California’s second-largest city is a magnet for trade conventions and sport fans alike, says Abigail Cattell.
On the day I arrive at the Omni hotel in downtown San Diego, the check-in staff are all wearing baseball shirts and caps. I know San Diego is on the coast of southern California, but the attire seems unusually casual for a business hotel. Oh, and there are swathes of excited baseball fans everywhere, swarming on and off the city’s trams, spilling out of the bars in the Gaslamp Quarter, and enjoying the dazzling sunshine that lights up the pristine pavements.
I’ve inadvertently arrived on Opening Day (the beginning of a new major baseball league season) at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres team. They’re playing local rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers, and excitement levels are off the scale.
There’s also another group of visitors dotted about. They’re conservatively dressed – and more sober for that matter – and all are sporting name badges around their necks. This, I learn, is the National School Boards Association, and about 10,000 members are here for their annual conference at the convention centre opposite. Both groups, it turns out, have indirectly been responsible for the revival of San Diego’s downtown area, which, according to the locals I speak to, was a magnet for homeless people 20 years ago.
Once a sleepy navy town, San Diego is now one of the largest cities in the US, with a world-class reputation for its innovative biotech, pharmaceutical and telecoms industries. The Scripps Research Institute is said to be the world’s largest independent non-profit biomedical research facility, and nearby are two other major scientific centres, the Salk Institute and the Burnham Institute. Sony’s North America HQ is also based in San Diego, while one of the biggest local employers is multibillion-dollar wireless telecoms firm Qualcomm.
Barring the swine flu outbreak, which, according to Andy Mikschl, senior vice-president for sales at the San Diego Convention Centre, isn’t affecting business in the region, the city benefits from its close proximity to Mexico. Mark Dibella, director of sales and marketing at Kimpton’s 235-room Hotel Solamar, points out: “For national and international companies to have satellite manufacturing warehouses or facilities in Tijuana, south of the border and only 27km away, means they cut costs on labour, construction and land.” Sony is one company to take advantage of this asset.
The waterfront San Diego Convention Centre, built in 1989 but expanded exponentially in 2001, is a prime venue for trade fairs and large congresses. More than 634,000 out-of-town business travellers attended conferences at the centre last year, helping to make San Diego one of the US’s top ten convention hosts.
That success means further expansion is on the horizon. “A new extension is planned to increase the space from 57,000 sqm to about 79,000 sqm,” Mikschl says. “If everything goes according to plan, it will be finished by 2014.”
Capitalising on the success of the centre, the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, a 30-storey, 1,190-room hotel located next door, opened in December last year. Hyatt also has a 1,625-room property nearby, as do Marriott, Omni and Starwood’s W Hotels.
The convention business brings big numbers of national and international travellers to San Diego, most of whom prefer to stay downtown. Several hotels have opened in the area in the past few years, and thanks to fierce competition, facilities continue to improve. Omni’s Select Guest loyalty programme is free to sign up to online and gives guests free morning drinks delivered to the room, two free pressed items and free wifi, while the concierge at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina contacts guests a week in advance to help with dinner reservations, airport transfers and so on. Steve Pagano, hotel manager, says: “We’ve been doing this for six months – 60 per cent of guests reply and it’s getting great feedback.”
The Hilton San Diego Bayfront has 15,500 sqm of meeting space, while the Manchester Grand Hyatt boasts more than 11,700 sqm. Se San Diego, which opened at the same time as the Hilton and is a member of Preferred Hotel Group, is also competing for corporate travellers. “Our business centre is free to use, and we contact guests five to seven days in advance to pre-book travel arrangements,” says Tohnia Miller, director of sales and marketing at the property. Up the road, Hotel Solamar has a convivial happy hour in its lobby from 5-6pm, which Dibella says is a great way for solo business travellers to meet and unwind.
San Diego is attractive as a business destination for several reasons. The weather is a huge draw. The city has a year-round semi-arid Mediterranean climate, with 146 days of sunshine and an average temperature of 21.5?C. “There’s something about the sunshine that gives you a sunny disposition – people are happy and relaxed, which makes for a conducive business environment,” says Patsy Bock, director of sales and marketing at the Omni.
The city also has a great public transport system, starting with the airport, which is 5km from the city centre. “The convenience of the airport is unbeatable,” Bock says. And unlike in most US cities, it’s possible to stay downtown and not hire a car. The three-line San Diego Trolley runs daily every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight, and can take you from downtown all the way to the Mexican border.
Several hotels are making getting around even easier by offering free chauffeur services to visitors. Se San Diego’s Miller says: “Our luxury Cadillac can take guests anywhere within an 8km radius of the hotel for free.” The Ivy hotel also provides free transportation. “We have three Cadillac Escalade SUVs that will take guests around downtown free of charge,” says Paul Krause, director of sales for the property. The W also has a free car service to anywhere within a 16km radius of the hotel.
Following the demise of Zoom Airlines in August last year, there are no direct flights from the UK to San Diego, meaning business travellers have to transfer at Los Angeles. But several airlines have daily flights to LA from London – American Airlines, Continental, United, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Air New Zealand – and from there, the short hop to San Diego takes about 50 minutes.
As I watch the baseball fans drain from the Gaslamp Quarter and head for Petco Park, I discover why the sports ground was also a catalyst for the regeneration of the downtown area. “We’ve watched the transformation in the past six years since Petco Park opened, and it’s now a cool, cutting-edge part of the city,” the Omni’s Bock says.
A record 45,496 baseball fans turned up at Petco Park the day I was in town, and it seemed as if the only losers in this vibrant business city were its baseball team, the Padres, which lost out to the LA Dodgers.
WHAT TO DO
If you decide to spend an extra few days in San Diego, you’ll get to enjoy some of the city’s fringe benefits – why not charter a yacht or a deep-sea fishing vessel, explore some of the surrounding beaches, or visit one of Balboa Park’s museums?
Golfers should head for the legendary Torrey Pines golf course, which hosted the 2008 US Open, won by Tiger Woods. There are two courses here, with spectacular ocean views from the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean. The par-72 South course is a little more difficult than the North – watch out for the seventh and 12th holes. 11,480 North Torrey Pines Road,
La Jolla; tel +1 800 985 4653; torreypinesgolfcourse.com
WHERE TO EAT
- Nobu: Japanese food doesn’t get much better than this. Signature dishes include black cod with miso, yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno, and rock shrimp tempura. Located in the Hard Rock hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter, Nobu is perfectly positioned for those who want to explore the many bars, jazz clubs and theatres. Open daily 6pm-11pm. 207 Fifth Avenue; tel +1 619 814 4124; hardrockhotelsd.com
- Suite and Tender: Se San Diego hotel’s impressive new restaurant sits on the mezzanine level and offers innovative steak and seafood dishes. Dishes include melt-in-the-mouth Kobe beef, braised pork belly with diver scallops, and duck confit. Lunch 11.30am-2.30pm Tue-Fri (open from 8am Sat). Dinner 5.30pm-10pm (11pm Fri and Sat). 1,047 Fifth Avenue; tel +1 619 515 3003; suiteandtender.com
- Top of the Hyatt: On the 40th floor of the Manchester Grand Hyatt, this spectacular bar offers panoramic views over the bay and Coronado peninsula. Drink in the views – and a signature cocktail – while watching the sun set over the Coronado Bridge. Open 3pm-1.30am. 1 Marketplace; tel +1 619 232 1234; manchestergrand.hyatt.com
