California.

ANAHEIM/DISNEYLAND

Anaheim truly is a magical meetings destination with 20,000 hotel rooms and all the great attractions created by Disney's two theme parks and the Downtown Disney entertainment district where trend-setting restaurants, shops, a multiscreen cinema, and live entertainment provide delegates with many options.

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Downtown Disney is adjacent to Disney's new California Adventure, a $1.4 billion theme park that is divided into three primary "lands" that celebrate the essence of the California experience. And located within the grounds of Disney's California Adventure is the new Grand Californian Hotel, a 751-room property that features the 11,850-square-foot Sequoia Ballroom.

Disney operates two other hotels within the area referred to as the Anaheim Resort District, a 1,100-acre garden district that encompasses the Disneyland Resort and the Anaheim Convention Center. The 990-room Disneyland Hotel features a 28,968-square-foot exhibit hall, 18,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, and 14,400-square-foot Marina Ballroom. Disney's Paradise Pier Resort features 502 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of meeting space.

Completed in 2001, the $180 million expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center created 40 percent more function space. Meeting and exhibition space increased to 1.6 million square feet, including 815,000 square feet of exhibit space, 52 meeting rooms, 130,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 38,000-square-foot ballroom. Changes include a dramatically redesigned building that uses soothing colors and extensive natural light created by $13 million of wave-patterned glass surrounding the facility and providing it with a sweeping new entrance.

Even more upgrades are under way in the Resort District. In early 2005, Phase I of the Anaheim Garden Walk will open with a 65,000-square-foot aquarium. The new complex eventually will include entertainment, retail, dining, attractions, and hotel facilities. The Phase I opening will coincide with Disney's 50th anniversary celebration.

CONTRA COSTA 

Contra Costa is one of the fastest growing and most accessible areas in the San Francisco Bay area. Only about 30 minutes from San Francisco to the southwest or the Wine Country to the northwest, Contra Costa is one of the bay area's best places to shop, play, stay, and meet. It is linked to the entire Bay Area by freeways and rail systems.

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Contra Costa offers four meetings-oriented hotels: the Embassy Suites, Hilton Concord, Holiday Inn Concord, and Sheraton Concord & Conference Center. The Chronicle Pavilion offers a 12,500-seat, out-door amphitheater venue for a variety of live performances and other events.

Ample leisure pursuits are a big plus when staying in Contra Costa. Only minutes away are Waterworld USA and Six Flags Marine World.

LOS ANGELES/UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Nowhere is the versatility and almost unbelievable amount of event options that Los Angeles offers more evident than at Universal Studios Hollywood. The massive complex offers groups 28 back lot movie sets, a dedicated sound stage, set lighting, elaborate movie props, and the Globe Theater, a 9,600-square-foot special events venue.

The Universal CityWalk entertainment district also offers a variety of private event options. Its Tango Alley can be rented for the quintessential block party, with a 10,000-square-foot events center that is surrounded by 33 places to eat and play. Universal's multiscreen cinemas and IMAX theater complex offer 425 stadium seats and a six-story screen.

Those groups seeking a large exposition facility need look no further than the Los Angeles Convention Center. Located within walking distance of the city's down-town business district and more than 4,700 hotel rooms, the center offers 887,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space and a theater with 300 tiered seats.

A new event facility came online last fall when the Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in the heart of Los Angeles with a 2,265-seat auditorium, 250-seat multiuse theater, 220-seat outdoor amphitheater, and a lush central gardens area for receptions.

And what would a visit to Southern California be without a trip to the beach? For intimate meetings, the Best Western Jamaica Bay Inn offers two beachside patios and indoor meeting facilities for up to 200 people on Mother's Beach in Marina Del Rey.

MONTEREY

Monterey's small-town, seaside village ambiance can be deceiving, because this city has plenty of large, meetings-oriented hotels and a world-class conference center. The Hyatt Regency Monterey, a 575-room property with 30,000 square feet of meeting space, is but one example. The Hyatt is undertaking a guest-room renovation following a comprehensive renovation of all meeting space and expansion of its outdoor event venue.

The Doubletree Monterey is also renovating its 380 guest rooms. Complementing its 20,000 square feet of meeting space, the Doubletree recently renovated its lobby bar and lounge as well. The Monterey Marriott's 341 guest rooms have been upgraded with new furnishings.

The tech-savvy Monterey Conference Center features two ballrooms and a dazzling array of the latest presentation technology at its Steinbeck Forum Theater. The center's ballrooms are 19,600 and 10,655 square feet, and facilitywide function space totals 58,000 square feet.

Lots of nontraditional event facilities exist throughout Monterey that could make for a most memorable function. A Taste of Monterey is a regional wine tasting room during the day. But at night it is a beautiful, 4,000-square-foot event facility that offers one of the area's best views. The Chateau Julian Wine Estate offers facilities for events for up to 150 people, while Adventures by the Sea operates a host of innovative team-building programs at its 5,000-square-foot, beachfront complex.

Of course, there's the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is in the midst of a $10 million upgrade that will create a new entrance and an overhead connecting bridge. The aquarium can host receptions for up to 3,000 people.

NEWPORT BEACH 

Spectacular beachfront properties near the Orange County/John Wayne International Airport and its 290 daily flights make Newport Beach a meetings hot spot between Los Angeles and San Diego. Several top-notch, resort-style hotels are available on or near beautiful Newport Beach. These properties offer more than 2,600 first-class guest rooms and more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space.

Several of these properties have upgraded or are in the midst of doing so. The 403-room Hyatt Newporter should complete a $10 million, propertywide renovation this month that will give it a new decor in its lobby, restaurant, and 20,000 square feet of meeting space. The 570-room Newport Beach Marriott also is undertaking a $63 million renovation of its guest rooms and meeting space, including the 8,000-square-foot Pacific Ballroom.

Last May, the landmark Balboa Bay Club & Resort opened expanded facilities that included a new 132-room waterfront hotel adjacent to the private, 55-year-old Balboa Bay Club. The complex offers 17,000 square feet of function space. Other major Newport Beach meetings hotels include the 335-room Radisson (22,000 square feet of meeting space), 295-room Four Seasons (35,000 square feet of meeting space), and the 435-room Sutton Place (almost 20,000 square feet of meeting space).

OAKLAND

Oakland's vibrant economy and location in the center of the bustling Bay Area have earned it Forbes magazine's designation as the eighth best U.S. city for business and careers. And California's seventh largest city has a lot to offer, indeed.

Start with Oakland International Airport, where 12 carriers offer more than 200 flights and 26,000 seats daily. The airport is constructing a 6,000-space parking garage near the terminals to handle increased traffic.

Oakland City Center is the hub of meetings activity in the city, with the 484-room Oakland Marriott combining with the Oakland Convention Center to offer 89,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space.

For meetings in historic yet completely upgraded surroundings, the Henry Kaiser Convention Center is within walking distance of the City Center. Known as the Oakland Civic Auditorium for 70 years, the Kaiser Center offers a 6,000-seat arena with 25,000 square feet of floor space, a 1,924-seat theater, a ballroom that seats 325 people theater-style, and the Gold Room, which can accommodate 125 people for banquets.

Other facilities include the Jack London Aquatic Center with space for up to 400 people, the Rotunda Building with a 975-person capacity, and the Cal State Hayward Oakland Conference Center, which has several classrooms and multimedia labs.

ONTARIO

Precious few cities can boast having an expansive convention center two blocks from a major international airport that offers more than 100 daily nonstop flights. But that's what Ontario offers in the center of Southern California excitement.

The Ontario Convention Center features 225,000 square feet of meeting, exhibit, and banquet space, including a 70,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 20,000-square-foot ballroom, and 24,000 square feet of meeting rooms. More than 2,000 hotel rooms surround the center, including the 484-room Doubletree; 309-room Hilton, which has 15,000 square feet of meeting space; 293-room Marriott with 20,000 square feet of meeting space; and 164-room Sheraton.

Most of the hotels offer complimentary shuttle service to the center, Ontario International Airport, and Ontario Mills Mall, Southern California's largest entertainment and outlet mall with 23 anchor stores, more than 200 specialty shops, and 83 movie screens. All of Southern California's great attractions such as Hollywood, Disneyland, and Pacific beaches are nearby as well. More than 50 top golf courses are within a short drive as well.

PALM SPRINGS

With 160 hotels offering nearly 6,500 guest rooms, a new airport terminal, and an expanding convention center, Palm Spring is making its claim for a larger piece of the California meetings pie. Plam Springs International Airport is making it easier to travel to the desert valley oasis with a new 84,000-square-foot terminal that added eight gates. Ten air carriers are offering expanded service from Palm Springs as a result.

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Next spring, the Palm Springs Convention Center will complete its $27.5 million expansion. Already offering 105,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, the center is adding 20,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space, 35,000 square feet of exhibit space, and 38,000 square feet of prefunction space.

Phase I of the expansion was completed last spring when a 5,700-square-foot meeting room and expanded kitchen facility opened. Directly accessible to the center is the 410-room Wyndham Hotel, which offers 28,000 square feet of meeting space and a day spa. Several other meetings-oriented hotels are located nearby.

SACRAMENTO

Convenience is key in Sacramento, where the capital city is using technology to make meetings there more enjoyable for delegates. In April, Sacramento debuted its "smart card" program for conventions. Embedded with a programmable computer chip, the smart card can be customized to offer convention delegates various discounts and other special offers at dozens of local restaurants, attractions, retailers, and so forth.

Meeting in Sacramento also got more convenient recently for delegates traveling from the East Coast. In March, JetBlue launched new nonstop service between JFK International Airport in New York and Sacramento International Airport. Continental Airlines also initiated new nonstop service this month between Sacramento and Newark, New Jersey. Located only 15 minutes from downtown Sacramento, the airport offers more than 150 daily flights.

Once in downtown, you'll find a convenient convention package with more than 2,000 hotel guest rooms within walking distance of the Sacramento Convention Center. The center offers 134,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 24,000-square-foot ballroom, and 31 meeting rooms.

The historic Memorial Auditorium provides the perfect setting for lectures and keynote presentations. Built in 1927, the 3,800-seat theater is an ornate, architectural masterpiece with extensive terra cotta and elaborate detailing. It also offers the recently renovated Jean Runyon Little Theater with 272 seats. The new Wells Fargo Pavilion provides a theater-in-the-round arrangement with 2,200 seats.

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After their sessions, delegates can stroll through the 28-acre Old Sacramento Historic District along the Sacramento riverfront. Restaurants, shops, hotels, and other attractions are in the district, including one of the world's premier railroad attractions, the newly renovated California State Railroad Museum.

SAN DIEGO

San Diego's amazing weather makes it an appealing meeting destination, and a host of new facilities are adding to that appeal.

Last August, the Pala Casino Resort, and Spa in northern San Diego County opened its $105 million expansion. The expansion added 30,000 square feet of meeting space, with 8 of its 17 meeting rooms featuring outdoor patios overlooking the garden and pool area for dining or cocktail receptions.

The project also created two new restaurants and two entertainment venues encompassing 3,000 seats. The 507-room resort also features a 10,000-square-foot spa and a casino with 77 table games and 2,000 slot and video machines. Overall, Pala now offers eight restaurants and three entertainment venues.

Opening this June is Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa about 20 minutes from downtown San Diego. The 210-room property will offer a cutting-edge learning retreat with 25,000 square feet of meeting space, a 125-seat amphitheater, and a 6,000-square-foot ballroom. Also opening in June is the Midway Magic/San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum with space for group events of up to 2,000.

This spring, downtown San Diego received two impressive new facilities. PETCO Park opened last month with space for small meetings in the East Village directly across from the San Diego Convention Center. Located next to the new baseball park is the new Omni San Diego with 511 guest rooms and 20,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting and event space.

Adjacent to downtown and only three miles from San Diego International Airport is the Shelter Pointe Hotel and Marina. The posh resort features 206 newly renovated guest rooms and suites, 18,000 square feet of meeting space, and 20,000 square feet of out door event space, including courtyards, fountains, gardens, patios, and even a private beach at the edge of the marina.

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco continues to get new facilities that will enhance what is already an immense appeal as a convention city. The debut of the West Building last June at the Moscone Convention Center brought total function space to 900,000 square feet, which significantly enhances the city's ability to host a wider variety of trade shows and conferences.

The West Building added 300,000 square feet of function space, including a 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall on the lobby level where a soaring glass wall showcases the legendary San Francisco skyline. The second level of the new building offers 19 individual meeting rooms that can be combined into various configurations, while the third level features a 60,000-square-foot, column-free ball-room. The newly expanded center is near 16,000 hotel rooms, including the adjacent San Francisco Marriott with 1,500 guest rooms and 100,000 square feet of meeting space.

New hotels keep springing up in the heart of the city. In December, a 168-room La Quinta Suites & Inn opened in a 1908, Victorian-style building in the Cathedral Hill area. This fall, the St. Regis Hotel will open with 269 guest rooms, a spa, and 12,760 square feet of meeting space. It will occupy the first 20 floors of a 40-story, mixed-use tower. Opening in spring 2005 is the Hotel Vitale, a 200-room property with a gourmet restaurant across from the Embarcadero and the Ferry Building.

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The already great shopping city gets even better in fall 2006 when the $410 million Westfield San Francisco Centre opens in the city's retail district. The project is transforming the landmark Emporium Building and the existing San Francisco Centre into a 1.5 million-square-foot, mixed-used complex that will have 200 specialty stores, an international gourmet market, a nine-screen cinema, and the second largest Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom stores in the nation.

SAN MATEO

San Mateo has a growing inventory of meeting facilities and hotels in a great location surrounding San Francisco International Airport and only 15 minutes from downtown San Francisco. Five hotels opened recently in San Mateo, and several more are either under construction or in the planning stages.

Among the newly opened hotels are a 29-room Best Inn & Suites, 108-room Extended Stay America, 77-room Hampton Inn & Suites, 177-room Hilton Homewood Suites, and 99-room Wingate Inn. Two large hotels, the 500-room The Crossing and 300-room Tanforan, are among the planned hotels in San Mateo.

Overall, San Mateo County offers more than 15,000 hotel rooms, including several large properties such as the 819-room Hyatt Regency with 56,623 square feet of meeting space and the 684-room Marriott with 27,783 square feet of meeting space. Other major hotels in the area include the 261-room Ritz Carlton with 17,000 square feet of meeting space, the 393-room Westin with 22,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 421-room Hotel Sofitel with 15,000 square feet of meeting space.

Planners have lots of choice in exposition facilities as well. The South San Francisco Conference Center, located only one mile from the airport, offers 16,500 square feet of meeting space, including a 13,500-square-foot ballroom. The San Mateo County Expo Center offers more than 200,000 square feet of exhibit space, including a 100,000-square-foot main exhibit hall and 34,200-square-foot Fiesta Hall.

The Cow Palace, which has 10,377 permanent seats, can expand seating to 16,500. The main arena, when combined with the flexible exhibit halls that surround it, can offer more than 300,000 square feet of function space for a variety of events.

SANTA CLARA

One of Silicon Valley's top meeting facilities, the Santa Clara Convention Center continues to upgrade its technology and overall amenities package. In February, the center installed wireless Internet or Wi-Fi technology throughout the 262,000-square-foot building. Delegates now can use their wireless devices anywhere in the building to check e-mail, download files, or surf the Internet. A new UPS Store was also added recently.

The center offers a 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall that is divisible into four separate halls, the 6,264-square-foot Great America Ballroom, 25 breakout rooms, 2,000 free parking spaces, and a 607-seat theater. The new Wi-Fi technology follows a recently completed, $500,000 upgrade that installed a new communication system and new carpeting that is designed to tie the complex to Santa Clara's history and culture.

The center is located only five miles from the Mineta/San Jose International Airport and is surrounded by more than 3,800 hotel rooms. Northern California's largest family entertainment destination, Paramount's Great America theme park, is located in Santa Clara, as is the Intel Museum, which features hands-on technology exhibits.