Big Blue Meetings in Monterey County

MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Just like the vast array of animals that travel thousands of miles each summer to the Monterey Bay - home to one of the largest wildlife gatherings on Earth - Monterey County boasts a bounty of unique and innovative meeting spaces. With venues like the Ocean's Edge Galleries at the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, groups can get invigorated by the ocean breezes and enjoy the classic California vibe - it's no wonder planners looking for an inspirational backdrop for their meetings seek Monterey again and again. Whether it's a collaborative co-working space or a high-tech conference room, Monterey has got you covered.

Wonders on the Bay: The BBC and PBS just wrapped the three-part Big Blue Live program in Monterey County where scientists, filmmakers, photographers, and wildlife experts came together to highlight the revitalized ecosystem of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The program provided an exciting opportunity for the world to experience the splendor of Monterey Bay, and presented stunning areas from Moss Landing to Big Sur for groups to get inspired in and out of the meeting room.

Just steps from where Big Blue Live was broadcast, the announcement of a new 160 room luxury hotel was made this fall. At a press conference, Domaine Hospitality Partners, LLC, Foursome Development Co., and the City of Pacific Grove, outlined plans for an ocean front luxury hotel venture dubbed Project Bella. The group will be seeking LEED Platinum certification at the site of the American Tin Cannery, on the west end of historic Cannery Row. The hotel will include executive conference and meeting spaces and is now in planning with acclaimed architecture firm Hornberger + Worstell. Down the street from the site of Project Bella, there is an abundance of ocean-side meeting spaces on Cannery Row including at the Intercontinental The Clement Monterey, the Monterey Plaza Hotel and the Monterey Bay Inn.

It's just a short stroll along the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail to the Monterey Beach House - located on the sands of Del Monte Beach, next to Old Fisherman's Wharf. Groups can hear the breakers and experience the wildlife up close where dolphins, whale humps, seals and otters regularly break the surface of the water. The venue offers an array of team building activities such as Beach Olympics, Sand Castle Building, Wacky Relays and Scavenger Hunts, and the beach can be privatized and transformed to suit the needs of any group.

The Sanctuary Beach Resort is the only ocean side getaway in Marina. Set in the undulating sand dunes near Marina State Beach and Fort Ord Dunes State Park, the Sanctuary features over 3,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting space and 6,000 sq. ft. of outdoor space surrounded by the natural beauty and quiet calm of the Central Coast. Attendees can get out of the boardroom and into the great outdoors with easy access to an abundance of adventure options in Marina including Marina Dunes Natural Preserve, a favored spot for paragliding, skydiving, and kite flying where it's common to see colorful patterns of every imaginable shape, size and design soaring over the dunes.

Take a deep breath of sea air and settle in for some serene relaxation, reflection and rejuvenation at Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove. This 170 acre, ecologically diverse beachfront heritage property surrounded by dazzling natural sand dunes and tide pools. Known as Monterey Peninsula's "Refuge by the Sea", the resort offers a variety of meeting and event locations from a protected meadow to a historic chapel to the white sands of Asilomar State Beach, just a short jaunt from Pebble Beach and The Inn at Spanish Bay.

Groups can complete their trip to Monterey County by exploring the one-of-a-kind experiences found at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Open Seas Galleries is the Aquarium's largest exhibit, a space where groups can meet across from a 90-foot window into the sea and watch tunas, sharks, turtles and shimmering schools of fish swim by. Then wrap-up any off-site meeting with an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime dinner beside the awe-inspiring Kelp Forest exhibit with underwater views of sardines, leopard sharks, and eels weaving through the canopies.

With the launch of the Monterey County Convention & Visitor Bureau's new Digital Meeting Planner Resource, organizing meetings has never been easier. This one-stop shop is available on mobile devices, tablets, as well as desktops and is a powerful tool for meeting planners on the go. Browse all of the destination's meeting spaces, peruse the MCCVB's complimentary services, view the wide variety of activities and tour options available for an epic pre & post conference experience, and access the many destination services available 24/7 on MeetInMonterey.com. This guide is the first step in the overhaul of the digital experience that the MCCVB will undertake in the next year.

MEDIA CONTACT
Jacob Shafer | Monterey County CVB
831-657-6415; [email protected] 
@MontereyMeeting

ABOUT MONTEREY COUNTY
Monterey County is the West Coast's most inspirational destination for meetings and conferences, and is an ideal location to host innovative meetings. From the state-of-the-art Monterey Conference Center, offering 40,000+ square feet of meeting space, to the stunning natural scenery, abundant wildlife and rich history, Monterey County presents options and activities for every group's size and budget. The area boasts 12,000 rooms in 250 lodging properties, and a 65 degree average year-round temperature. Monterey County stretches from the artichoke fields of Castroville through Monterey Peninsula and down the Big Sur coast, all the way to the Salinas Valley. The area is easily accessible by flying on one of more than 500 direct and 1-stop flights into the Monterey Regional Airport, but far enough away to open minds and inspire new thinking.  Visit MeetInMonterey.com for travel and accommodation information and to view Monterey's official Meeting Planner Guide.

SOURCE Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Related Links

http://www.seemonterey.com