North Carolina is known for its beautiful coastal and mountain scenery, diverse culture and rich history, making it an attractive place to plan large meetings and events. Here are five North Carolina cities that embody the spirit of the state and have much to offer meeting planners in the way of full-service venues, gorgeous natural surroundings and first-class attractions.
Raleigh
Raleigh, known as the “City of Oaks,” is renowned for its rich history, educational institutions, and technology and life sciences sectors. Meeting groups hosting large conferences or events in the area have their pick of several venues, including the 500,000-square-foot Raleigh Convention Center, which is part of the Raleigh Convention & Performing Arts Complex. It features a 32,000-square-foot ballroom and 20 meeting rooms. The convention center is undergoing an expansion that should be completed by 2028, along with a new 550-room Omni Hotel.
Lenovo Center offers 700,000 square feet of space, including 17,703 fixed seats and 17,000 square feet of floor space that can accommodate events of 5,000 to 20,000. The arena also has six meeting spaces, 59 suites, 13 lounge boxes and a 9,100-square-foot club restaurant. The city has several full-service hotels that can accommodate larger groups, including Hilton Raleigh North Hills, with 30,000 square feet of meeting space and 333 guest rooms; Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley, with 26,182 square feet of meeting space and 379 guest rooms; and The Umstead Hotel and Spa, with 10,200 square feet of meeting space and 150 rooms.
Unique venues include Jaguar Bolera, a restaurant and entertainment complex in the Raleigh Iron Works mixed-used development that offers duckpin bowling, cornhole, karaoke and darts. For fun, attendees can visit the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences or RushHour Karting in Morrisville. The Outdoor Mural Trail and Raleigh Beer Trail are also fun for groups.
Wilmington
Wilmington is a desirable meeting destination because of its walkable convention district and coastal experiences. The convention district is located on the Cape Fear River and features restaurants, shops, nightlife and coastal activities all within walking distance of each other. Popular attractions in the city include the Battleship North Carolina, the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, Carolina Beach Boardwalk, Wilmington Riverwalk, The Children’s Museum of Wilmington, Cameron Art Museum and Fort Fisher State Historic Site.
The 107,000-square-foot Wilmington Convention Center is the largest venue of its kind on North Carolina’s coast. It can host groups of up to 2,000 and offers riverfront views and plenty of natural light. There are nearly 900 hotel rooms within walking distance of the convention center, including Aloft Wilmington at Coastline Center with 125 rooms and a 7,300-square-foot ballroom. The 186-room Embassy Suites by Hilton Wilmington Riverfront is adjacent to the convention center and offers 6,600 square feet of meeting space and a 4,000-square-foot rooftop bar. Hotel Ballast, Tapestry Collection by Hilton offers 272 guest rooms and 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.
Unique venues include Bellamy Mansion; the North Carolina Aquarium, which can accommodate up to 2,000 guests; the Wilson Center, which can seat 1,600; and the Brooklyn Arts Center, which can host up to 1,500. Wilmington’s three island beaches, Carolina, Kure and Wrightsville, are all within a 30-minute drive of downtown Wilmington, and two state parks offer nature trails and watersports.
Fayetteville
Fayetteville is home to Fort Bragg, the world’s largest military base. Because of that, the city also features several military museums, including the U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum, which displays equipment, planes and tanks that were used in special operations around the world. The museum can host receptions for groups of up to 300.
Also at Fort Bragg is the Iron Mike Conference Center, which can accommodate events for groups of up to 900 for banquets or 1,075 for receptions.
The Crown Complex includes a coliseum, arena, theater, ballroom and Agri-Expo Center. The expo center features 60,000 square feet of exhibit space for trade shows or large banquets. The 9,200-square-foot ballroom can accommodate receptions for up to 650 guests. There is a 7,000-square-foot kitchen that provides food service for events held there, and the Crown Lounge, which is in the Crown Coliseum, offers a perfect pre-function area or bar space for events.
Unique venues include the Cape Fear Regional Theatre and 226 The Warehouse, a two-story venue inside a former cotton warehouse. For fun, groups can host team-building events at ZipQuest, one of the top zip lines in the country, tour local farms or vineyards, or play a round of golf at several courses in the area. There are 6,700 hotel rooms in Cumberland County and 1,200 short-term rentals.
Asheville
Asheville, which is known for the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Biltmore Estate and its extensive arts community, is a meeting planner’s dream. Several new meeting hotels opened in the city recently, including The Radical, a modern art hotel in a historic building decked out with street art. The owners of the hotel kept existing street art on the walls and added to it, so every room and space in the hotel features murals and artwork.
The Inn on Biltmore Estate just completed a two-year redesign of its guest rooms and corridors. The Inn and Village Hotel on the estate offer several event venues, including a walled garden for 120 guests and South Terrace, which can host up to 750.
The Grand Bohemian Lodge in Biltmore Village, just outside the entrance to the famous estate, experienced massive flooding during Hurricane Helene. It reopened to the public in May after a full renovation. Its largest space can hold 120 for a banquet.
The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa is the largest meeting facility in the area, with 513 guest rooms and 86,852 square feet of meeting space. The largest meeting room is 18,000 square feet. The facility overlooks the Blue Ridge Mountains, and groups can book the spa as part of their events.
The city has more than 9,000 hotel rooms and plenty of fun experiences to keep attendees happy, including whitewater rafting, foraging hikes and mountaintop yoga classes. The city has an extensive arts and crafts scene that offers hands-on experiences for groups, such as glassblowing, ceramics and fiber art demonstrations.
Durham
Durham has spent the past 20 years transforming its once-deserted downtown into a vibrant walkable area full of shops, restaurants and nightlife. It also punches above its weight when it comes to food. The city is home to two universities, as well as the Durham Bulls Minor League Baseball team and the Durham Performing Arts Center, which is one of the top theaters in the country.
Meeting planners wanting to tap into that downtown energy can plan events at the Durham Convention & Arts Complex, which includes the Durham Convention Center, Carolina Theatre, Durham Arts Council and Durham Armory, all of which offer meeting and event space.
The convention center has over 35,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including a Grand Ballroom that can accommodate groups of up to 1,700. There is a Marriott attached to the center as well as four nearby boutique hotels.
The Durham Armory dates to the 1930s and features wood floors and brick walls. It can host events for up to 585 in its ballroom. The Durham Arts Council has a small theater and rooms for receptions, and the Carolina Theatre, which turns 100 in 2026, is a beautifully restored theater complex that can host groups of up to 1,100. The Sheraton Imperial Hotel at Research Triangle Park can accommodate groups of up to 2,000 in its 31,504 square feet of meeting space.
Attendees can enjoy Durham’s craft brewery scene, catch a Durham Bulls game, or tour the Duke University or North Carolina Central University campuses.
