Meetings and Events City Profiles

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Population: About 545,000

Nearest airport: Tucson International Airport

Conventions centers/Large event spaces: Tucson Convention Center

Overview and highlights:

Tucson, Arizona, is a city where past meets present, a region where a variety of cultures come together and a place where the calm of the desert blends with a vibrant city. Add a plethora of resorts, restaurants, activities and venues and you've got an ideal setting for a meeting or event. It is known for its clean desert air, beautiful weather and for being a melting pot of Hispanic, Native American and cowboy cultures.

The city and the surrounding area boast more than 40 worldclass golf courses, and, of course, the best accessory to outdoor activities-the sun. With about 350 days of sunshine annually, visitors to Tucson can bank on good weather.

● JW Marriott at Starr Pass
Situated on the edge of the Tucson Mountain Park, the 610-room JW Marriott at Starr Pass is a diamond in the desert. The sprawling resort has more than 85,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, the pinnacle of which is a 20,000-square-foot ballroom, accommodating up to 1,500 people. The Marriott also boasts an array of boardrooms, breakout spaces and multiple outdoor patios.

● Westawrd Look Resort
The newly renovated Westward Look Resort, on Tucson's north side, bills itself as the "soul of the Southwest," and with the abundance of desert landscape surrounding the resort, it's a fitting title. The resort has 244 guestrooms and 20,000 square feet of meeting space, as well as new audio-visual equipment.

When the work comes to a close and it's time to enjoy the outdoors, Westward Look has three pools and hot tubs, a spa, nearby nature trails and delicious dining options. Groups can arrange for a Jeep tour that will take guests deep into the desert to catch a glimpse of the wildlife and explore ancient Native American dwellings.

● Hacienda del Sol
For a more intimate, relaxed meeting or retreat, Hacienda del Sol (pictured above) is an ideal setting. Situated on 34 acres in the foothills of the Santa Catalina mountains, the resort has 30 guestrooms and about 3,000 square feet of meeting space wired for all the necessary audio-visual needs.

Another major highlight of Hacienda del Sol is the on-site restaurant, the Grill at Hacienda del Sol. As one of Tucson's most acclaimed restaurants, it's a great place to hold a meeting or just relax on the patio, even if you're not staying at Hacienda.

● Grill's Murphy Room
For private dinners, the Grill's Murphy Room includes a large dining table, fireplace and doors that open to the patio for a great breakout space. With fresh ingredients picked daily from Hacienda's gardens and one of the most extensive wine lists in the city, it's easy to see why the Grill at Hacienda del Sol has won so many awards through the years.

● El Charro Cafe
For a more casual dining experience combined with a bit of history, El Charro Café is a Tucson favorite. The original El Charro, in downtown's historic El Presidio neighborhood, is housed in an 1890s home and is the nation's oldest Mexican restaurant in continuous operation by the same family.

Chef Carlotta Flores prides herself on maintaining the traditions and cuisine created by her family almost 100 years ago. All five of her restaurants offer private dining for large groups as well as offsite catering. Groups can even own a piece of Old Pueblo history for a night and rent out the entire restaurant.

● Red Sky Cafe
● Luna Bella
On the same block are Red Sky Café and Luna Bella, two restaurants owned by Chef Steve Schultz, one of Tucson's favorite local chefs. Beyond great food and a chic atmosphere, each restaurant also features a private dining room to accommodate lunch or dinner meetings. Groups can put together a set menu of their choice or order off the full menu.

"I wanted to provide a private space where people could do business or hold meetings while still enjoying great food," says Schultz. Luna Bella serves modern Italian food while Red Sky serves French/ Southwestern fusion cuisine. Both restaurants also provide off-site catering.

● Tanque Verde Ranch
The Tanque Verde Ranch is situated on 60,000-plus acres, and provides high-end catering, service and accommodations combined with a dude-ranch experience of horseback riding and evening cookouts.

● Old Tucson Studios
For a little bit of Hollywood in the desert, Old Tucson Studios, just west of Tucson proper, offers a unique backdrop for events of 50 to 5,000 attendees, from picnics to black-tie dinners. The staff at Old Tucson will customize an event in which you can re-live the Wild West with gunfight reenactments, saloon hall musicals, stunts and stage shows. There's also the added cool factor of knowing that numerous Westerns like Tombstone were filmed on-site.

For more information:

Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau // 520.624.1817

This article has been edited for the Web. It originally appeared in the Fall 2009 issue of Southwest Meetings + Events and was written by Ellen Ranta.