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Irvine beaches -
Irvine doesn't really pretend to have a beach, but like any beach-close city, it
does sell the beach as part of its attraction package to tourists, sports
groups, meetings & events thinking of hosting conventions and events in its fair
city.
Irvine
Beaches, or Beach Vacations - The Smartest City Markets Itself Cleverly as a
Beach Destination
When Irvine ranked as one of the smartest
cities in the United States, you could tell you would have to put on your
thinking cap to outsmart the Irvinites--the residents who use their noggins to
come up with some clever marketing to sell their destination. One option that
was totally obvious to locals was the
beach vacation concept.
Though no beaches are on site, there are some nearby, they said. Irvine
also doesn't have the airport, but they do have the street and hotels
overlooking Orange County's busy John Wayne Airport located in a tiny strip of
land zoned as part of Santa Ana.
Irvine has UCI (University California
Irvine), recognized as a leader in medical research among other things. Irvine
has a lot going for itself. But alas, there's no beach in the beach-close city
that loves beaches. When the hotels clear out on weekends and there's room at
the inn, Irvine's strategists look for ways to fill their hotels and city
coffers with some extra dollars. But what will get tourists to stay in Irvine
instead of Anaheim (home to Disneyland), Costa Mesa (home to South Coast Plaza),
Newport Beach (home to the beach), or its south county (Orange County) cousins
such as Mission Viejo?
In their typically intellectual style, the
thinkers did some marketing studies and found that they could get some of the
sports camps to stay at their hotels. Afterall, the kids and adults attending
weekend soccer matches only seek nice, affordable rooms. Irvine has done a fair
job or bringing those tourists into their city, but what about beach
vacationers?
The Irvine beach angle is a little tougher
to accomplish. Nearby neighbor Costa Mesa is trying that one. And when you're
visiting Irvine, you look around and see lots of houses, some parks, some
high-tech and business high rise buildings, but hardly a beach within view. If
you didn't know the truth that beaches are only 15 minutes away, you could spend
your life in Irvine and maybe never wander down to the nearest beaches in
Newport Beach.
We'll tell you what we know about Irvine
as a beach vacation option. Truthfully, we prefer some of the Irvine hotels to
the nearby Costa Mesa offerings with a similar price. Irvine's focus on business
travelers means that it is really an "in" place for today's traveler--those of
us out-placed, freelancing, or working from a home cubicle that sort qualifies
as an office. While on the road, be it a beach or mountain vacation, you are
better off at the beach for business amenities and technological offerings in
hotels. Sometimes it's easy to forget that travel's surprises can include no
solid working Internet service and other amenities required to carry on your
income and lifestyle while on the road. Irvine wins on this account (remember
all those smart people?)
As beach vacations go, Irvine gets my vote
for one that goes down easy with hotels across the street from the airport with
the SNA flight code. Newport Beach can be accessed by driving down Jamboree or
MacArthur Streets. If you turn left at MacArthur, you can enjoy the luxurious
beaches of Corona del Mar, Crystal Cove and Laguna Beach.
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