Monterey County, Calif., is a seaside gem with a plethora of properties to support just about any meeting or event group’s goals.
If you’re looking for a meeting or event destination that combines serious group infrastructure with dramatic coastal scenery, standout food and wine, and abundant team‑building options, The County of Monterey, Calif., should be at the top of your wish list. Since 1850, Monterey County — which includes Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Big Sur, Carmel Valley, Marina, Pebble Beach and Salinas, among others — has been a magnet for people seeking beauty and community in a gorgeous natural setting. It has famously been home to authors like John Steinbeck and Jack Kerouac and actor Clint Eastwood, but it also has drawn a galaxy of notables from photographer Ansel Adams, artist Salvador Dali and musician Jimi Hendrix to tech giant Steve Jobs.
But what really impressed me on a recent press trip to the area wasn’t its reputation as a haven for the rich and famous — it’s that it’s a purpose‑built meetings district with something for just about every group. From the Monterey Conference Center, whose modern, flexible space connects directly to two hotels, to ocean-view properties that layer on renovated ballrooms, historic gardens and waterfront terraces, to resorts, estates, cultural centers and coastal properties scattered throughout the county, the destination can handle everything from board retreats to multi‑thousand‑person city wides.
The food and beverage scene also is nothing short of spectacular. Area restaurants lean heavily into local seafood, farm‑fresh produce from the Salinas Valley, and amazing beverages from nearby wine regions — a special shout-out to Bernardus Vineyards and Wineries, which produces the best pinot noir I’ve had the pleasure to sip — giving planners a strong farm‑to‑table story for banquets and dine‑arounds. Group‑friendly restaurants and private‑event venues span casual harborside spots on Fisherman’s Wharf, historic venues, and coastal kitchens that can customize menus, arrange floral and A/V, and even build in culinary teambuilding like cooking demos or mixology classes.
Toss in easy access to golf, coastal bike rides, sailing and kayaking on the bay, wine tasting and iconic scenic seaside drives, there’s no shortage of the out-of-the-ordinary experiences today’s attendees crave.
But isn’t it hard to get to? Not really. I had a quick stop in Dallas on my way to Monterey from Boston, then onto the Monterey Regional Airport, which has daily direct flights from Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego, with nonstop service coming in May 2026 from Chicago as well.
Where to Stay
What was most striking to me about the destination’s venues was that there was a property for every possible meeting purpose, attendee profile and meeting objective. We didn’t get to experience every possibility, but the properties we did tour and stay at gave us a good sampling of the diversity of offerings the county has on offer for meetings and events of all kinds.
Portola Hotel & Spa. After a quick Uber from the regional airport, I landed in what is one of the coolest hotel lobbies I’ve been in at the AAA Four Diamond, 379-room Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay. The area’s comfortable seating arrangements are tucked under 12 live Ficus trees festooned with lights, giving the whole entry experience a magical feel.
Sustainability is king in this county, and the LEED-certified Portola Hotel is fully on board with its comprehensive sustainability program. One small amenity I really appreciated was water stations throughout the hotel where guests can refill their reusable water bottles — meeting planners also can gift their attendees 24-ounce Portola Hotel Hydroflasks if they forgot to bring their own. In addition to providing a comprehensive sustainable meetings program, the hotel provides planners with a detailed Sustainability Report that includes metrics on the group’s carbon emissions, recycled and composted waste diverted from landfills and sustainable seafood metrics.
My room’s warmly crafted details made it feel both homey and laid-back sophisticated in a coastal grandma way, but what I really loved was opening the sliders to hear the sounds of the ocean — especially the barking of the sea lions that live just a stone’s throw away from the hotel. The property also features a day spa, a 24-hour fitness center, and multiple on-site dining options, including the farm-to-fork restaurant Jack’s and the Peter B’s craft brewery.
There was a group in house during our stay, so I didn’t get to do too much snooping around the event space, but hotel’s flexible indoor and outdoor event space could handle everything from a meeting or conference to a product launch, team-building event or upscale executive retreat.
The Portola Hotel & Spa is adjacent to the Monterey Conference Center, which includes flexible meeting and banquet space, an exhibit hall and multiple ballrooms and breakout rooms. Together with the 341-room Marriott Monterey, which is connected via a walkway to the Monterey Conference Connection, these three waterfront properties offer 80,000 square feet of meeting space and 19,150 square feet of exhibition space. While the Marriott boasts several of its own meeting spaces, one standout
that you have to see to believe is the Ferrante’s Bay View Room, with coastal views from every angle that are just stunning.
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course. We had a quick morning visit to the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel, which has 560 rooms and suites, along with 40,000 square feet of versatile meeting space, including the 12,000-square-foot Grand
Ballroom — and most of it features natural light. I could picture groups enjoying the many outdoor spaces on the 22-acre property as well, be it a party at the pool, s’mores by the firepits at the gazebo, or a networking event on the Garden Terrace. One feature you don’t see many places is the President’s House, a 2,500-square-foot villa with four master suites, a living room with a stone fireplace, library, gourmet kitchen and private swimming pool.
Of course, there’s also golf at the Del Monte Golf Course, the oldest operating golf course west of the Mississippi, a full-service spa, and a complement of tennis and pickleball courts — where we pickleball newbies attempted to learn how to play with the patient help of the on-staff coaches, who could do the same for groups, as well as arrange tournaments and other fitness activities.
The Lodge at Pebble Beach. With 161 guest rooms ranging from Garden View Rooms to luxurious suites with views of flowering gardens, oceanside fairways and sunsets over Carmel Bay, the newly reimagined Lodge Main Building and its expanded Terrace Lounge have been a landmark since 1919. The lodge also has more than 10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including a full-service conference center, that offers the perfect mix of comfort and elegance. In the lodge itself, I was particularly charmed by the 1,000-square-foot Library, with its antique books and huge marble fireplace. The Fairway One meeting facility, available for group buyouts, would be a bit hit with golfer attendees, being perched along the edge of the 1st fairway. There also are guest rooms and cottages next to the facility, making a good option for exclusive group getaways. There also are any number of outdoor options offering seaside views.
Asilomar Hotel. Asilomar, also known as Monterey Peninsula’s “Refuge by the Sea,” made me feel like I was back at my childhood summer camp — if Camp Yo Aunta had been designed by turn-of-the-last-century arts-and-crafts female architect Julia Morgan and had stunning ocean views. Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds, set on 107 acres of ecologically diverse beachfront land in the town of Pacific Grove, consists of more than 300 guest rooms spread throughout an array of cottages and historic lodges, most of which feature stone fireplaces that beg visitors, and the public, to curl up and hang out. And they can, since it also is a publicly accessible state park where the community is not just tolerated but welcomed with an ever-increasing schedule of events. If your group wants to do creative brainstorming, connect in new ways and strengthen as a team — and they don’t mind not having TVs in the room — Asilomar could be the ideal place.
InterContinental The Clement Monterey. We did a brief stop at the InterContinental on Cannery Row for cocktails, nibbles and a quick site visit, where we got a tour of the 208-room-and-suite property’s accommodations, ocean views and elegant décor. The property also has more than 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including the oceanfront Pacific Ballroom and the Ocean Terrace Ballroom, all featuring gorgeous Monterey Bay views.
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. If you check out this historic beachfront property, also in the Monterey Bay Cannery Row area, be sure to hit the rooftop spa, whose two whirlpool spas overlook the bay and just beg you to come on in. The hotel’s 290 guest rooms and 10 suites are suitably luxurious and feature views of the ocean waves crashing against the rugged shoreline. The property also offers more than 30,000 square feet of flexible event and meeting space, including the unique Dolphins Ballroom directly over the bay, which holds up to 280 for receptions.
Carmel Valley Ranch. We had the great good fortune to spend two glorious nights at the 500-acre, 179-room Carmel Valley Ranch — though “guest room” doesn’t quite describe the accommodations. My suite had a fireplace, living area, balcony and a fully stocked bathroom bigger than my bedroom at home. It was gorgeous. The ranch is in fact a bit of an agricultural gem, complete with goats, sheep, mini-donkeys and Highland cattle, and honeybee hives, as well as a vineyard full of pinot noir grapes — all of which can be incorporated into group programming, from goats at a meet-and-greet to goat-cheese tastings and honey-related workshops, both of which our group got to experience (it was a blast). They also distill their own salt, and we had a chance to do a flavored salt tasting as well as make our own mixture to bring home. Yum!
But groups can’t live on honey, goat cheese and salt alone (well, maybe ours could have), so the resort offers a variety of dining options, from the grab-and-go Market & Creamery and the Valley Kitchen, where we had a delicious breakfast overlooking the vineyards, the Clubhouse Grill at the Pete Dye-designed Carmel Valley Golf Course and the open-air River Ranch Bar & Grill. For the non-golfers, there’s also an outdoor swimming pool, a spa/wellness facility that is about to undergo a refresh, and acres upon acres of hiking trails to explore.
CVR also has extensive meeting and event spaces to meet every need, from indoor rooms from boardroom to ballroom, to large outdoor areas like lawns and vineyards. Everything is flexible and begs to be custom-designed, so contact the ranch’s Sales/Events team to find out how they can best use the resort’s spaces to accomplish your group’s objectives. Also ask about their customized group activities — which range from team-building competitions to outdoor adventures such as falconry, to artisan workshops that spark creativity like the ones we participated in.
Bernardus Lodge & Spa. We spent a fun few hours at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa exploring as much as we could of its 28 acres of lavender, olive orchards and vineyards with sweeping Santa Lucia Range views. Among the highlights was a wander through the expansive Rose Garden, whose lush lawn can accommodate up to 150 guests, accompanied by the resort’s Chef Gus Trejo. Though it was autumn during our visit, there still were several of its 100-plus varieties of roses in bloom, and the chef’s organic vegetable garden was ripe for plucking several of the ingredients that made up our scrumptious lunch at the resort’s Lucia Restaurant and Bar. Chef gifted us après lunch with samples of one of the many surprising and interesting locally farmed produce items — finger limes, which look like little gherkins but pop with tiny globes of intense lime flavors.
Bernardus, which has 73 guest rooms, suites and villas, also offers more than 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, including multiple meeting rooms, the largest being the Meritage Ballroom at over 2,000 square feet, connected to a two-acre landscaped area. I also was wowed by the Harvest Room, a small 816-square-foot self-contained space with its own kitchen facilities for small groups that want to add an interactive cooking demo or a curated chef-led class. There’s also lots of natural light and an adjacent private patio — a little oasis within an oasis.
The Sanctuary Beach Resort. The beautiful beachside resort’s 60 guest rooms and suites all feature a private patio or terrace overlooking either Monterey Bay or the dunes, making a corporate retreat feel a bit like a coastal holiday. Adding to the ambiance are beachside firepits for networking and team bonding. Among the resort’s versatile meeting spaces is the intimate Cannery Room, which holds up to 70
for banquets/meetings. There are several other flexible indoor/outdoor venues for smaller sessions or larger gatherings up to 150 people. We also had the opportunity to partake in a really relaxing journaling/yin yoga/sound bath at the beautifully appointed studio. Also on offer are a variety of beach and in-studio yoga and Pilates classes, and an oyster ornament
art class, which one of our group took and came away with a gorgeous decoupage bauble.
The La Playa Hotel, located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, has 75 guest rooms and suites with ocean, garden or estate views, all of which have been recently redone as part of the property’s $20 million renovation and now have even more unique, interesting historic, romantic or just plain cool touches — like stocked in-room bars that come with boxes of drink recipes and old-style radios that play up the historic ambiance. Another cool touch was an old-style liquor locker called the Cabinet Society that lines the hotel’s Bud’s Bar. Members get their own locker, complete with branded liquor bottles of their choice. The property also has more than 6,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. The property’s four meeting rooms have almost 3,500 square feet of space, the largest of which is over 2,000 square feet.
Where to Eat
Stokes Adobe, just down the street from the Portola Hotel in Monterey, is a charming neighborhood eatery in what once was an adobe residence. Built in 1833 but with a modern menu, we were charmed by the ambiance and fully sated by the end of dinner on our first night in town. We heard a rumor that the place is haunted by its second owner, a military deserter who posed as a doctor, much to the detriment of his poor patients. I wandered the place, including the second story, but never encountered any disembodied voices or inexplicable cold spots. I did, however, encounter the most amazing fingerling potatoes fried in brown butter and served with chives, lemon and truffle cream — so good!
Fish Hopper. We had a gargantuan lunch at this Monterey icon of a restaurant on the famed Cannery Row, where we got the best seats in the house on a peninsula wing jutting out into the ocean — nothing like watching the sea otters cavort while chowing down on abalone, shrimp and other seafood so fresh you could smell the ocean when they brought the dishes to the table. The servings were so generous — especially the award-winning clam chowder served in giant bread bowls — that we had to waddle out of the place, so very full and so very happy with the food, service and ambiance.
Stillwater. We had an early dinner at Stillwater, the newly reopened restaurant at the Lodge at Pebble Beach, marveling at the beautiful Stillwater Cove views and incredible California coastal cuisine menu featuring fresh sustainable seafood paired with local organic produce. Still feeling the effects of our overly generous lunch at the Fish Hopper, the staff kindly let us sample several dishes family style, all of which were so good I only wished I had room to try more of the menu.
Rosine’s Restaurant, where we had a quick and delicious breakfast one morning while in downtown Monterey, offers plentiful, homestyle food — do try the chili egg puff, which is in fact puffy and cheesy and so, so good. But the biggest highlight was our waitress, who could and would tell you pretty much anything you wanted to know about the restaurant, the town, and whatever else comes to her mind.
Alvarado Street Brewery Monterey. We had lunch at the brewery, also in downtown Monterey, where the fare was delicious, as was the beer, at least the taste I got of one of its award-winning IPAs. We sat indoors since it was chilly that day, but the brewery also features a patio and a sweet beer garden in the back that would be a great gathering spot for small groups. Though why there is a jet ski on the second-floor balcony by the rest rooms, I will never know!
Special Event Venues and Activities
The Barns at Cooper Molera. While this place is tailor-made for rustic weddings, The Barns, right in downtown Monterey near the Stokes Adobe restaurant, would also be a fun place to host a corporate event for up to 600 people. The indoor space is, indeed, a historic barn from the early 1800s, with an upstairs area that would make a great spot for smaller groups to hold an exclusive enclave away from the crowds below. There also is a large outdoor area connected to the barn, which can be tented if need be, and a whole lot of history dating back to the people who built Monterey from its original place as the political and commercial capital of Alta California Territory through the establishment of the State of California.
The famous 17-Mile Drive is just as beautiful as it is famed to be, even if it’s not actually a full 17 miles long. Stretching from Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach, we stopped to goggle at several scenic vistas, including the iconic Lone Cypress and Spanish Bay, and passed by so many gorgeous mansions that I lost count.
If you have a group who wants to ride the 17-Mile Drive in style, check out Monterey Touring Vehicles, which offers classic and vintage car tours and rentals. Perfect for an incentive trip activity or a team-building event, groups can book private guided tours to iconic places in Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur and Pebble Beach, or wherever you want to go.
Attendees can drive their own — the cars, from a 1954 Chevy Bel Air convertible to my fave, the 1964 Stingray, are retrofitted to make driving easy for today’s drivers — in a caravan accompanied by the organization’s hosts, and stop for a picnic along the way, or just wave to classic car fans as you drive by. The organization’s vehicle storage building doubles as a fun event space for gatherings of up to 200 guests, who can meet there for a pre-tour breakfast and/or end their tour with a wine reception.
Monterey Bay Aquarium. I’m a sucker for an aquarium reception, but the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a fin above the usual fish house. Located on Cannery Row in Monterey, the aquarium’s almost 200 exhibits in 24 major galleries are designed to both delight and inspire ocean conservation, including an art gallery with art related to ocean sustainability. The sea otter exhibit also inspired a lot of cuteness overload, and the jellyfish exhibits, well, those creatures still float through my dreamscapes on occasion.
To help keep all this awesomeness affordable, Monterey County’s tourism and meetings organizations actively promote group business with coastal resort options, unique off‑sites and, at times, financial offers that can be applied to team‑building or off‑property events during need periods. Ask the destination marketing organization, See Monterey, what incentives might be available for your group.
That combination of financial support and diverse high‑touch experiences makes Monterey County a good fit for both traditional incentive programs and high‑performing meeting groups that expect a reward‑style experience.
You May Also Be Interested In…
United Adds Seasonal Nonstops Between Monterey and Chicago
Portola Hotel Launches Reduced Waste Conference Program
Energized Meetings with Team-Building Activities
