Santa Clarita is regarded as the 4th-largest city in Los Angeles County, but in many ways, it's a city aloft, at the northern end of the San Fernando Valley, surrounded by countryside, to all intents and purposes out on its own on the road to San Francisco and beyond. As the city has recently absorbed some formerly non-incorporated neighborhoods like Valencia and Newhall, there are many more Santa Clarita venues to choose from.
Santa Clarita has forest and mountains to the north and east and Burbank to the south, where Bob Hope Airport lies 17 miles away with direct flights to Denver and New York City's John F. Kennedy. The airport also has a direct train link (the only airport in the whole Los Angeles Metropolitan area to do so) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is approximately 40 miles to the south of Santa Clarita (a pretty expensive taxi fare).
Hotel venues include the 255-room Hyatt Regency Valencia & Santa Clarita Conference Center, which has 12,000 square feet of meeting and function space and a ballroom that can seat up to 500 persons. The 156-room Embassy Suites Valencia, 152-room Hilton Garden Inn Valencia Six Flags, 148-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Santa Clarita and 140-room La Quinta Inn & Suites Valencia are available for accommodations.
Of all the group venues in Santa Clarita, perhaps the swankiest is the Valencia Country Club. Complementing its Robert Trent Jones, Sr.-designed golf course is function space for up to 300 persons in a ballroom or on a perfectly manicured lawn. The venue with the most capacity is Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park, which offers group bookings to the park itself, as well as a private lawn for picnics and the ability to host up to 20,000 people. Kelly's Wedding Garden & Banquet Hall does specialize in weddings, but its banquet hall and 2.5-acre garden are ideal for corporate events. Another similar spot is French restaurant La Chene, which also has oodles of lawn and garden to frolic in (there is a lot more open land here than in many parts of LA) and a working water wheel.
There are several good dining venues in Santa Clarita: The Salt Creek Grille serves up classic American fare for groups of up to 80 persons. BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse rustles up barbecue favorites, its own beer and space for up to 100, while another barbecue spot, Rattlers, has had the same team in place for more than 30 years. Finally, one of the best sushi restaurants in the entire northern section of Los Angeles is Maru.
One last note: Shopaholics will love it here, for Santa Clarita has four shopping centers—Valencia Crossroads, Valencia Mall, Valencia Mart and River Oaks.
