Business Travel Guide: Anaheim, California
Though named after the hundreds of orange groves that once dotted this temperate land, Orange County is no longer filled with the scent of citrus blossoms. Instead, OC has replaced its former farming society with a high tech suburban lifestyle, making it an excellent destination for business travel with easy access to The Anaheim Convention Center, Irvine's biotech headquarters and Newport's financial district.
Orange County continues to dominate in several industries, including technology, biotech, healthcare, pharmaceutical, financial services, real estate, tourism, automotive and sports apparel. Known from TV as "The OC," Orange County is headquarters to such powerhouse companies as Allergan, Gateway, Hyundai, Mazda, Toshiba, Taco Bell, Beckman Coulter, Broadcom, Pacific Life, Quiksilver, Oakley, Billabong and Hurley.
With its upscale attitude, scenic coast and almost-always-sunny weather, OC has loads of options for recreation, shopping, dining and nightlife. There are several ways to blend business with pleasure at places like Disneyland, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, Newport Beach, South Coast Plaza and historic downtowns and districts, which are sprinkled throughout the county.
OC's charming beach towns, The Anaheim Convention Center and its neighboring Disneyland Resort help drive the burgeoning tourism industry here with almost 45 million visitors annually. In recent years, several world-class resorts have opened along OC's white sand shores, bringing an ever-increasing number of business guests to work in luxury at such famed seaside resorts as The Resort at Pelican Hill, Montage Laguna Beach, St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach, The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel and the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. |
Facts
to Know Before You Go |
Transportation:
Most business travelers use the John Wayne Airport (SNA) as their gateway to Orange County. The Long Beach Airport (the area hub for Jet Blue) and the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) are also options, but certainly not as convenient, as traffic from L.A. to Orange County via the 405 freeway is usually heavy, especially during peak traffic times.
Taxis and Limousines:
Taxis are available 24 hours a day across from baggage claim at John Wayne Airport's ground transportation center. A typical taxi fare to the Anaheim Convention Center runs around $40. To take the same trip by limousine, expect to pay about $60. Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car loans town cars for $100 per day (without driver) and has a fleet of exotics like sport coupes and convertibles from Ferrari, Audi Lamborghini, Bentley and Rolls Royce.
Shuttles:
More than a dozen companies offer shuttle service, and most charge approximately $40 for a ride from the airport to destinations throughout Anaheim. Most of the area's larger hotels and resorts have free shuttles to and from John Wayne Airport.
Rental Cars:
With businesses and entertainment options spread throughout this expansive region, renting a car is a smart option. Most national rental car chains are located on-site at John Wayne Airport and have counters next to the baggage claim carousels. Several discount companies are located off-site, yet near the airport. Shuttles to these companies can be found at the ground transportation center outside baggage claim. |
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Information:
The Orange County Register covers general news and includes a daily business section.
The Orange County Business Journal, the region's dedicated business paper, is printed weekly and offers business news, profiles, lists of top sales leads and business dining news and recommendations.
OC Weekly offers local news and outrageous opinion articles, plus the most comprehensive guide to the area's entertainment listings. |
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The Grand Californian Hotel & Spa has expanded to include 203 new guest rooms and 50 two-bedroom Disney Vacation Club villas. This luxury hotel redefines the Disneyland you know and love by providing top quality and even lavish accommodations for discerning theme park and convention center visitors. Featuring classic Arts & Crafts architecture, the hotel offers spacious, quintessentially Californian guestrooms with views of Disney's California Adventure. For business travelers, there's high-speed Internet access and a business center. At the concierge level, guests enjoy an exclusive lounge, featuring a continental breakfast, evening wine and cheese reception and complimentary DVD movies. With plenty of indoor and outdoor meeting space, the hotel also offers wine country-inspired California cuisine and a long list of California's best wines at its award-winning Napa Rose restaurant. For those in need of some solace from the frenetic theme parks, the resort’s Mandara Spa is an oasis of calm for frazzled minds and sore feet. |
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A quick shuttle ride from the John Wayne Airport takes visitors and business travelers to the Fairmont Hotel Newport Beach. Close to Irvine's financial center, Newport Beach and just 30 minutes from the Anaheim Convention Center and Disneyland, this hotel offers 440 luxurious guest rooms. Its Fairmont Executive Club features a complimentary deluxe continental breakfast, afternoon snacks, evening appetizers, late-night desserts and access to a CD/DVD library. For business travelers, wireless Internet access is available in all meeting rooms as well as high-speed Internet in all guest rooms. Bask in the sun at the heated sky pool or visit the Amadeus Spa with decadent spa treatment rooms for complete pampering. Take clients for breakfast, lunch or dinner at bambú with its fresh Euro-Cal cuisine. Orange County's sun-drenched beaches are just minutes away, or stop by South Coast Plaza for upscale shopping and fine dining. |
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Completely renovated with a pleasing modern décor, The Hilton Anaheim is one of California's largest hotels (a whopping 1,572 rooms and suites). This huge property is adjacent to the massive Anaheim Convention Center and just two blocks from the Disneyland Resort. With its easy access to the convention center, the Anaheim Hilton is geared more toward business travelers than tourists. The lobby has inviting contemporary décor and the lounge is lively during conventions. The resort’s Mix Restaurant has rather good California fare and knows how to please business guests with fast service and a reasonable buffet at every meal. The fitness center is now enormous with the latest fitness equipment as well as a sauna, aerobics classes, tanning and a basketball gym. The now contemporary guest rooms are spacious and come with high-speed Internet access and flat screen TVs. The executive lounge has a panoramic view of The Disneyland Resort, but provides rather ho-hum breakfast and afternoon snacks. |
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The Island Hotel Newport Beach is one of the most luxurious properties in OC and specializes in business meetings. Located in Newport’s Fashion Island business district, The Island Hotel sits on a hill with sweeping views of the Pacific, Newport Harbor, its Back Bay and Southern California’s majestic mountains. The hotel has more than 285 guest rooms, including 64 executive suites and 19 over-the-top luxury suites. The cuisine, which is overseen by chef Bill Bracken, features innovative California comfort food. Need to relax? The Spa at The Island Hotel may be small, but the calm environment soothes the soul. Ask for full-time massage therapist Saiko, who started massaging her parents as a child in rural Japan and continues to bring this healing tradition to Newport Beach. |
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The Resort at Pelican Hill is Orange County's newest and most luxurious seaside resort, with inspirational ocean and golf green views that sits on a hill overlooking pristine Crystal Cove State Beach. It boasts 20,000 square feet of high-tech meeting spaces. In addition, the resort includes Mar Vista, a stand-alone event facility with its own arrival area, outdoor event lawn and iconic Renaissance-style rotunda. The 204 bungalows and 128 villas all offer ultra luxurious amenities, yet still have a casual, residential feel with marble bathrooms, separate living rooms, wireless connectivity, comfortable desks and large balconies. Clients will enjoy the more casual Coliseum Pool & Grill or the refined elegance of Andrea, the resort's northern Italian-style restaurant. The resort is home to Pelican Hill Golf Club, a 36-hole championship golf course designed by Tom Fazio, a perfect way to connect with clients. After a day on the course, treat your clients to gourmet burgers and microbrews at Pelican Grill's sophisticated lounge or nosh on California cuisine in the main dining room. |
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HOTEL SPECIALS
 Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach
Inspired by the properties on the coast of Spain, the white stucco façade and red tiled roof of this resort overlook the cresting waves of another coast: the Pacific.
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
Splendidly situated atop a 150-foot bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this hotel reminds us of a stately Mediterranean resort that offers comfort, charm and elegance. |
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The Anaheim White House celebrated its centennial last year by erecting 1,800 sq. ft. West Wing, a sumptuous banquet room with no room fees. Proprietor Bruno Serato likes guests to feel like they are coming to his home, so each visit is a special occasion. There are twelve private rooms for secluded business meetings and the menu, piloted by longtime chef Eddie Meza, offers something rather different than most Italian restaurants, tempering Northern Italian styles with French sensibilities. Try the "Caterina" ravioli, a dish named after Serato's mother. This green-and-white-striped pasta is filled with Fontina cheese and surrounded by a surprisingly good espresso sauce. Serato and his genteel managers and service crew know their wines, so ask for a recommendation from the well-stocked international list. |
After a two-year hiatus, The Catch has reopened as a super hip spot near the Anaheim Stadium to entertain clients. The restaurant is located just 600 feet from Anaheim Stadium and is literally next door to concert venue The Grove of Anaheim (as well as near the Honda Center). The bar is shaped like home plate and business types tend to hang out after work for a brew and the ballpark bacon burger. The Catch is all about seafood, so impress your guests with a succulent shrimp cocktail, tender Chilean sea bass, beer-battered fish and chips or ahi tuna. Meat is also big here like lamb chops, filet mignon and a huge tomahawk chop. For business meetings, The Catch has a private event planner as well as the latest audiovisual equipment.
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The first super star New York chef to make a splash in OC, Charlie Palmer (Aureole NYC, Aureole Vegas, Métrazur, Charlie Palmer Steak DC, Charlie Palmer Steak Vegas, Dry Creek Kitchen) has set up shop inside Bloomingdale's at Costa Mesa's South Coast Plaza shopping mall. The restaurant serves Palmer's signature New American cuisine in an airy dining room accented in whites, yellows and browns. This sophisticated restaurant attracts a business and ladies-who-lunch crowd for the midday meal. The restaurant also offers a rather large private room for hosting groups up to 50. In addition, the entire restaurant can be bought out for parties of up to 200 guests.
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Fleming's is one of Orange County's best restaurants for one-on-one business meetings or for groups as large as 75. With four meeting rooms, Fleming's has a private dining director who can pair more than 100 fine wines by the glass with receptions, lunches and multi-course dinners. The private dining rooms are also equipped with high-tech TANDBERG video conferencing systems, which can connect up to five other satellite sites anywhere in the world. As for food, Fleming's has a surf and turf menu for power players with cold seafood appetizers, prime steaks and huge side dish portions. Plus, the restaurant attracts business types and singles each night at its sophisticated bar.
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Stonehill Tavern is perhaps OC's best restaurant to wine-and-dine clients who can only be impressed with the best in food and drink. This Michael Mina establishment feels like a very modern and upscale gentleman's club and has a spectacular view of the St. Regis Monarch Beach, its Monarch Beach Golf Links and the wide blue Pacific Ocean just beyond. The modern American cuisine here is top notch, as are the strong cocktails and impressive wine list. If you are interested in the seven-course tasting menu, make sure you've got a few hours to spend at the table.
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| Downtown Disney
Disneyland Drive
Anaheim, CA
www.disneyland.com
For a little Disney magic without spending the money or energy required for a day at the overgrown theme park, head to Downtown Disney for dinner or a drink. Adjacent to the parks, the development bills itself as a "sports, dining and entertainment complex." Catch a live performance at The House of Blues or Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, or watch a televised game at ESPN Zone. Among several dining options, celebrity chef Joachim Splichal's Catal Restaurant serves a creative Mediterranean menu in an art deco atmosphere. Don't miss strolling into Disney's adjacent Grand Californian Hotel to marvel at the soaring Craftsman-style lobby and to sit by the roaring stone fireplace in cozy rocking chairs.
Huntington Beach Pier & Main Street
Pacific Coast Highway at Main Street
www.surfcityusa.com
Huntington Beach calls itself Surf City USA because HB (as locals call it) is truly a casual beach village. HB is different from other Orange County beaches because its 8.5 miles of sandy white shores are wide and uninterrupted with no building allowed. Surfers come here every day for the famous waves, and the black top boardwalk is always busy with walkers, bicyclists, skateboarders and roller bladers. The city's impressive concrete pier juts out almost one-third of a mile into the Pacific right at the famed corner of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway. For a quick tour, walk down the pier, put your toes in the sand or check out the beach scene from a picture window at Hawaiian-style Duke's restaurant. Then, walk the three blocks of Main Street to feel HB's beachy vibe with its hip boutiques, bars and restaurants.
Newport Harbor
Pacific Coast Highway between Jamboree Road and Balboa Boulevard
www.visitnewportbeach.com
Newport Harbor sparkles from the almost-always sunny skies, blue Pacific waters and the multi-million dollar harborside homes and hundreds of yachts. First, head to Balboa Island (located at the very south end of Jamboree Rd.) onto Marine Avenue. After touring the boutiques and eateries on Balboa Island's Marine Avenue, follow the signs to the Auto Ferry. Pedestrians, bicyclists and just three cars can fit on these historic ferries, which costs just $1 or so. The ferry takes you on a magical boat ride across the scenic harbor from Balboa Island to Balboa Peninsula (or vice versa). While on Balboa Peninsula, you can tour the carnival-like Fun Zone, walk to the end of Balboa Pier, hit the beach and its sunny shores, walk along the busy concrete boardwalk or check out more shops, restaurants and bars. If you have more time, Newport Harbor is a boating enthusiast's dream as you can rent kayaks or Duffy electric boats, go sport fishing or even take a day trip to Catalina Island.
Orange County Performing Arts Center
600 Town Center Dr.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-556-2746
www.ocpac.org
The Orange County Performing Arts Center, which houses the newly constructed Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, offers the finest in symphony, opera, musical theatre, dance and other musical styles from regional, national and international performers. Located within minutes of John Wayne Airport and across from mega mall South Coast Plaza, the OC Performing Arts Center is home of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Opera Pacific and the Pacific Chorale. Many touring Broadway productions, opera troupes and international dance companies regularly perform at the center. Looking to impress clients? There are tons of fine dining restaurants surrounding the center including Leatherby's Café Rouge (which is located inside the ultra-modern Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall), as well as nearby Pinot Provence, Pizzeria Ortica, Scott’s Seafood, Mastro's Steakhouse and Marché Moderne.
South Coast Plaza
3333 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
800-782-8888
www.southcoastplaza.com
South Coast Plaza, which is located in Costa Mesa just a few minutes from the John Wayne Airport, is one of the nation's most successful shopping malls. The prestige of shopping at South Coast Plaza cannot be understated as many of the world's most luxe designers have boutiques here, including Michael Kors, Gucci, Armani, Chanel, Valentino, Fendi, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co. The mall also houses Teavana, Assouline, Brunello Cucinello and NapaStyle wine country shop from chef Michael Chiarello, as well as five department stores: Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Sears. Some of OC's best business restaurants are also located within and just outside the mall such as Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza, Pinot Provence, Hamamori, AnQi Gourmet Bistro by Crustacean, Antonello Ristorante and Scott's Seafood. (Author: Sheryll Alexander) |
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SAVE MONEY ON ATTRACTIONS!
Save time and money on your next vacation with the CityPass booklet. It contains admission tickets to the city's top attractions at a substantially reduced price. |
* Images by their respective properties. Newport Harbor image by
Newport Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau. Huntington Beach Pier image
courtesy of Huntington Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau.
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