La Casa Del Camino Hotel is an historic building on South Coast Highway between San Diego and Los Angeles, in the heart of Orange County’s Laguna Beach. It has everything you could ever want for a non-stuffy business meeting where real work can be done yet with beautiful Pacific Coast surroundings. It has very trendy comfortable rooms and suites, a good restaurant, a beautiful rooftop bar with coastal views, and a meeting room on the rooftop steps away from those views. Rates and catering are reasonable with very friendly service.

If you have teenagers, or kids that have extended their adolescence into their twenties, or if you yourself engage in the guilty pleasure of reality T.V., you might recognize the name “Laguna Beach”. It was the location and springboard to the most famous Millennial’s reality television phenomenon that spun off like a centrifuge into “The Hills”, “The City” and likely was the inspiration for other successful reality series set in SoCal such as “Newport Harbor”, the Audrina Show, The Real Housewives of Orange County, etc. But let’s focus on some substance and the real reality of this reality television backdrop. Laguna Beach is an artsy coastal Pacific mecca that, despite some new corporate presences, has retained its small town feeling in the face of the exposure.

Located at 1289 South Coast Highway, La Casa Del Camino is a classic 1929 Mediterranean style beachfront hotel that stands as an elegant landmark, with modern amenities. It is a short walk to most sites in the town, art galleries, shops, and restaurants. The room types run the gamut from economy, standard, superior, deluxe, Euro studio suites, and casitas. The “casita” option is a California-style cottage perfect for families. The suites are themed (e.g. Billabong) which is a nice touch. However, while booking these suites, make sure the “themes” are gender appropriate. You might not want your male colleagues in the Girl’s Billabong or Etnies suite, just a thought.

The onsite restaurant is K’ya, and is steps from the coastline that features 30 beaches and coves. The most unique feature at the hotel (especially for hosting business meetings) is the Catalina room. It can host 10 people and sits on the rooftop with the breathtaking views of the entire Laguna coastline. Catering for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks are provided. Despite the adjacent access to one of the most famous rooftop bars in Laguna (appropriately named “The Rooftop Bar”), the location is quiet during the day and when it’s time to take a break, it only takes about 10 steps to reach the edge of the roof and take a breath of fresh Pacific air blowing in from Catalina. The room featured a flatscreen television with appropriate cables to connect laptops for presentations. Phones, VCRs, flipcharts and whiteboards were also available.

Other options for meeting space include an Italianate outdoor courtyard. Rates for meeting accommodations start at $1299. Be sure to discuss parking options for your guests and the catering options available. There are all-inclusive rates, however, the staff seemed extremely helpful and open to ideas to suit any needs that arose.

Transportation to and from Orange County is most conveniently handled through the Orange County (SNA)/John Wayne International Airport. The Long Beach Airport is also an option for those who fly JetBlue. It is about a 35 -45 minute drive from Long Beach to Laguna Beach.

La Casa Del Camino is highly recommended for an alternative to the impersonal meeting spaces of most chain hotels in Southern California.