Hotels
All together, Rochester offers 7,500 hotel rooms scattered around the city, so affordability should not be an issue. The downtown area alone features up to 1,200 hotel guest rooms. The city is fortunate to have two major hotels — the Hyatt Regency Rochester, with 338 rooms, and the Radisson Rochester Riverside, with 460 rooms — attached to the convention center. This makes it quite easy for delegates to walk from the center to nearby guest rooms and parking garages.
“That’s hard to come by in much of New York state,” said Wetelainen. “There are a lot of meeting spaces around, but to have hotels attached to them with glass-enclosed, above-the-road corridors where your attendees do not need to walk outside in the winter months is a real added benefit.”
If the convention center isn’t quite the right fit, planners may choose to book a combined total of 50,000 square feet of function space located inside the recently refurbished Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown and the year-old Hilton Garden Inn Rochester Downtown. Both are located in the Convention Center District and are within walking distance of the center.
Another meeting choice for planners is the RIT Inn and Conference Center at Rochester Institute of Technology. It is a conference hotel with meeting and event space and can accommodate up to 800 visitors.
Wine, Festivals and More
After a hard day or week’s work in Rochester, what better way for delegates to relax than with a tour of the famous Finger Lakes Wine Country, famous for its fragrant white wine varieties such as Gewurztraminer and riesling. There are three distinct wine trails for visitors to explore. The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail features 16 member wineries; Keuka Lake Wine Trail offers eight member wineries; Seneca Lake Wine Trail has 35 member wineries.
Of course, between sips of wine, the wine region offers much more to do, from outdoor activities like nature hikes to lakeside fun to myriad events.
Rochester hosts two massive festivals each year for the enjoyment of locals and tourists. This year, the Rochester Lilac Festival will celebrate its 118th year in May.
“This is just a beautiful time of the year,” said Wetelainen. “You can definitely spend a lot of time outdoors. The lilacs are in bloom, and we all celebrate the spring season.”
The summer’s biggest event will be the 15th annual Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival in late June. Grammy-winning singer Bruce Hornsby and his band and Greg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band are among the headliners.
Upstate New York is known for its snow, but meeting planners shouldn’t fret. There are plenty of wintertime activities in which to take part during off-meeting hours. “If you live in this climate, you must be able to enjoy it,” said Wetelainen. Bristol Mountain is the area’s main ski resort. Skiing, snowboarding and other snowy activities are available on 35 slopes, from rookie to expert.
Museums are popular in Rochester. One of the most interesting is the National Museum of Play. It houses a collection of hundreds of thousands of play items and is home to the National Toy Hall of Fame and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games.
The Eastman Museum traces the history of early photography and advancements made by local resident George Eastman. Also in Rochester is the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House, dedicated to the early women’s rights activist.
Techie Center
Many people have never heard of the term photonics, but it’s a very big deal in Rochester and the rest of the scientific world. Photonics is the technology and science of generating, controlling and detecting particles of light and is important to everyday gadgets we use such as smartphones, computers, photography and medical instruments, to name a few. Rochester calls itself the Photonics Capital of the United States.
“Last summer, federal officials announced they would locate the national Photonics Manufacturing Institute in Rochester,” said Rachel Laber, the CVB’s director of communications and public relations. “That’s a huge economic boon and opportunity for our community. It continues our city’s legacy as the world’s image capital. Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb all got started in Rochester. Photonics is the next evolution of that.”
Rochester, New York
Location: Western part of Upstate New York
Access: Greater Rochester International Airport, interstates 90, 390 and 490, Amtrak
Major Meeting Spaces: Rochester Riverside Convention Center, Hyatt and Radisson hotels, Gordon Field House on RIT campus, Blue Cross Arena, Frontier Field
Hotel Rooms: 7,500 citywide, 1,200 downtown area
Offsite Venues: Finger Lakes wineries, National Museum of Play
Contact Info:
Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau
800-677-7282
www.visitrochester.com
