Carlsbad, CA Meeting Planning Overview
Carlsbad's seemingly endless coastline and year-round temperate climate are a hook for meeting planners looking to hold executive retreats or conferences. Many family-friendly entertainment venues in Carlsbad double as meeting venues, including Legoland California, the Sea Life Aquarium and The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch.
Carlsbad is straight up the coast from downtown San Diego and the San Diego International Airport. It's about a 35-minute drive, and a taxi ride is more than $100. Carlsbad does include two stops on the Coaster, a train that serves all of San Diego County and emanates from the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego. (For anyone flying in on a small plane, McClellan-Palomar Airport is based in Carlsbad.)
Hotel venues in Carlsbad account for more than 4,000 hotel rooms and more than 200,000 total square feet of meeting space. The casually elegant Park Hyatt Aviara Resort (formerly the Four Seasons Resort Aviara) has 78,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor space, and its technological capabilities make it a good pick for multi-media presentations. La Costa Resort & Spa unveiled a head-to-toe renovation of its conference center in 2011. And several hotels are proximal to Legoland, including Hilton Resort in Carlsbad, Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa, Carlsbad by the Sea Resort and the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel.
Dining venues in Carlsbad include Bellefleur Restaurant, which serves a tasty Sunday brunch; and Bistro West, which has an extensive chef-driven menu of contemporary comfort food. And the chic BlueFire Grill at La Costa offers indoor/outdoor dining, with outdoor fire pits and custom fountains.
Outdoor recreational and leisure activities abound on the shore of San Diego's North County. The Flower Fields in particular is a place where kids can run and adults can linger amidst 50 acres of extraordinary colors of flora in bloom on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with a special nursery, garden and gift shop nearby. March is when the blooming begins.
For San Diego, view all San Diego event venues and check out our info on San Diego meeting planning.
