Off-roading across 80 acres of hills, woods, rocks, sand traps and other real-world obstacles is an adrenaline rush many would not expect from California’s serene Monterey Peninsula. After mastering an on-site obstacle course, the Quail Lodge & Golf Club’s Land Rover Experience Driving School offers this thrilling teambuilding adventure for groups. The workshop runs from an hour to a full day, with possibilities for a geocaching scavenger hunt or mission impossible-inspired challenge intermixed. Though certainly the pièce de résistance, Max Schroeder, director of sales/marketing says off-roading isn’t the only thing capturing the attention of planners these days.
“Attendees and meeting planners are also appreciating our locally sourced, organic, non-GMO banquet menu and some of the other sustainable programs we have in place.”
Four annual world-class events hosted by the 75-room/18-suite lodge create their own buzz. “The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering” is considered the crown jewel of these events, and one that planners can easily wrap their arms around. Combining top-notch cuisine with vintage luxury cars that can be driven locally and on the driving school’s off-road course, the event fans out over an 18-hole championship golf course with lush landscapes and historic lodge buildings as backdrops.
It’s this mix of hyperlocal experiences, sustainability and modernity that makes meeting in the mountains such a viable option for groups seeking to temporarily disconnect from the daily grind.
Schroeder says at the lodge, jack-of-all-trades guest service agents create cost-cutting perks that enable planners with modest budgets to provide a luxury experience “without the big price tag.” Of course, miles and miles of explorable wonderland—from hiking in the nearby Santa Lucia Mountains and other redwood-shaded canyons to diving in Point Lobos’ natural reserves, one of the richest marine habitats in California—offer the utmost in experience for free.
