Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, one of California’s most venerated hotels, lends an air of historic importance to every gathering. While the inn enjoys official status as a local, state, and national historic treasure, it also functions beautifully as a modern luxury hotel able to host groups of up to 310 in the heart of downtown Riverside.

The inn’s signature charm begins with its eclectic mission-style architecture— peppered with flying buttresses, gargoyles, elaborate domes, catacombs, and a six-story circular wrought-iron staircase. An equally eclectic guest list bears witness to the inn’s appeal to celebrities over the years—everyone from Albert Einstein to Humphrey Bogart.

Within this treasure trove of aesthetics and history-making moments, planners have a choice of ten rooms for meetings and events. The largest site, the Music Room, hosts up to 310 in a magnificent hall of high beamed ceilings—adjoined by a minstrel’s gallery and permanent stage. Another favorite, the Spanish Art Gallery, hosts up to 150 in a culturally rich atmosphere. Eight more spaces, plus countless leafy courtyards and patios, furnish extraordinary settings for participants in session or out.

This year a $15-million renovation freshened all meeting spaces with new Axminster carpets imported from England, new window treatments, new ceiling drapery in the Spanish Art Gallery, and upholstered wall panels in the Music Room.

For truly colossal affairs, an additional 92,000 square feet of space waits at the neighboring Riverside Convention Center. Back at home, a talented catering staff, audiovisual technicians, and business center services furnish professional support for meetings.

Like the ten rooms for group affairs, each of the 239 guest rooms and suites displays a style all its own. Many have original features such as leaded and stained-glass windows, fireplaces, wall niches, and carved pillars. The recent update introduced a bold palette of colors to complement amenities and services designed for the most discerning VIPs.

While health-minded group members visit the fitness center or Tuscan-inspired Kelly’s Spa, others may opt for a lazy lunch by the pool. The hotel staff arranges a variety of group activities as well, including golf on nearby courses, shopping in town, and tours of world-class wineries in the surrounding valley.

In addition to the staff ’s catering services, a choice of six restaurants and lounges affords easy alternatives for meals between sessions.

The inn welcomes groups with a wealth of present-day pleasures, a colorful past, and timeless majestic beauty. At the historic heart of a region known as the Inland Empire, groups live quite literally like kings and queens.