A lot is happening in Monterey, Ca., that is sure to spice up meetings, incentives and conventions.
We spoke with the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau about what’s new and how groups can integrate some of the area’s time-honored traditions and forward-thinking experiences into the mix. Here is the latest.
Renovations Are In the Air
The LEED-certified Portola Hotel & Spa’s revamp of all 379 guest rooms and lobby, and new lobby bar and restaurant, Jacks Monterey, is the talk of the town. Meanwhile, Pebble Beach Resorts’ 30 new guest rooms and two golf cottages, a.k.a. Fairway One, allow golf aficionados to step right onto the green from their rooms. Pebble Beach Resorts will also roll out a renovation next year of all 454 guest rooms at The Lodge, The Inn at Spanish Bay and Casa Palmero.
Colorful Meetings Imagined
Last year’s reopening of Ventana Big Sur marked the North American launch of Ventana Big Sur – An Alila Resort, a luxury boutique hotel from Two Roads Hospitality. Named after the Sanskrit word for “surprise,” the timbered eco-friendly property, edged by California’s forests, the Pacific Ocean and Santa Lucia Mountains, provides immersive wellness, art and culture attendee experiences such as mandala coloring to soothe the soul, photography hikes and neuroacoustics meditation across 160 acres and 12,000 sf of indoor-outdoor meeting space. Close to 60 rooms and suites are available to groups (and group buyout), and luxury glampsites in the Redwood Canyons offer the ultimate natural recharge.
Off-Site Adventures
The purple sands of Pfeiffer State Beach, arches of Bixby Bridge, historic Point Sur Light Station, Hearst Castle, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and Point Lobos State Reserve beckon groups. The TV buffs in your group may also be interested in a “Big Little Lies” tour that follows the footsteps of the hit TV show’s leading females.
The Biggest News
The biggest news by far coming out of Monterey is the reopening of the Monterey Conference Center in the city’s historic downtown following a $60 million renovation.The now LEED-certified center, which is adjacent to the newly renovated Portola Hotel & Spa and connected to the Monterey Marriott, offers more than 40,000 sf of flexible meeting space—elevated to 104,150 sf of meeting and exhibition space when factoring in the two hotels.
