Courtesy of The U. S. Grant

I had the great fortune of planning a holiday party held last week at The U. S. Grant Hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp District!  It was a fantastic evening and the staff of the U. S. Grant made it even better.

During the planning process the Catering Manager, Rita Moore, was so delightful and helpful.  We explained what our theme was and how we wanted a menu that tied to our theme.  After discussing things with the chef, Rita came back with some fantastic ideas!  And the tasting delivered on how delicious the dishes sounded!

The U. S. Grant Lobby

We ultimately decided on a Pumpkin Ravioli with Spinach paired with a lovely sauce.  And this was just the appetizer!  The main course was a Short Rib and Sea Bass combination with purple Peruvian Potatoes and market fresh veggies.  The combination was perfect!  The entire dinner was a definite people pleaser!

The night of the event, the entire staff was on point!  They delivered on customer service and they were always there for us.  From the valets who helped us unload our vehicles to the wait staff who were on top of the service, it was a treat to experience the professionalism everyone had.

One of the awesome perks about the U. S. Grant are the Event Planner Suites!  They are an additional charge, but it was worth it to have a “go to” room for storing the favors and centerpieces until we were ready for them.  And also, it was awesome having a room to get ready in which was just across the hall from the ballroom.  It was also a secure place that only a couple of people had access to, so we could leave valuables there and not worry about them!

If you are looking for exceptional customer service, professionalism, an elegant venue and great food then you must consider The U. S. Grant!

Poolside at Se San Diego

Back in January I wrote a little piece on Se San Diego, which is a new Luxury Hotel in Downtown.  At that time the place was not entirely finished (pool bar and lounge, penthouse, and a few other elements).

Well its finished now!  I was invited to their Opening Reception last night and its fantastic!  The Pool Bar and cabanas are very chic and the lounge furniture is super comfortable.  I was having visions of myself lounging by the pool this coming summer!  There is also a lounge immediately off the pool which would make an awesome space for a cocktail party.

I have not even gotten to the food and drinks!  Don’t know the name of it but I had a sparkling wine and elderflower liqueur concoction…yummy!  The most popular drink of the evening was a blueberry, acai berry and vodka beverage.  Crab Cakes with Avocado Aioli, Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Cantaloupe and Lobster Mini Salad, Steak Canapes with Teriyaki Glaze….every bite was delicious!

One of the things I loved about the party was you still felt like you were in San Diego, but with a very hip luxe vibe.

Kudos to everyone at Se San Diego for not only throwing a fabulous party last night, but for being part of such a fantastic property!  Can’t wait to see more fab events there!

Very few Downtown San Diego locations are as hip and modern as the Hard Rock Hotel.  A complete event venue, the Hard Rock offers guests rooms (obviously), event space,  dining, and nightlife!
The guest rooms are sleek & sexy with flat screen TVs, snake-skin headboards, fun & funky furniture all of which just beckons you to have a fabulous time!

Image Courtesy of HardRockHotelSD.com

The event space is the killer part!  Most of the rooms have huge windows which allows for natural light to come streaming through.  And if you have ever spent an entire day in a meeting room with no windows…you know what a treat that is.  Legends ballroom can accommodate up to 500 guests and sports high ceilings which compensates for being the room without windows.  But, again, the high ceilings eliminate any sense of claustrophobia.  And the staff delivers great service!  For those who missed the visual recap of The Special Event Wedding Lunch, nearly 500 event planners flooded the Hard Rock Hotel.  The service was great and the food was delicious!

Mary Jane’s Coffee Shop is one of the dining options at the Hard Rock Hotel and has the retro vibe without being a time-warp to the ’50s.  The Hard Rock also features Nobu San Diego…need I say more!   Sweetwater Saloon and Moonstone Lounge are also part of the Hard Rock nightlife.  And all this put together means your guests are guaranteed a good time!  And we haven’t event left the hotel yet!

Image Courtesy of HardRockHotelSD.com

In the heart of the Gaslamp District, the Hard Rock Hotel is centrally located to nearly anything your guests would want to do or see in San Diego.
For whatever event you may be planning, the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego should definitely be on your list of places to check out!

Last week thousands of event industry folks descended upon Downtown San Diego for The Special Event 2009 industry conference.  This led me to take up the duty of finding a restaurant for several of my fellow event planners and I to have dinner and catch up.  I was looking for something that seemed very “San Diego” but that also served great food and was centrally located for everyone.  I happily came upon JSix during my decision making process and could not have been more pleased!

JSix is a restaurant on J Street and Sixth in the Gaslamp District of Downtown San Diego.  They serve up a California Cuisine that is terribly hard to resist!  I dined on the Duck Confit and the Lobster & Crab Cakes that evening.  The duck was so deliciously cooked it simply fell off the bone and had the perfect hint of pink to it.  It was served a perfectly paired sauce (the name of which escapes me) and a meyer lemon risotto that I could have eaten all evening!  And let’s not forget the Crab Cakes!  I typically have issue with crab cakes because they can be a bit too greasy or oily for me…not these!  They were crispy and delicious…end of story!

Between the eight of us that were there that evening we tried a good portion of the menu and we were all not only pleased with the food but delighted at how good it was!

JSix prides themselves on serving not only quality tasting food, but also with quality ingredients.  They make several trips to local farmer’s markets to get the freshest foods they can find.

And I have not even touched upon the restaurant itself!  Sleek and modern but with fantastic lighting, the restaurant invites you to stay and linger for a while.  Cozy up to the bar and have a cocktail while you wait, observe the action in the kitchen which is a nice open layout for the patrons to view, or sneak upstairs to the JSix Rooftop Bar for a decidedly different atmosphere but with the same great food and drinks.  And while you’re there don’t forget to have a Pear Flower Lemonade!

JSix is a great location for a smaller sized rehearsal dinner of maybe 15 people.  If you have a larger group or want a private room you can enjoy the quality food from the Hotel Solamar which is immediately adjacent to JSix.   And let’s not forget the JSix Rooftop Bar which can host private events as well.

I’m a sucker for great food and great ambiance and JSix certainly makes the cut!

JSix Restaurant
616 J Street (At the corner of 6th Avenue)
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: 619.531.8744

Downtown San Diego has been enjoying quite the boom!  The Ivy Hotel opened in 2007 as THE chic & luxe hotel in the Gaslamp.  It was shortly followed by the Hard Rock Hotel and let’s not forget the newly renovated W hotel.  But now we have another treat to add to the mix…Se San Diego.

Designed to be an oasis amongst the buzzing downtown, walking into Se is like walking into another world.  The attention to detail in the lobby alone is incredible…stingray skins cover the concierge and reception desks…but the staff will immediately inform you that no stingrays were harmed in the process.  The skins come from a preserve and were gathered after the natural shedding process…how’s that for chic and eco-friendly!

A custom designed lighting sculpture hangs in the lobby and is more akin to a mobile than anything else.

And that’s another thing!  Installation pieces abound throughout the hotel.  The staircase wall is lined with a fin-like installation, the restaurant (Suite & Tender) has black wood panels with etchings of different words and phrases (some naughty and some nice), and the spa reception desk has an awesome backdrop of miniature teacup-like sculptures in the loveliest shade of foam green.  Its worth the visit just to see the art in the joint!

And the guest rooms….dark hardwood floors.  I was sold on that alone!

The hotel bar is cool, dark and sexy…perfect for an evening drink.

No expense was spared in the design of this property.  Boasting mainly an Asian-inspired theme, Se actually fuses together inspiration from every conceivable point in the world but in the most fluid aesthetic imaginable.  Incredibly tactile, you want to feel everything you see, but the sensory experience does not stop there.  The quirkiest part of the hotel are the elevators…white acrylic walls with embedded crosscuts of wood pieces that emanate the most subtly sweet aroma.  Again…the attention to detail is beyond anything I could have imagined.

And let’s not forget the ballroom.  Located on the 4th floor (someone correct me if that’s wrong), the east wall of the ballroom is filled with windows from floor to ceiling, and the ceiling has a sculptured element with wood panels overlapping each other.  I love the modern feel of the whole space!

As you can see, I like the place.  So next time your downtown and find yourself near the House of Blues cruise into the bar of their new neighbor…Se San Diego.

Image Courtesty of SeSanDiego.com

Website: SE San Diego

Address: 1047 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

Se has had their soft opening and is due for their Grand Opening in February.