Courtesy Richmond CVB
Richmond, Va.
Home to seven Fortune 500 companies, Richmond is growing in ways that entice meeting planners. For example, when the Virginia War Memorial built a new education center, a meeting room for 100 was included, and the Virginia Fine Arts Museum recently reopened after an expansion with an additional 165,000 square feet of exhibition and public gathering space.
“Clients are often shocked when they first come to Richmond,” said Cleo Battle, vice president of sales and service for the Richmond Metropolitan CVB. “There’s a perception that Richmond is a small town.”
With 2,100 downtown hotel rooms, this community of 1 million is anything but. A few blocks from Interstate 95, the Greater Richmond Convention Center — certified Virginia Green — has 178,600 square feet of exhibit space and 80,000 square feet of meeting space.
Another 30,000 square feet of meeting space is available in the 410-room Richmond Marriott connected to the center by a skywalk. A recent $15 million renovation refreshed the hotel’s guest rooms and public spaces.
Also downtown, the 1895 Jefferson Hotel, a National Historic Landmark with 262 rooms and 26,000 square feet of meeting space, has garnered Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond ratings each year since 2001.
Twelve miles north, the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center, certified by the International Association of Conference Centers, completed extensive renovations in February.
800-370-9004
visitrichmondva.com
Charleston, W.Va.
Located on the Kanawha River, the West Virginia Capitol Complex includes the Executive Mansion; the newly renovated West Virginia State Museum, an off-site venue and resource for state history and culture; and the Capitol, hard to miss with its 293-foot gold dome. All are on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the past few years, the city has spent $2.5 million to upgrade Haddad Riverfront Park, known as “Charleston’s Front Porch.” The park is only part of what makes downtown Charleston a happening place for meetings.
Downtown, the Charleston Civic Center, with 131,000 square feet of meeting space, is a meeting anchor, served by seven hotels with 1,750 guest rooms and the 130-store Charleston Town Center Mall.
“All of our downtown hotels are within easy walking distance of the civic center and are five minutes from the airport,” said Jama Jarrett, director of communications for the Charleston CVB.
A block from the civic center, the Charleston Marriott Town Center Hotel will soon complete an $8 million renovation. Its 17,500 square feet of meeting space includes a rooftop pavilion where up to 490 can admire city views.
New owners will keep the 256-room Ramada Charleston House open during a $15 million renovation to be completed in mid-2013. With 12,100 square feet of meeting space, the property will add an indoor pool and a sports-themed restaurant, both to open this summer.
Downtown, the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences serves as an off-site venue, while Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage is near the Capitol.
800-733-5469
www.charlestonwv.com
Little Rock, Ark.
Once a sleepy Southern town, Little Rock drew world attention when its native son became the 42nd U.S. president and when popular nonprofit Heifer International decided to locate there.
The city of 200,000 now combines its capacities for hosting meetings of eclectic groups from around the world with inherent Southern hospitality.
“With the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and the world headquarters and Global Village of Heifer International, Little Rock has become a vibrant metropolitan destination,” said Gretchen Hall, president and CEO of the Little Rock CVB. “To accommodate more attendees, we now have 6,500 guest rooms in the city.”
The Peabody Hotel Little Rock accounts for 418 of those rooms. With 40,000 square feet of its own meeting space, the Forbes Four Star, AAA Four Diamond hotel blends seamlessly with the Statehouse Convention Center.
The entirety of Little Rock’s convention district — from the 2,600-seat Robinson Music Hall and attached 288-room Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Little Rock a couple of blocks from the Peabody to the Clinton Center at the other end of downtown — is situated along the Arkansas River with its riverside parks and trails and multiple bridges that link the city to North Little Rock.
In addition to the mainstay convention center with its 225,000 square feet of meeting space, the downtown strip is home to the Old State House Museum, next door to the Peabody and to Trapnall Hall, a historic antebellum home and off-site venue for 225.
About two blocks from the convention center is the River Market District, home to restaurants, music venues, bars, eclectic shops and the Smithsonian-affiliated Museum of Discovery, recently reopened after a $9.2 million renovation.
“One of our most popular off-site event venues is the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum,” Hall said.
In addition to roving receptions that allow guests to take in the nearly 80,000 artifacts from the Clinton presidency, the Clinton library has a banquet room with two walls of windows facing west. An exact replica of the Oval Office is often used for souvenir photos.
800-844-4781
www.littlerockmeetings.com
