From Alabama and Mississippi to North Carolina and Virginia, the hospitality industry is getting a boost from new and refreshed resorts, hotels and convention centers. Here are six new spots that offer meeting groups a mix of scenic settings or urban environments in which to host their events.
The Cooper
Charleston, South Carolina
The Cooper is a 191-room luxury waterfront hotel that sits on Charleston Harbor in Charleston, South Carolina. It opened for meetings and events in December, but overnight guests won’t be welcomed until March 1.
The hotel is steps away from Joe Riley Waterfront Park and is the only luxury waterfront hotel in downtown Charleston. The project is the first of many in the city’s plans to revitalize its historic waterfront and serves as a bridge between the harbor, the park and the peninsula’s iconic cultural center.
With more than 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, the facility can host a range of groups, from small gatherings of executives in the Palmer Boardroom to 600 guests on the Grand Lawn for waterfront receptions. The Asten Ballroom, which can be divided into four separate rooms, can host up to 540 guests for banquets, while the Salon can accommodate groups of 10 to 150.
The hotel offers panoramic views of the water and Ravenel Bridge. It also has four restaurants, a wellness spa and saltwater infinity pool overlooking the harbor. The Cooper’s marina offers direct access to harbor cruises and guest transportation, including a 43-foot Hinckley yacht and custom Scout boats.
Cheaha State Park Lodge
Delta, Alabama
Cheaha State Park in Delta, Alabama, broke ground on a new lodge and meeting venue on top of Mount Cheaha to replace the original Cheaha Park Hotel. The facility, which is being funded through an $85 million bond measure approved by voters in 2022, is expected to be completed early this year.
The Cheaha State Park Lodge will feature three hotel towers with a total of 32 guest units that will be connected by breezeways clad in copper-colored aluminum to reflect the sun and align with the summer solstice. All the guest rooms will have private balconies with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valley below.
The project also includes a rooftop bar and a meeting space for conferences and events. The new hotel towers will be connected to the existing Vista Event Center, which previously served as the park’s restaurant. The center will be renovated to serve as the lobby and reception area of the lodge, along with office space for staff, a retail space and coffee shop.
The existing pool will be turned into an observation deck and event pavilion that can host up to 100 guests. It will also serve as a trailhead for Pulpit Rock.
Cheah State Park, founded in 1933, features 2,799 acres of Appalachian foothills and mountain landscapes.
Raleigh Convention Center
Raleigh, North Carolina
The Raleigh Convention Center in North Carolina’s capital is preparing for a dramatic expansion that is expected to be completed by 2029. The development targets LEED Gold certification in sustainability and will include an additional 298,100-square-foot facility, which will bring the convention center’s total event space to 798,000 square feet. The new facility will add a 50,000-square-foot flex space, an 18,000-square-foot ballroom and 13 new meeting rooms. It will also have rooftop terraces and outdoor spaces.
As part of the expansion, a brand-new 550-room Omni Hotel will be built, and the Red Hat Amphitheater will be moved a block away to make room for the new building. The new amphitheater is expected to have a capacity of 6,000 to 6,500.
The current convention center has 500,000 square feet of event space, including a 32,000-square-foot ballroom that can host 1,960 for a banquet or nearly 4,000 theater style and a 146,843-square-foot exhibit hall that can host groups of nearly 9,000 for a banquet. The ballroom can be divided into four separate spaces and has an adjacent 11,500-square-foot reception and registration area. There are 20 additional meeting rooms and a mezzanine that overlooks the exhibit halls and provides easy access to the attached Raleigh Marriott City Center hotel.
Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana
Bossier City, Louisiana
Located along the Red River in Bossier City, across from Shreveport, the new Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana features 549 guest rooms and suites, including five penthouses.
The property has 25,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 12,125-square-foot ballroom, pre-function space, two smaller meeting rooms and an executive boardroom. The ballroom can accommodate 680 for a banquet, and the pre-function space can host 450 guests or vendor exhibits.
There are six dining outlets on-site that groups can use for events of 20 to 95, including Ridotto Grand Cafe, The Prime Rib, Luk Fu and Sports & Social. Live! offers full or partial buyouts of all its restaurants and bars. The Bourbon Room at The Prime Rib is an opulent private dining room for 20.
PBR Cowboy Bar is a perfect spot to host themed events, and attendees can take a stab at riding the bar’s mechanical bull. The venue hosts karaoke, dancing and comedy nights.
Live entertainment is available throughout the facility. In their free time, meeting guests can book a cabana at the pool or spend some time in the casino, which offers more than 40 table games and 1,000 slot machines.
Natchez Convention Center
Natchez, Mississippi
In the heart of historic downtown Natchez, Mississippi, the 32,000-square-foot Natchez Convention Center recently completed a comprehensive renovation and modernization of the entire facility, including upgraded event spaces and public bathrooms, six new breakout meeting spaces and an exhibit hall renovation that converted cinderblock walls to plaster and vinyl wall coverings.
As part of the renovation, the center re-covered all of its partition walls and acoustic panels; replaced carpet and the exhibit hall ceiling; added millwork archways leading down the first-floor corridor; bought new chairs; and upgraded staging and audiovisual equipment.
The color scheme, which was neutral brown, has been changed to a more modern blue-gray. There is a large pre-function area for receptions and event registration, as well as a catering kitchen and an approved list of caterers.
New artwork was added to the facility, including a Wyatt Waters watercolor art collection depicting iconic Natchez scenes and a timeline graphic that illustrates significant dates in the community’s history.
The facility, which opened in April 2002, sits at the end of Main Street, overlooking the Mississippi River. It can host groups of 1,200 for a banquet, and its exhibit hall spans 18,000 square feet.
JW Marriott Reston Station
Reston, Virginia
The new JW Marriott Reston Station opened in September in Reston, Virginia — the first JW Marriott property in Virginia. It offers easy access to Dulles International Airport, downtown Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Maryland.
The property features 247 guest rooms, including executive suites, junior suites and one presidential suite. It also offers 14 Mindful Rooms equipped with yoga mats, massage guns, eye covers and other elevated amenities.
The hotel has 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 6,100-square-foot ballroom. The space can host groups of up to 1,500 for a reception and 800 for a banquet. By June, the hotel will have a junior ballroom and a 3,500-square-foot space that can be divided into seven smaller rooms. There are four meeting rooms and the Blank Canvas, a 1,700-square-foot room with an LED wall.
On the fifth floor, there is an executive lounge and a fitness center that opens onto a terrace with a chef’s garden. That space can also be used for receptions or dinners.
The Simon at Reston Station is an upscale eatery that serves mid-Atlantic flavors, while the Schar Bar is known for its cocktails.
