeting space). The Pacific Coast Highway separates the properties from actual beach frontage, but the views are still superb. (In a previous renovation, the Hilton’s outdoor function area were actually elevated for a better view of the beach). The Huntington Beach properties arrange with the Toes on the Nose surf shop to provide beach amenities for groups (such as beach tents, surf lessons, and bike rentals), while Dig It, a husband-and-wife team of sandcastle builders, can lead teams in one of the most enjoyable (if ephemeral) of team-building exercises. www.meetingnews.com Refreshed L’Auberge Del Mar Rolls Out More Amenities The famed 120-room L’Auberge Del Mar reopened this summer with a sophisticated plantation decor that contrasts with its demure exterior. The luxury property features more than 15,500 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including 2,000 sf of newly added outdoor, oceanview space. Next month, a fine-dining 44 MeetingNews October 20, 2008 restaurant, KITCHEN 1540, will debut under the supervision of Paul McCabe (who also will oversee all banquets and catering). But the piece de resistance of the multimillion-dollar renovation is the new, bigger spa; the new relocation is next to the property, in a detached facility, and is expected to open in March. http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - October 20, 2008

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