Monterey Conference Center
1 Portola Plaza, Monterey, (831) 646-3770, montereyconferencecenter.com
For too long, the Monterey Conference Center looked like it was built in the ’80s. (It was ahead of its time when it was built in the ’70s.) Then in 2014, hotel owners voted to tax themselves to fund upgrades, in 2015 the city broke ground on a years-long remodel to bring the conference center into this century, and when the place reopened in January 2018, it was sleek and contemporary and bright. The behind-the-scenes stuff is all more modern and improved – audiovisual equipment, flexibility of room size, LEED certification – but it’s the elegantly geometric look of this building that truly transformed the block and makes this the best.