Destination: Monterey/ Carmel/ Santa Cruz Meeting & Event Planning City Guide
Featured Venue
Seascape Beach Resort on Monterey Bay
1 Seascape Resort Drive, Aptos, California, 95003
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17,000 sq ft
Seascape Beach Resort is the only luxury, all-suites conference resort on the Monterey Bay. With 17,000 sq . ft. of meeting space and 249 suites, Seascape is ideal for groups from 10 to 250 with four-diamond service and quality.
Destination Articles
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The Northern California Must List
By Nikki Gloudeman
December 31, 2012
Northern Californians are quick to share an audacious opinion: Their region is the best in the world.
A lofty claim, sure, but there are ample facts to back it up: Where else can you find scenic coastal towns, a world-class metropolis, a political hub, the epicenter of technology and a renowned ski resort? Where else can you explore one of the world’s most heavily visited wine regions and national parks? And where else can you do all this in a famously sunny and temperate climate? The reality is, few other places boast the diverse appeal of Northern California, and few serve as such an enticing, well-rounded meetings locale. Making the decision to book in this stellar region should be easy; a better question is what to do while here.
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California's Central Coast Calls
By Samantha Durbin
September 24, 2012
Central California is an evocative, trendsetting destination. Between the technology- hub of Northern California and entertainment fueled Southern California are stretches of natural coastal beauty and countless ways to enjoy life. For groups big or small, a meeting in this compelling region'can vary from relaxing, wine-country jaunts to exciting oceanic adventures to discovering the latest culinary trends.
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Easy A
By Nikki Gloudeman
May 31, 2012
How scents draw upon our chakra energy centers. The best tactics for mastering stand-up paddleboarding. Surprising facts about the Grateful Dead.
In the coastal California trifecta of Monterey, Carmel and Santa Cruz, this is just a small sampling of what your attendees can learn. Whether visiting a museum or an apothecary, taking an outdoor adventure class, exploring an aquarium or even tending a beehive, there are seemingly countless avenues to discovery here.
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The United Nations of California
By Sandi Cain
December 28, 2011
California is well known for its Spanish and Mexican heritage, but it also boasts roughly 70 other ethnicities, reflected in delightful museums, restaurants and cultural centers throughout the state.
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Get Inspired!
By Wendy Bowman-Littler
September 23, 2011
Stretching from Ventura to Monterey, this region is famous for its vivid miles of coastline dotted with a variety of meeting spots. Numerous activities round out the Central Coast’s offerings, from a visit to the Channel Islands or a local winery to more strenuous pursuits such as biking and surfing.
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Inspire with a Natural Muse
By Louise M. Felsher, CMP, CMM
May 31, 2011
California’s Monterey Bay is vibrant, dramatic and wildly diverse, and its raw natural beauty has both influenced and attracted eminent writers, artists, musicians, architects and scientists, as well as provided a welcoming environment for wine grape varietals and ethereal Monarch butterflies. Nobel laureate, Pulitzer recipient, novelist, travel writer and Monterey Bay native, John Steinbeck wrote, “I’ve lived in good climate, and it bores the hell out of me. I like weather rather than climate.”
The dramatically arching bay offers exhilarating weather and striking landscapes from the warmer beaches of the northern tip at Santa Cruz and Capitola down to the cooler southern part in Monterey and Carmel, where the temperature rarely rises much above 75 degrees or drops below 40. The invigorating diversity makes this a highly desirable destination and is credited with increasing meeting attendance regardless of the audience.“Within 20–25 minutes’ drive time you can experience such distinct and dramatic differences in topography and character, from the family-oriented, Victorian-lined streets of Pacific Grove to Carmel and its art galleries and great restaurants to Pebble Beach, with its beautiful resorts and world-class golf courses,” says Steve Henry, president and CEO of Associated Hosts, Inc., a premier destination management company in the area. Associated Hosts provides full-service destination services for meetings, from transportation to entertainment.
Learn about Monterey/ Carmel/ Santa Cruz for Event Venues, Services & Meeting Destinations
Destination Description
Smart Stats:
Local CVB:Monterey County CVB
Smart Snapshot:
California’s Monterey Bay is vibrant, dramatic and wildly diverse, and its raw natural beauty has influenced and attracted eminent writers, artists, musicians, architects and scientists, as well as provided a welcoming environment for wine grape varietals and ethereal Monarch butterflies. Nobel laureate, Pulitzer recipient, novelist, travel writer and Monterey Bay native, John Steinbeck wrote, “I’ve lived in good climate, and it bores the hell out of me. I like weather rather than climate.”
The dramatically arching bay offers exhilarating weather and striking landscapes from the warmer beaches of the northern tip at Santa Cruz and Capitola down to the cooler southern part in Monterey and Carmel, where the temperature rarely rises much above 75 degrees or drops below 40. The invigorating diversity makes this a highly desirable destination and is credited with increasing meeting attendance regardless of the audience.
Old Monterey thrived from catching and processing the bay’s abundant fish, but this ended in the 1950s due to overfishing. However, the authenticity of the original fishing town, particularly the sardine factories, has been so remarkably preserved that you can imagine the characters of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row ambling about—particularly Doc, who was modeled after Steinbeck’s good friend Ed Ricketts, a legendary Monterey Bay marine biologist, ecologist and philosopher, and author of Between Pacific Tides as well as co-author with Steinbeck of The Log from the Sea of Cortez.
Not far away is Carmel-by-the-Sea which comprises the one-square-mile downtown area of Carmel populated with a large number of appealing art galleries, restaurants and shops and all of the quaintness that goes with such a small and cultured sea-side town.
On either end of Monterey Bay, the cities of Monterey and Santa Cruz are both hotspots for (pop) cultural enlightenment. Santa Cruz, not only home of the U.C. Santa Cruz Slugs, attracts visitors to its famous beach boardwalk offering an arcade, a bowling alley, mini golf and amusement park rides, including the clattering, more-than-80-year-old wooden roller coaster.
For years, the natural beauty of the Monterey Bay has lured planners to the bayside towns of Monterey, on the southern tip, and Santa Cruz, on the northern tip. And the cities promise more than just physical wonder—they are also filled with world-class restaurants, golf courses, wineries, outdoor recreation opportunities and more.
