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With its conference center fresh off a $1 million refurbishment, Valdosta, Georgia, is more attractive than ever to small meetings.
The Rainwater Conference Center has long been popular, thanks to abundant natural light, a peaceful pond, two adjacent hotels and a location within sight of I-75, and recent improvements make it even more so. There’s new everything — carpet, paint, furnishings and lighting. Bathrooms have been remodeled. Technology has been updated, including a boost to broadband.
There’s also more local flavor, with 25 commanding paintings by local artist Daniel Hanafan hanging throughout.
Hanafan’s influence goes beyond the art. He also runs an event planning company, Stellar Events, where he can show off skills he honed over decades spent creating sets, lighting and props for theater and later theme parks including Valdosta’s Wild Adventures. Another exciting element of the center? A chef who not only delivers the Southern dishes expected in south Georgia, but Creole specialties as well. He might even incorporate blueberries, a major Georgia crop that was the inspiration for the Valdosta Bluesberry Festival, which became an annual tradition in 2023.
“We have tied everything together, from event design to AV to culinary, to make this a planner’s dream,” says David DiSalvo, president/CEO of Visit Valdosta. “In one day, planners can meet with everyone they need to plan their meeting. They can share their vision with us, and we will put the tools in motion.”
For example, this fall, the center, for the first time, created a tailgating event for a meeting group on its 4,500-square-foot veranda overlooking the pond.
The center’s size makes it a good fit for meetings of 175 to 200, and its location, 90 minutes from larger cities like Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Gainesville, make it a good option for regional meetings. Between the Hampton Inn & Suites and Fairfield Inn & Suites that flank the center, there are 316 guest rooms, and although neither is physically connected to the center, each hotel is a short walk from it.
The center’s largest space, the 11,000-square-foot Grand Hall, can handle banquets, tradeshows and sports competitions like cheerleading. Two boardrooms seat 8 and 14. Four Garden Suites range in size from 550 to 1,800 square feet. Two Gazebo Suites can be divided or combined for 3,300 square feet.
Of course, meeting spaces go beyond the conference center. Just north of town, Valdosta State University, whose campus is modeled on California’s Stanford, offers varied meeting spaces. At the nearby Crescent, an 1898 mansion under moss-draped live oaks, events can be held in the main house, a social hall and gardens of camellias and boxwoods.
Five miles south, Wild Adventures is a local favorite, with rides, a water park and exotic animal shows as well as a concert venue that can accommodate speakers and presentations. The park’s latest new feature is Brews and Bites, its first drinking and dining option. It serves brews from Georgia Beer Company, whose location near the conference center is a popular gathering spot.
Wild Adventures is not the only option for adding activity to a conference schedule. On the edge of downtown, groups can learn glass blowing at the Turner Center for the Arts. At Valdosta Wake Compound, a top wake boarding venue, skilled wake boarders are fun to watch, and visitors can try out the sport themselves. The Davis Love III designed Kinderlou Forest Golf Course, a semi-private course, welcomes golf outings, and a small chapel on its grounds is an option for faith-based events.
Groups will want to make the four-mile drive from the conference center to Valdosta’s downtown square, where local businesses reflect current trends and tastes. Downtown Social leans on the Dave & Buster’s model, with boutique bowling, shuffleboard, darts and sports suites for augmented reality golf, baseball and other sports. Southern Cellar serves up wine flights and flatbreads. GUD Coffee Company is handy for morning perks. Kreamkles makes rolled ice cream and other cool treats. Small meetings can make The McKey, a boutique hotel, their headquarters, and if its dozen rooms and suites aren’t sufficient, book short-term rentals in nearby historic buildings.
With easy access, attractive venues and ample activities, it’s easy to see why Valdosta makes sense for small meetings.
For more information, please contact:
Visit Valdosta
David DiSalvo
President and CEO
229-245-0513
