Prevue September/October 2015 - (Page 42)

Above (l-r): Hotel Indigo, Los Angeles; Desert Princess, Las Vegas; Sculpture walk, Sioux Falls are technically neighborhoods within the city limits," says Nate Grigsby-Rocca, director of corporate relations. As many as 100 attendees can be accommodated. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull and Microsoft Germany. At the end of the day, says Grigsby, "you've burned 2,500 calories and can eat a nice, big dinner." The end of 2016 will see the debut of Hotel Indigo Downtown Los Angeles by InterContinental Hotels Group, a hip 350-room hotel that will be the flagship hotel at Metropolis, a $1 billion mixed-use development in the heart of downtown. In early 2017, Downtown LA Proper, a high-end lifestyle boutique hotel with 145 guest rooms and a rooftop restaurant, will open at 11th and Broadway. In Anaheim, there's a newly branded CVB, Visit Anaheim, and $200 million currently being invested into hotel development and renovations, adding more than 1,500 guest rooms. Coming in December is a 262-room Hyatt House at the Anaheim Convention Center. A new luxury, four-diamond JW Marriott is soon to hit Anaheim's GardenWalk mall near Disneyland. A highlight for next year will be the opening of Great Wolf Lodge Southern California, a short drive from Anaheim in Garden Grove, with the signature Great Wolf Lodge water park and 30,000 sf of meeting space. Two towns that capture the quintessential coastal spirit of California are Newport Beach and Monterey. In Newport, two different walks, each two-and-a-half hours long, introduce attendees to the different facets of this lovely seaside destination. The Harbor Walk South takes groups through the bustling part of the harbor, while Harbor Walk North exposes groups to Goat Island, as well as the city's historic residential Point Section. In Monterey, S.U.P., or stand-up paddleboarding, has taken off. Attendees get a training course to learn the basics and are sent on their way. Adventures by the Sea also offers guided kayaking tours of Monterey Bay. For the truly adventurous, Monterey Bay Dive Center has a full-day Discover SCUBA program, with instruction and dives in the Monterey Bay National Sanctuary, an underwater canyon that's twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. The upgraded first floor of the Monterey Conference Center, with 41,000 sf of meeting space, is expected to open by late summer 2016. A $45 million transformation of the center will make it LEED-certified and able to host multiple meetings simultaneously. SOUTH DAKOTA The falls from which Sioux Falls got its name are this city's top outdoor attraction, but there are other lesser-known ways to see South Dakota's largest city. The SculptureWalk, one of the largest outdoor sculpture exibits in the country, is centered around the downtown area and specifically Phillips Avenue, where there are plenty of cafes and interesting shops interspersed between the sculptures. A free map lists all sculptures. visitvailvalley.com; visitphoenix.com; seemonterey.com; lvcva.com; travelportland.com; discoverlosangeles.com; visitanaheim.org; visitnewportbeach.com; visitsiouxfalls.com; experiencescottsdale.com Up and Away Four of the biggest hot air balloon events in the US take place in the West. Most takeoffs are scheduled during the early morning, and if the timing is right, attendees can get to see the giant balloons inflated just before the sun comes up-a thrill of a lifetime. July: Teton Valley Summer Festival September: Great Reno Balloon Race October: Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta December: Arizona Balloon Classic 38 | prevue magazine http://www.visitvailvalley.com http://www.visitphoenix.com http://www.seemonterey.com http://www.lvcva.com http://www.travelportland.com http://www.discoverlosangeles.com http://www.visitanaheim.org http://www.visitnewportbeach.com http://www.visitsiouxfalls.com http://www.experiencescottsdale.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue September/October 2015

Planner’s Pick: Santa Fe
Fresh Meets: Grupo Posadas Expands Into US
Bureau Buzz: Detroit CVB
Good Business: Singapore Tourism Board
Sea Shores: Cuba: Pioneering a “New” World
On the Verge
MILLENNIAL MINDSET
THE WEST
GATEWAY CANYONS
HAWAII
On Location: Costa Rica
On Location: Langham Place New York
On Location: Norfolk
CALGARY
Checkout: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Prevue September/October 2015