Meeting News - September 21, 2009 - (Page 34)

CVB Showcase Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau california and Hotel Maya, a Joie de Vivre property. DINING When it’s time to dine, Long Beach offers visitors hundreds of options from intimate cafes to spectacular oceanfront restaurants. In downtown, there are more than 100 restaurants within an eight-block radius, so visitors can dive into a table full of seafood along the waterfront or feast in a historic bank building. Sample a world of cuisines right in this international city from Italian to Cambodian. ATTRACTIONS The Queen Mary, one of Long Beach’s most famous attractions, was once the largest, most luxurious ocean liner to sail the transatlantic. She still entertains passengers in firstclass hotel cabins, fine restaurants, and art deco banquet rooms. The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific features undersea galleries, touch tanks, and live shows. Long Beach also has two exceptional museums, the Long Beach Museum of Art and the Museum of Latin American Art. GETTING THERE Three airports provide easy access, including LAX, John Wayne/Orange County Airport, and the Long Beach Airport, which is just 10 minutes from downtown Long Beach. CONTACT Steve Goodling President & CEO Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (562) 495-8350 steveg@longbeachcvb.org www.visitlongbeach.com An enhanced downtown, waterfront, and convention center re-energize Long Beach AT A GLANCE Total Guest Rooms: 4,525 Total Hotels/Resorts: 21 Total Meeting Space: hotel, 219,000+ sf; offsite, 500,000+ sf Long Beach, the fifth-largest city in California, is an urban, waterfront playground that offers the best of Southern California culture, entertainment, shopping, and dining all within a compact, easily accessible area. Located 20 miles south of Los Angeles, Long Beach is a rising star in the destination marketplace with more than $1 billion in the last decade ($115 million in 2009 alone) invested in new development of its downtown waterfront. This major revitalization has transformed the city into a sophisticated, urban, oceanfront community with booming residential growth. Visitors and locals alike enjoy a vibrant downtown setting with the illumination of new LED lighting that displays more than 16 million colors. Long Beach’s downtown sets the standard for “walk-ability.” Within steps of the convention center, visitors find first-class accommodations (more than 5,000 rooms citywide, most within the downtown area), shopping, dining, attractions, sightseeing along picturesque bays, and five and a half miles of sandy beach. CONVENTION CENTER Visitors returning to the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center will notice more than a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Recently undergoing an $8 million renovation, the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center houses more than 400,000 square feet of exhibit space, including a 224,000-square-foot main exhibit hall. The Grand Ballroom offers Pacific Ocean views. Thirty-four meeting rooms have 78,730 square feet of space, the Terrace Theater seats 3,000, the Center Theater seats 800, and the arena seats 13,000 and doubles as a 45,000-square-foot exhibit hall. The Long Beach waterfront and ocean view inspired the interior design, from the sandy hues of the wave-patterned carpets in the Terrace Theater to the rolling, currentlike light panels hanging in the Long Beach Arena lobby. Sconces and intimate seating areas provide a warm ambiance to what were previously dim corridors and enliven underused spaces outside of the theaters. ACCOMMODATIONS Long Beach boasts nearly 5,000 rooms citywide, with more than 3,000 rooms within walking distance of the convention center. From boutique to extended stay, world-wide brands to a historic ocean liner, Long Beach offers a myriad of diverse accommodations for every visitor. Every major downtown and airport hotel is virtually brand-new thanks to recent renovations and additions. Three new hotels opened in 2009: Hotel AVIA; Residence Inn Long Beach Downtown; 34 September 21, 2009 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION http://www.visitlongbeach.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - September 21, 2009

Meeting News - September 21, 2009

Contents
Pricing Forecast
Newsmaker
Meetings Spotlight
Event Profile

Meeting News - September 21, 2009

Meeting News - September 21, 2009 -

Meeting News - September 21, 2009

(Page Cover1)
Meeting News - September 21, 2009 -

Meeting News - September 21, 2009