B M & T ••• Novemeber/December 2017 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com
Island Hotel Oak Grill
Group ready for thier Helicopter Tour
our group fully satiated.
The Marriott offers 532 guest rooms, includ-
ing 20 hotel suites, and 25,000-sq. ft. of indoor
meeting space. Its outdoor event space totals
15,000 sq. ft. and offers panoramic views of
Newport Country Club, Newport Harbor, and the
Pacific Ocean. If visiting, be sure to look for its
iconic fountain that has a unique story: Bought in
Italy by the Marriott family, the fountain was being
shipped to the US by boat, but was captured by
pirates who were preparing to smelt it down.
Through the intervention of Interpol, the fountain
eventually reached its US destination.
No trip to Newport Beach is complete with-
out a visit to Fashion Island, Southern
California's premier coastal shopping and din-
ing experience, and I dropped in for a pedicure.
Stores include prestigious department stores,
as well as specialty boutiques. Fashion Island
includes a concierge service that will shop for a
gift for you if you are on a tight schedule. The
service is complimentary.
I ended my evening with a dinner at the Hyatt
Regency, which sits on 26 lush, landscaped
acres surrounded by the beauty of the upper
Newport Bay. Executive chef Julien Bontron daz-
zled our group with courses that resonated with
land, sea and air as gorgeous images were pro-
jected on a huge, panoramic theater screen.
The hotel offers 407 guest rooms and suites,
including 4, three-bedroom villas with stunning
Newport Bay views. Its 26,000 sq. ft. of event
space includes its 6,720-sq. ft. Plaza Ballroom
and a variety of meeting and conference spaces,
many with outdoor components.
The hotel is a favorite for viewing the annual
Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, where
extravagantly lighted boats and yachts parade on
the bay, competing with the decorative holiday
lights at the beautiful waterfront estate homes.
For more on Newport Beach, visit www.visit-
newportbeach.com.
Balboa Bay Beach
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