Looking to Plan a Los Angeles Meeting?
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Destination California, Northstar’s premier event for meetings and incentive pros looking to book biz in the area.
New & Coming Soon to Los Angeles
• A two-year, $2.5 billion renovation is transforming Hollywood's iconic Century Plaza. When it opens in the summer of 2020, the rebranded Fairmont Century Plaza will offer 394 rooms and suites, 63 condominiums and, shortly thereafter, two 46-story towers with 290 private residences. Perks include a variety of restaurants and bars, retail, a two-acre garden, a 14,000-square-foot spa with fitness club and rooftop
swimming, and 23,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 1,500-seat ballroom, 13,000 square feet of prefunction space and a 120-foot LED digital media wall designed by San Francisco's Obscura Digital.
• Mexico City-based Grupo Habita has purchased a 109-year-old brick industrial warehouse in the Arts District and is building a modern 66-room boutique hotel complemented by a restaurant and retail space, plus a rooftop pool,
lounge and garden. It's slated to open later in 2019.
• Nestled among L.A.'s oldest theaters and movie palaces, chic British brand Hoxton debuted a new 174-room hotel on Oct. 1, 2019, in a transformed 1925 building that was headquarters
of the L.A. Railway Authority. Located in the city's historic downtown core at 11th and Broadway, the 10-story Hoxton LA features three restaurants,
multiple bars and a rooftop pool.
• L.A.-based Proper Hospitality is making headlines following the purchase of the former L.A. Press Club and Case Hotel building and rebranding it into the 148-room Proper Hotel Downtown LA with two restaurants, rooftop swimming and 6,800 square feet of meeting space. And just a few blocks from the Palisades Park and beach is the new 271-room Santa Monica Proper, which is embellished with three restaurants, a fitness center, rooftop swimming and 8,000 square feet of meeting space. The Santa Monica property is now open, and the downtown hotel is expected to debut this winter.
• The
new Academy Museum, touted as the world's leading movie museum, is being built by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Los Angeles' Mid-City neighborhood.
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, the six-story, 300,000-square-foot building celebrates movie magic with galleries, props and costume displays, educational areas, a restaurant and special-event spaces including a rooftop terrace
and an outdoor piazza. Slated to open in 2020, it also features two theaters seating 1,000 and 288, respectively, and is available for group rentals, accommodating up to 2,500 guests.
• Speaking of silver-screen enchantment, the $1
billion, 290,000-square-foot Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has broken ground in Exposition Park, site of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the California
Science Center and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Featuring art and artifacts from George Lucas' personal collection, the curvaceous, spaceship-like structure will also curate 10,000 paintings and illustrations by Norman Rockwell,
N.C. Wyeth and R. Crumb, along with Hollywood memorabilia from films like Star Wars and The Ten Commandments. The museum is scheduled to open in 2022.
Hotel & Venue Additions
• The 294-room Mayfair Hotel, which is minutes away from the L.A. Convention Center, Staples Center and L.A. LIVE, has unveiled a top-to-bottom redesign orchestrated by award-winning architect Gulla Jónsdóttir. The iconic property’s new-look details include wholly renovated guest rooms showcasing a contemporary take on the 1920s glamour, refreshed lobby and common areas, plus the autumn-scheduled completion of the remodeled pool and fitness center. Meeting amenities include a 1,970-square-foot, 140-guest ballroom, a 225-seat auditorium and 4,000 square feet of total exhibition space.
• An experiential food bazaar and event venue dedicated to the air-transportation industry, The Proud Bird has recently added to its appeal. Situated immediately adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport, the venue has added 16 remodeled fighter planes to its Smithsonian-quality lineup of vintage aircraft. The collection also has a Douglas DC-3, a twin-engine Lockheed P-38 Lightning and the Bell X-1, the first manned aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in level flight. The expansive venue offers 30,180 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including a 900-seat, 13,000-square-foot ballroom.
• Just in time to celebrate its 65th anniversary in 2020, Beverly Hills’ iconic Beverly Hilton has begun rolling out a comprehensive hotel-wide refresh that will encompass all 569 guest rooms, key public spaces, the poolside restaurant and the property’s expansive conference settings. The eight-story luxury property’s just-completed first-phase efforts entail major upgrades to the more than 18,000 square feet of meeting space, including state-of-the-art technological enhancements and detailed renovations to its two ballrooms, plus the addition of a trio of sun-splashed events spaces called the Gardens Collection. To be completed in early 2020, renovations are also scheduled for the Oasis Lobby & Courtyard, the main reception lobby and CIRCA 55, the signature poolside restaurant that will pay homage to the hotel’s eclectic 1950s beginnings.
• A new Marriott-flagged property — the 180-room AC Hotel Los Angeles South Bay — has recently opened, just minutes from Los Angeles International Airport and the surrounding South Bay beach cities. Situated in El Segundo’s bustling business district, the European-inspired six-story hotel features 2,177 square feet of meeting space, a fitness
center and a rooftop bar and restaurant that offers bird’s-eye views of the new Los Angeles Stadium.
• The 156-room
Wayfarer DTLA is slated to open this fall, one block
north of L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles’ historic Broadway Corridor. Owned
by Pacifica Hotels, it follows the first Wayfarer-flagged hotel that opened
five years ago in Santa Barbara. The 12-story DTLA will feature event space, a
rooftop bar, a stairwell gym, a communal kitchen and two other dining options.
The new property replaces the 180-room Ritz-Milner Hotel, which shut down in
August 2017.
• The 395-room Beverly Wilshire, a Four
Seasons Hotel, has completed a renovation of its premier
event spaces, adding even more elegance and luster to this iconic Beverly Hills property. At the forefront is a $1 million
refresh to the 880-capacity, 14,500-square-foot ballroom, including new
carpeting, hand-painted trim, and new entry chandeliers and sconces. The Le
Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon event spaces also have been upgraded with new
mirrors, lighting and furniture. Opened in 1928, the Beverly Wilshire has 25,529
square feet of meeting space, including 10 meeting rooms that in total accommodate up to 1,670
people.
• North Hollywood’s
chic and celebrated The Garland has completed a $1 million renovation to its
5,100-square-foot Garland Ballroom, further complementing the 257-room luxury
property with modern technological upgrades as well as high-design touches. The
room's 13-foot elevated ceilings are embellished with hand-crafted gold ring
pendants, new geometric-pattern carpeting, wood wall accents and additional
doors that encourage an easy flow to and from the hotel’s exterior courtyard.
The reimagined ballroom now offers enhanced lighting and A/V capabilities --
including a LiteLab Busport System for theatrical lighting and simplified
projector installation -- plus Armstrong noise-dampening tiles and a
noise-canceling ballroom partition.
• Montage Hotels &
Resorts announced the groundbreaking of its newest portfolio addition, a
149-room luxury property that will be debut in 2020 along the famed Sunset
Strip. Pendry West Hollywood will feature a rooftop pool and bar, a multipurpose live entertainment venue
and screening room, a bowling alley, a spa, a fitness center, a curated public
art collection and 40 private residences. Further, it will offer multiple
Wolfgang Puck restaurant concepts, as well as interiors crafted by the Martin
Drudnizki Design Studio.
• Ocean-view elegance will become the telling hallmark of the former Oceana Beach Club Hotel,
which has undergone a $25 million head-to-toe transformation and will re-emerge as the all-new Oceana this May. Located in Santa Monica, 16 miles west of the Los Angeles Convention Center, the 70-suite JRK Hotel Group boutique property will feature a fitness studio and spa, an outdoor courtyard lounge and pool, indoor/outdoor dining and meeting space for up to
60 guests.
• Sydell Group has transformed a historic 1923 building into the 241-room NoMad Los Angeles.
Decorated with custom-designed furnishings and original artwork, the 12-story Downtown L.A. hotel property also offers a rooftop pool with panoramic city views, multiple food-and-beverage venues and 650 square feet of meeting space.
• A
$30 million renovation has transformed downtown L.A.'s historic Hotel Figueroa. Featuring a new contemporary
aesthetic with a touch of Spanish flare, the 268-room property now boasts 57 new suites, expanded bathrooms, a new pool bar, a new lobby and a rooftop garden. Highlights include Breva — a tapas-style restaurant serving Northern Spain- and Southern
France-inspired dishes — and Bar Alta, a 28-seat bartender's table.
• A multimillion-dollar renovation of the Marriott Manhattan Beach has completely transformed this 26-acre property. The reflagged westdrift Manhattan Beach — the first Autograph Collection hotel in
Los Angeles — features 393 luxury guest rooms, a nine-hole golf course, a restaurant, a fitness center and 35,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space including 18 meeting rooms, a ballroom and three industrial-chic venues.
• The Los Angeles Convention Center has installed a 5G wireless network, making it the first convention center in the United States to deploy a technology that dramatically increases
wireless speeds and capacity for AI, VR and video calling services. The cutting-edge tech was successfully deployed in September.
More Event Venues
• Universal Studios is rife with a bevy of mind-blowing attractions, including its newest themed adventure, Jurassic World—The Ride. Opened in July and inspired by Universal Pictures’ and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World blockbuster films, the experience includes a water-infused thrill ride, an elaborately themed Raptor Encounter, an interactive Dino Play children’s area, two cocktail-serving cafés and a souvenir-selling Jurassic Outfitters retail store. Meeting venues and private tours are available, as is preferred access to the park’s all-new Universal CityWalk Hollywood and its 18 redesigned auditoriums, a 369-seat IMAX theater and an outdoor concert stage.
• Singular, standing-ovation-level venues can be discovered in the movie-magic screening rooms, backlot sets, museums, theater and dining room of Warner Bros. Studios. Boasting capacity for an intimate retreat of 20 attendees or an extravaganza of 5,000, the studios’ special-events department can handle the spectrum. And as of late June, planners can now host their gatherings among the original sets from television’s groundbreaking series, The Big Bang Theory. Fans can step into various sets from the 12-year-run comedy, including Leonard and Sheldon’s apartment, the CalTech Physics Lab Cafeteria, and The Foyer and its working elevator. Attendees also can experience an ever-increasing catalog of popular films and shows such as Friends, Batman, Harry Potter, Shameless, Casablanca, Wonder Woman and more.
• The first open-air stadium to be built in Los Angeles in 30 years has opened. Banc of California Stadium, home to Major League Soccer's new expansion team, the Los Angeles Football Club, features 22,000 seats and various spaces for meetings and events, all equipped with premium hospitality. Highlighting the new venue is the Sunset Deck, which, in addition to offering panoramic views of downtown L.A. and the iconic Hollywood Sign, features two enclosed multipurpose rooms for corporate meetings, lunches and parties, plus a rooftop venue suitable for banquet-style events or trade shows.
• A newly renovated, 7,523-square-foot meeting center has debuted near LAX at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel. The Hub Conference Center features a new stadium-seated auditorium, an executive boardroom and 17 meeting rooms to accommodate up to 50 attendees.
• The Sowden House, an only-in-L.A. venue purchased last year by CBD entrepreneur Dan Goldfarb, is a storied Hollywood abode available to rent for events, shoots and all manner of gatherings. Originally opened in 1926, the venue is an impressive collection of ominous textile block walls, soaring ceilings and massive, crowd-friendly courtyards — all designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright. The 6,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, multi-story property is also the stuff of Hollywood legend, the site of the notorious “Black Dahlia” murder of aspiring Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short in 1947. The Mayan temple-inspired styling was originally designed to host performances, fundraisers and artistic events, replete with concert-quality acoustics and eye-turning appointments that have appeared in music videos, television and movie scenes — among them the Martin Scorsese-directed “The Aviator.” The Sowden House today supports a number of nonprofit organizations by hosting fundraising events on-site; a percentage of all event-related proceeds go towards those causes.