NEW VENUE SPOTLIGHT

NEW VENUE SPOTLIGHT »

Moxy San Diego Downtown/Gaslamp Quarter

This new build puts a fun spin on business and pleasure.

BY BARBARA BECKLEY

Simply the best city hotel I have ever experienced, the Moxy San Diego Downtown/ Gaslamp Quarter is fun and different in so many ways. You check in at the bar and the super friendly staff hands you a cocktail. What could be more welcoming than that?

Then when the elevator doors opened on my floor a gigantic and very hip number “8,” painted as if it were on a battleship, stared me in the face. San Diego is a Navy town, after all. And inside my bright and cozy room— OMG—scrawled across the mirror in what could have been lipstick (but wasn’t) was “Welcome to the Moxy Ms. Beckley!!” With a note: “Hello Gorgeous.”

If just being at The Moxy is this much fun, it stands to reason that gathering there will be equally as memorable, right? “Right,” says Tim Billing, area general manager for the Azul Hospitality Group, one of the property’s partners. “One attendee even told me that meeting at The Moxy made them feel 10 years younger.

“We provide the tad unconventional that allows the all-too-needed creativity to be the norm. Our casual (although professionally casual) vibe allows a completely perfect environment for whatever your business is,” Billing continues.

Business is good for the Moxy. Since opening in November 2019 in San Diego’s trendy Gaslamp Quarter, with easy access to restaurants, breweries and attractions including Petco Park, Seaport Village, Little Italy and the San Diego Zoo, the built from scratch, 128-room property has hosted many corporate and social events for up to 150 people. “Events can be staged anywhere,” says Billing, including in the open lobby and restaurant area, which Billing calls the “living room;” the 10-person state-of-the-art conference room; and maybe even in the super-secret venue-within-a-venue, speakeasy Room 56, located behind a bookcase and down a winding stairway, for up to 24 VIPs.

You’ll also find cool features including "Plug & Meet" gathering areas with ergonomic seating and 56-inch HDTVs; a state-of-theart video wall with helpful travel tools; graband-go food items and fresh coffee in brown paper cups with bright pink lids; guest rooms that resemble “a clubhouse with cushy beds;” and, of course, a bar that’s always open. marriott.com/sanox; 619.239.6699

NEW VENUE SPOTLIGHT » MAGNOLIA HALL, SAN FRANCISCO

The wildly popular Magnolia Brewery in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood has a new addition: Magnolia Hall, a 6,500-square-foot private event space connected to the always-bustling brewery and taproom. Just a 10-minute walk from Oracle Stadium, where the Giants play, it’s perfect for a pre- or post-game function and for more formal events, too. Magnolia Hall offers a blank space for creating events for up to 350 guests standing or 200 seated, and has its own bar, private entrance and restrooms. Full A/V connectivity includes two 55-inch monitors and an LCD projector that has a 20-foot projection span. Six food packages are available, along with planning assistance from Magnolia’s full-service team. Guests with an interest in the craft beer scene can check out cutting-edge brewing techniques involving the city’s first “coolship” (an open-top brewing vessel in which malt and grain cool and absorb elements from the atmosphere before fermentation), as well as a dozen oak foedors (specialized barrels) used to age beer in view of guests. Tours, of course, are available. Magnolia also offers an indoor beer garden space, a semiprivate Brewer’s Deck and several lounge spaces that can be reserved for groups. magnoliabrewing.com