Scott Blakeslee
General Manager
Paséa Resort Hotel & Spa
The best thing to go with here is the ocean lawn. It’s a controlled space above PCH and looking out to the ocean and Catalina Island. It’s about 15,000 square feet, eco-friendly—an artificial turf on a concrete base. Because we have an urban footprint, space is at a premium, and what we did is like a world-class ballroom in the outdoors overlooking the ocean.
We also have indoor space, so this area can be prefunction space and an extension of interior areas; it can also be its own area, so we realized, OK, we’re outside, let’s not do this covered—let’s open it up.
Most rooms on that side of the resort overlook the lawn, the lawn overlooks the highway and ocean—there’s a lot of energy about the property and about this spot. The facilitation of our service is good—you don’t have to travel far to get something you need, but it still feels like you’re outside and at the beach.
So it connects with our “laid-back luxury,” where you can easily get whatever you need, quickly, you can be in a tuxedo and take off your shoes. You can do a 10-course meal at a wedding, a concert, corporate events—it’s an entertainment venue, or it’s a place to relax—sun during the day or three fire pits and the Adirondack chairs at night. Spread out your blanket.
It’s a relaxed atmosphere with high service levels, so it fits what we’re doing here.
Robert Donahue
Director of Event Sales and Services
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort has improved a service that is one of the most critical for the meetings industry and one that garners significant discussion and attention.
We now offer high-capacity internet bandwidth for groups of all sizes. This budget-friendly capability maximizes the time conference attendees can spend at a meeting or event by enabling the use of digital devices to stream video, share content, connect socially, and keep up with emails from work and family.
The service is offered at no or low cost, depending on the options required for the event, and available at all three of our resort hotels in the conference and meetings space.
Scott McCoy
General Manager
Irvine Marriott
At Irvine Marriott we identified small meetings as a critical target this year and worked in concert with the Ellis Adams Group, a luxury lifestyle brand consultant in Los Angeles, to transform our Floe Lounge’s private dining room into “YNK”—You Never Know—a unique environment for small groups to hang out, celebrate, network or just enjoy.
The space is meant to be customized by small groups for whatever fits the goals of the group, the vibe of a conference or series of meetings, or simply the mood clients want to convey.
YNK is an ever-changing cocktail experience in an intimate scene-within-a-scene setting. We like to say it’s inspired by wanderlust and that our cocktail journeymen—food and beverage employees serving people in the space—can transport small groups of guests via sights, sounds and sips to unexpected destinations.
The YNK space can be made into many kinds of experiences.
Whether it’s Bourbon Street, Bangkok or Brazil, a Prohibition-era speakeasy or a modern ultra-lounge, your ideas for YNK take on a physical presence. These temporary experiences carry a not-to-be-missed cachet.
For us, YNK isn’t about being in the know—it’s about being in the now.
Jennifer McVey
Group Coordinator
Grand Legacy at the Park
Grand Legacy added an indoor meeting space and a 5,000-square-foot rooftop restaurant and bar/lounge called The Fifth that can cater to different types of groups and conventions at the Anaheim Resort. The hotel has been housing groups and conventions for more than 40 years and has a good sense of what people seek. Meeting those needs and providing space to do so was key to our renovation and rebranding this year.
The new indoor-outdoor meeting space on the second floor of the new front tower has audiovisual capability, a full kitchen and catering options for groups of up to 60 people. The outdoor lounge atop the roof of the same building can hold more than 300. The roof overlooks the Disneyland Resort, and the entire space can be booked for conventions, corporate parties and other special events.
The new space meets the needs of groups in Orange County, whether local or visitors. It contributes to a stress-free experience and enhances our amenities.
Anaheim’s booming tourism industry has needed a place like The Fifth, where people on business or vacation can gather for happy hour, enjoy dinner at sunset, and stay for nightly entertainment. With a full bar and menu, The Fifth is ready to meet the needs of any group or convention, large or small.
Nancy Monte-Frye
Senior Director of Events
Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach
Resort & Spa
Pete’s Sunset Grille unveiled a surf-chic look this year to appeal to meetings and groups seeking authentic destination venues—not just boardrooms. With a more welcoming coastal design in mind, we used a color palate of ripe orange, seafoam teal and russet brown that pop against the blonde wood flooring. Hyatt Regency reconfigured the seating to include more communal tables for meetings and wide, U-shaped booths for mini breakout sessions and brainstorming. The outdoor bonfire area is perfect for connecting with colleagues.
A popular team-building activity that is best enjoyed at Pete’s is our group cooking competition, in which teams compete to deliver the best-tasting meals. This activity offers meeting planners a way to deliver fresh inspiration to participants through the creative elements of cooking and the excitement of competition.
The competition and the grille itself can meet any dietary requirement or desire; popular so far are the chili cook-offs and guacamole, salsa, and sushi competitions.
Amanda Reeve
Director of Special Events
Resort at Pelican Hill
We expanded The Resort at Pelican Hill’s collection of private dining venues with a newly enhanced al fresco setting on our ocean-view terrace off the Andrea Lounge. Our signature Italian restaurant now offers two private dining venues, each accommodating more than two dozen guests for small meetings, corporate entertaining, holiday celebrations and other social gatherings.
To transform Andrea’s terrace for casual private dining, we custom-built a long tabletop to seat up to 26 guests together. We designed the space with distinct table settings, special lighting and space heaters for our guests’ comfort. Whether it’s a midweek business lunch or large family dinner, the al fresco environment and our friendly, intuitive service suit everyday dining and entertaining, and not just special events and occasions.
Our year-round mild Southern California climate and high demand for ocean-view private dining prompted the resort to add this second venue with its coveted outdoor setting and sunset views. The ambiance perfectly captures the casual Newport lifestyle along our coast, while the authentic food and great wines transport you to Italy’s famed foodie regions.
Andrea serves a seasonal menu of Italian favorites, including its signature tableside risotto wheel and dozens of house-made pastas prepared fresh daily by hand. Our chef personally welcomes each private dining group and takes care to customize each dish to the specific preferences of our guests.
Claudia Schou
PR and Marketing Manager
Hilton Anaheim
Sometimes the best way to create new space is to find new ways to reimagine existing areas. The 14th floor Vista Suite is an example—now open for groups of up to 100 and typically used for small functions and special occasions of our clients.
A kitchenette allows our catering team to create memorable dishes, and there’s a well-appointed bar area. The suite boasts spectacular views of Disneyland and North Orange County. Our testing of the area as a space for groups included the front-row view of Disneyland fireworks—and it was a hit.
The space is open to hotel guests seasonally when it’s available and any time of the year can be booked by groups—day or night and for nearly any kind of event. It can be tailored to the fireworks shows—theater seating, for instance—and for daytime, it’s hosted private receptions and mixers for companies at the convention center. We also have a presidential suite, but for those not taking that space for an entire stay, this is an excellent option.
Gene Smallwood
Director of Sales & Marketing
Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel
This month we debut a renovated fitness center. The surf-inspired, laid-back coastal decor and new state-of-the-art equipment is anchored by a 40-foot-wide rock climbing wall on the patio.
We’re looking at the wall as a unique component of a company’s event. It’s a different kind of break from the day, and it’s definitely an option for the ubiquitous team-building that hotels want to offer for their meetings business.
For seasoned climbers, it’s a change of pace from traditional hotel gyms, and for all guests it’s a chance to move in new ways in an unparalleled setting—a boutique hotel at the beach.
We’ve laid out the overall space to be an open, bright, motivational workout environment that draws design inspiration from themes of water, sky, wood, weather, light and surfing mixed with the industrial feel of a vintage 1950s-era gym, and with contemporary equipment—truck tires, kettle bells, medicine balls and more.
Coastal design elements include alternating rustic and tropical wood planks and marine colors. Instead of the usual mirrors, we’re putting up a multipanel mural of the Huntington Beach pier by a mixed-media artist. It suggests the water, sky and waves found just blocks from our hotel.
People want to stay active while on the road, so we created a spacious and interesting fitness facility for them to do just that. It fits people’s healthy lifestyles, welcomes them to the city and integrates well with Kimpton’s signature guest offerings, including beach cruiser bicycles and in-room yoga mats.
Courtney Wallace
Event Sales and Service Manager
Angels Baseball LP
We do more than 300 events of all types annually here, and we’re continually revitalizing our meeting space, event decor, and food and beverage offerings to enhance the overall experiences at Angel Stadium.
Past years have seen renovations to the Diamond Club and a new seating section/club called Ketel One; each can be a private event space on nongame days, as can our Shock Top Brew Pub, where renovations this year brought changes to the furniture and wall decor, more TVs, and a new menu.
This year we also renovated our Gate 5 Courtyard, which can be booked any day of the week for events. Meetings and events in the courtyard and other venues include add-on options, such as a disc jockey, Angels trivia, Angels alumni—former players and coaches—for autograph signings, arcade-type games, such as air hockey, and for game day events, televisions showing a live feed of the pregame elements.
Companies using event spaces for game-day events are commonly those who have purchased group tickets and want to host a reception or meeting prior to the game. Many changes we’ve made to our event spaces are intended to offer a more interactive and high-end tailgate-type experience.
Clients can customize their event with venue variety, refreshed spaces and various add-ons to create a unique and memorable experience for guests.
Chris White
Area Director of Sales and Marketing
Monarch Beach Resort
Our recently completed $40 million reimagination enhanced all aspects of the resort, but one of the most exciting components is the resort’s new—and the West Coast’s first—Miraval Life in Balance Spa.
The 30,000-square-foot facility is renowned for innovative programs and activities and provides groups with a new, expansive wellness and spa team that can help build the overall experiences inspired by Monarch Beach Resort’s oceanfront location and rooted in practices that deliver a healthy lifestyle.
A key part of the spa is Drybar—the first in Dana Point—to attract the busy professional female. We picked the highly-sought-after brand to offer blow-drys to both meetings and event attendees and to Orange County professionals. The response has been tremendous.
We have people taking advantage of Drybar after working out at our new fitness facility. The 600-square-foot Drybar has six styling chairs and features all of the signature amenities that define the unique Drybar experience.
Multitaskers can use the seated salon time as an opportunity to respond to emails; others might appreciate a pause before their days start. The spa also includes another first for the West Coast, a Deborah Lippmann nail salon.
We’re pleased to reach more meeting planners with this spa, which is sure to be appreciated by attendees.
