8 New Venues in San Diego for Summer 2021 Meetings and Events

The high-style Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas opened its doors in a stunning spot in March, marking the eco-conscious resort’s 16th worldwide location. The beachside property offers 130 luxurious guestrooms and suites, which include coffee and tea service from Lofty Coffee, sustainable beechwood linens and other high-end amenities. Most rooms feature balconies or patio space, and many even have private fire pits. On-site, guests can enjoy an oceanfront pool, a lauded culinary program and the serene Spa Alila, along with nearly 28,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor meeting and event space. Reservable areas include the 3,800-square-foot Oceana Ballroom that accommodates 360 in rounds and 500 for cocktail parties, a 1,540-square-foot terrace that seats 140, and a 420-square-foot private dining room that accommodates 36 for seated meals.

The East Village welcomed Callie, a chef-driven Mediterranean restaurant, to the neighborhood in June. The elegant venue boasts artistic elements like tiled and textured walls, among other touches. Callie can accommodate as many as 310 for cocktail-style buyouts or 144 for seated events. For smaller groups, a private dining room (pictured here) subtly peeks into the kitchen and includes a community-style table that seats as many as 18. Events in this space include a five-course chef’s menu served family-style and tailored to your guests’ dietary preferences.

The Shop: Pizza + Cocktails opened in Rancho Bernardo in late 2020. While the eatery specializes in from-scratch deep-dish and traditional pizza, along with elegantly creative cocktails, the menu also includes hearty salads, Italian sandwiches and an extensive wine list. Occupying 3,000 square feet, the family-owned and -operated restaurant offers several areas for events. The outdoor patio seats 50, the back of the restaurant seats 24, the front seats 32 and buyouts can accommodate as many as 60.

Set on 200 lush acres in Carlsbad, Park Hyatt Aviara completed a $50 million renovation in October 2020. The 327 guestrooms and suites offer various amenities ranging from private outdoor patios to marble bathtubs. The resort boasts more than 200,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor event spaces of all sizes, ranging from meeting rooms to a ballroom to alfresco terraces. The 500-square-foot Goldfinch Room, for example, opens onto a private 400-square-foot terrace; the 2,260-square-foot outdoor Fountain Terrace features coastal and garden views; and the 11,700-square-foot Grand Ballroom features a 3,480-square-foot prefunction space. Elsewhere on the property, guests can enjoy six food and beverage outlets, an Arnold Palmer signature-designed golf course, a water park with a two-story slide, an adult pool with private cabanas and a spa, among other notable amenities.

Original cocktails and fine wines are on the menu at Understory Bar, which opened at the brand new Sky Deck in Del Mar in July. The alfresco bar and lounge is adorned with touches inspired by forests, like stylish greenery, tree-trunk tables and support beams that branch up to the canopied ceiling. The bar here leans heavily into Instagram-worthy craft cocktails; the menu dedicates a full page to each one, including exquisite illustrations and comprehensive lists of unexpected ingredients. In total, the 2,400-square-foot outpost can accommodate cocktail parties for as many as 115 guests.

In August, the magnificent Rady Shell at Jacobs Park will open for its inaugural season. With a capacity for as many as 8,000 guests, the expansive venue offers panoramic views of the waterfront and the city, and event rentals are coordinated by the San Diego Symphony and Petco Park Events. Planners can incorporate the covered 13,000-square-foot stage, back-of-house facilities, state-of-the-art production capabilities and locally sourced menus curated by chef Richard Blais, into their gatherings.

The first new hotel to open in Point Loma in more than a decade, The Monsaraz San Diego, Tapestry Collection by Hilton debuted in June. The 92-room boutique property features midcentury-modern furnishings, engaging art, in-room mobile desks and other thoughtful touches that create a welcoming atmosphere. A 4,000-square-foot open-air courtyard—complete with a live tree and a living wall—is an eye-catching centerpiece of the hotel’s design. For groups, the hotel offers two dedicated meeting rooms totaling 4,752 square feet. Planners can also host guests in the 60-seat Westerly Public House, which serves a unique fusion of Cali-Aussie cuisine, while the third floor Hideaway is an ideal destination for group cocktails.

Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine unveiled a $10-million property-wide renovation in June. All common areas, 400 guest rooms and 16 suites now boast a fresh aesthetic that’s at once casual and stylized, just like SoCal itself. Noteworthy features throughout the property include a San Diego-centric library, a multifunctional lobby lounge, a heated outdoor pool with cabanas and two tennis courts. Twenty-six meeting rooms total 42,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor event space, including the 11,800-square-foot Regency Ballroom and the 5,850-square-foot glass-enclosed La Jolla Ballroom.