Some of the biggest and best hotels have MICE. No need to call the exterminators. MICE is a meetings industry acronym for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions.
In 2024, the U.S. had more than $126 billion in meeting- and event-related travel spending, supporting nearly 620,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Wooing meeting planners and the MICE travel groups they bring is a top priority for many hotels, as the revenue they bring is often much higher than leisure travelers.
MICE groups can certainly co-exist with both leisure and business travelers at most hotels. However, some hotels, such as large high-end resorts located in a desirable destination, like the Grand Hyatt in Indian Wells, CA, are particularly well suited for MICE business activities or leisure group events like weddings, college or military reunions, fan conventions and meetings. Bonding can take place at the bar or golf course as well as in the meeting.
When I was part of a loose ‘group’ of Rolling Stones fans attending a show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, for example, we shared the LAX Airport Westin with a congenial group of 600 Masons.
The Grand Hyatt boasts the charms of the California desert, with stunning vistas, a famed golf course nearby, nine swimming pools and a superior restaurant. It’s located just two and half hour from Los Angeles but presents a much more relaxing world than the bustling city.
The resort has 531 newly remodeled guestrooms, including 39 suites and 43 luxury villas. The rooms are decorated in soothing tones, and many offer stunning views of the golf course and the mountains beyond. They offer a spacious living area, large, comfortable beds and spa-inspired marble bathrooms with separate shower and tub. You can find tranquility on a private balcony or, as the hotel puts it for those attending meetings, you can” tackle the next day’s agenda in your workspace.”
The Grand Hyatt Indian Wells is also well set up for meetings of various sizes, with a total of 88,000 square feet of meeting space. There are 13 meeting spaces on property (more details on each can be found here) including the Indian Wells Ballroom, which has 20,000 square feet and a guest capacity of 2,200. Other indoor spaces can serve from 20 to 250 guests.
There are five outdoor spaces that can handle from 40 to 800 guests, for everything from weddings to elaborate evening meeting events. And the hotel has customizable catering services for all sizes of events.
The hotel has several attractions that make it fun for families, whether they arrive on their own or with a spouse attending a meeting or convention. The hotel’s nine pools include a water park with a ‘lazy river’ where you can walk or float with one of the provided floats, two high, curved water slides that loom over the pools, and a splash pad for your water landing. I tested the water slides myself. They were fast, exhilarating, and slightly scary.
For those who prefer serenity, there are adult pools and spas.
The Grand Hyatt has been recently remodeled. Its signature restaurant, Tia Carmen, opened in September 2024. Led by Chef Angelo Sosa, each creation pays homage to his beloved Aunt “Tía” Carme.
The restaurant offers an excellent selection of re-imagined and traditional Mexican dishes. These include Lamb Barbacoa + Caviar (lamb belly, banana leaf, adobo, cilantro, perilla leaf, and piña asada), various steaks and whole fish. Starters include delicious ‘cheese balls’ or pan frito, made with cotija cheese, serrano chile, chestnut butter and pine thistle, a wagyu tri-tip kebab + perilla leaf, blue prawn tostada and a sea urchin stew.
The restaurant, named an Open Table ‘Diner’s Choice’ for 2025, attracts people from all over the Coachella Valley. Families come in the weekend. However, in keeping with the focus on groups as well as individual diners, Tia Carmen offers buyout options for private and group dining.
To relax before dinner or after a day of meetings, golfing or poolside, the hotel’s newly remodeled Agua Serena Spa offers facials, massages and body treatments. There is also a yoga studio as well as classes, wellness consultations and a 24-hour fitness studio.
There are many walking and biking trails throughout the Indian Wells resorts and in greater Palm Springs, and the Grand Hyatt has bicycles to offer to guests as well. There are also tennis courts on property. In the summer, one might want to do outdoor exercise early in the morning, as daily high temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The resort is located adjacent to and overlooks Indian Wells Golf Resort. While the resort is not directly part of the greater Grand Hyatt property, the two work closely together and provide guests the opportunity to book tee times for either the Championship or Players Courses. The Golf Resort also offers rental equipment for golfers if they arrived without their own gear.
In addition to human travelers, the area also attracted fly-in geese we saw visiting one of the Hyatt pools.
For human flyers, the hotel is served by the Palm Springs International Airport, (PSP). Other flight options are to fly into LAX or Ontario, rent a car and drive. Having a car is recommended as there’s a lot to see, do and shop in the nine-city Coachella Valley, which includes Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, and Rancho Mirage.
Whether you’re a solo traveler, part of a family group or a member of a MICE event, the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells offers relaxing luxury.