Successful Meetings - May 2008 - (Page 97)

Meeting Sites ESSENTIAL TOOL BOX Convention Facilities: San Diego Convention Center, 525,701 sf of contiguous exhibit space, 90,000 sf of column-free exhibit space; 72 meeting rooms, including two ballrooms. For complete facilities listings visit Facility Quick Search located at: www.mimegasite.com San Diego WO R K A N D P L AY : As San Diego’s hotel inventory mushrooms, so do group options for higher-end stays. Fancy spas, fine dining, and championship golf are becoming the rule across the county, often times all within a single meetings resort. If there’s a planning challenge, it’s trying to narrow down the choices. Average Daily Business Travel Costs*: Hotel $152.77 F&B $116.49 Car Rental $71.05 For More Information: San Diego CVB www.sandiego.org *Business Travel News 2008 Corporate Travel Index OPEN WIDE Downtown’s historic Balboa Theatre has reopened after a $26.5 By Marc Boisclair anticipated million renovation. Not only that: “We just opened the Hard Rock in downtown and the Grand Del Mar in North County, and we have the new Hilton at the convention center opening in Dec with 1,200 more rooms,” says Steve Schell, vice president of sales and services at the San Diego CVB. While impressive, the ongoing growth is not necessarily surprising, says Schell, who adds that sustaining the spurt will depend primarily on simple supply and demand. “Our occupancy levels are still really good right now,” he says, “and we’ve got our eye on that to see if we’re going to maintain those levels over time.” In-town’s marquee debut comes late this fall with the opening of the much- 212-room Sophia, and the 35-room Keating. Notable Center. The 30-story comredos included the Westin Our subscribers gave San Diego (formerly the plex will feature 165,000 sf Pinnacle Awards to: of flexible meeting space Wyndham at Emerald San Diego CVB Plaza), where $15 million (including two ballrooms at Four Seasons Aviara 34,000 and 24,000 sf each), was spent to spruce up its San Diego Marriott Hotel 30 breakout rooms, and a guest rooms, public space, & Marina spa and fitness center. and meeting rooms. For more listings, visit Facility WORK ZONE Construction Marriott is building a Quick Search at is the operative word these pair of extended-stay propwww.mimegasite.com days, especially in the erties with late 2008 comdowntown core. The 420-room Hard Rock pletion dates, while the Setai San Diego (forHotel San Diego debuted in the Gaslamp merly the Diegan) is set to reopen as a Quarter with a 7,000-sf music venue, landcondo hotel, with 161 guest rooms, 24 scaped outdoor pool deck, signature penthouses, a spa, and seven meeting NOBU restaurant, and a series of Rock rooms. Star suites. Downtown has also gained a For more Facilities Updates, go to the California trio of boutiques: the 159-room Ivy, the section of MiMegasite.com Hilton San Diego Convention 1,200-room READERS RECOMMEND Swanky San Diego Downtown has blossomed as a hip, upscale hot spot, led by several new and renovated properties. The entertainment set is already excited about the new Ivy and Keating hotels, with their swank room designs and sexy lounges, and the Hard Rock Hotel, with its Black Eyed Peas suite. On the other hand, a Four Diamond award proved a girl’s best friend when Bravo’s Real Housewives of Orange County chose the 98-year-old U.S. Grant, following its glittering $56 million facelift, for a weekend SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS MAY 2008 PHOTOS: SAN DIEGO CVB of high-end R&R. Del Mar, long an enclave for the rich and racing crowd, leads the parade of posh North County properties with Manchester Grand Resorts’ new $270-million 249-room Grand Del Mar. The justopened Mediterranean-styled property includes mirrored, marble baths; a Tom Fazio-designed golf course; a 21,000-sf spa; Addison, a trendy new restaurant; four pools; and, for those who must work, 20,000 sf meeting space. —MB 97 http://www.mimegasite.com http://www.sandiego.org http://www.mimegasite.com http://MiMegasite.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - May 2008

Successful Meetings - May 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
Industry Trends
Destination News
Destination News
Suppliers
Destination News
Calendar
On the Record
Websites of the Month
Management Matters
Mouth for Sale
Meetings Law
Planner's Spotlight
Pre-Event
On Site
Tools of the Trade
Pre-Event
Counting Change
Giving Them the Business
The Magnificent Seven
All-American Gift Guide
Green Lights
Places & Spaces
Anaheim & Orange County
Upstate New York
Cincinnati
Detroit
San Diego
Phoenix
Gurus

Successful Meetings - May 2008