What an Offsite Looks Like When the Building Has 27 Rooms

A team offsite in a 27-room hotel works differently than one in a conference center. There is no ballroom, no bank of breakout rooms, no badge scanner at the door. What there is: a lobby table, a courtyard, and the suites upstairs. The day moves between them.

The hotel is a hotel, guest house and event space from the Gjelina Group, one block from the Boardwalk and Beach in Venice. It hosts team retreats, meetings and conferences, with indoor and outdoor spaces and rooms for guests. Room rentals cover corporate meetings, team brainstorms and creative workshops.

Starting at the Lobby Table

The lobby has a communal work table, board games and a library of books. That table is where the day opens. Laptops out, coffee in hand, the first session of a small group runs from here. It is a working room, not a stage. Nobody is more than a few steps from the door, which matters when half the team wants to step outside to take a call.

Guests get complimentary Gjusta pastries and morning coffee, so the first hour does not need a plan beyond showing up. Breakfast can also be arranged through event catering from Gjelina or Gjusta Bakery, which runs from coffee and pastries to seated dinners.

Moving to the Courtyard

All guests can use the lobby and the ground-floor courtyard. The courtyard is the hinge of the day. First-floor suites and small rooms open onto it, and the downstairs suites are accessible from it too. A group that books the surrounding rooms has, in effect, a second meeting space with sky above it.

The courtyard carries the lunch break and the afternoon session that goes better standing up. It is also where dinner happens if the group wants to stay on property: the events page notes group dinners in the courtyard. Catering for the day can run from a seasonal lunch to a sunset wine and charcuterie spread to a seated dinner.

Expect noise. The hotel says so directly: it sits in a busy area, and guests should plan on hearing the neighborhood. For a working day that is mostly background. For a session that needs total quiet, the lobby is the better room.

Suites as Breakouts

Rooms run from small queens and doubles to studio, junior, terrace king, fireplace and two-bedroom suites. For an offsite, the suite matters more than the single room. The Courtyard Double Queen Suite sleeps two to four, with a private bedroom and a kitchenette with a Smeg refrigerator. The downstairs suites have fully equipped kitchenettes with cooking tools and locally handmade ceramics, and open onto the interior courtyard. The upstairs suites have kitchenettes with full-size Smeg refrigerators, and their guests share a private second-floor garden terrace. That terrace is reserved for second-floor suites, rooms 21 to 26.

A two-bedroom suite can hold a small breakout without anyone leaving the building. A suite with a kitchenette can keep lunch, water and coffee within arm's reach of the work. Rooms can be booked for press interviews, corporate meetings, team brainstorms and creative workshops.

Two rooms are ADA-accessible: the Downstairs King Suite (Accessible) and the Small Queen (Accessible). If the group includes someone who needs one, say so when planning.

The Working Day, Hour by Hour

A shape that fits the building:

• Morning: coffee and pastries, first session at the lobby table.
• Mid-morning: move to the courtyard for a standing session or a working break.
• Lunch: courtyard, catered from Gjelina or Gjusta Bakery.
• Afternoon: breakouts in suites, or the courtyard again if the weather holds.
• Evening: group dinner in the courtyard, or a walk to Abbot Kinney.

The neighborhood is part of the plan. Gjelina opened on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in 2008, and guests get priority access to dining there. The hotel is a short walk from Abbot Kinney Boulevard, with independent restaurants, design shops and galleries along the corridor.

What to Know Before You Book

Events must be booked through the Gjelina Group events team; no parties or events otherwise. There is no loud noise after 10 pm. No smoking or vaping anywhere on the property, with a $2,000 fine for violations. Guests must be 21 or older to book. Only registered guests may be on the property, so anyone attending the offsite needs a room.

There is no dedicated parking. Street parking is on Rose Ave and Navy Street, and paid lots are at 109 Rose Ave., 116 Rose Ave. and 605 Speedway. The front desk holds bags for up to four hours before arrival or after departure. Check-in is at 3:00 pm and check-out at 11:00 am, and a later check-out can be requested from the front desk.

Group rates and connecting rooms can be requested from the front desk by email or phone. The events team is at events@gjelinahotel.com.

For the wider case on why a small building suits a small team, see When the Meeting Room Is Abbot Kinney. For the rooms themselves, start with the rooms page.