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Waterfronts always make a splash, and two major convention destinations in Maryland are making the most of theirs. Here’s a look at them.
National Harbor
In 2008, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center opened on the Potomac River eight miles from Washington, D.C. and a major meeting destination, National Harbor, was born. Today, Gaylord National remains National Harbor’s centerpiece, but now it’s joined by some lively neighbors: five hotels, including a casino resort; a dozen blocks of restaurants and shops; and boat cruises, a 175-foot Ferris wheel and other amusements.
Gaylord National’s 1,996 guest rooms and more than half a million square feet of meeting space make it the largest noncasino resort along the East Coast, and its 178,787 square feet of exhibit space is the largest of any D.C. metro hotel. Other National Harbor hotels, including the Westin and the AC Hotel, have meeting space as well. The MGM National Harbor, a mile from National Harbor’s downtown, has 35,000 square feet of meeting space.
But even with all the development, the Potomac remains much of the focus in National Harbor. The river is the view from the Gaylord’s 1.5-acre atrium. Many of its meeting spaces and its rooftop bar also afford water views. A riverfront promenade invites strolls; paddleboats, water taxis and tour boats get visitors out on the water. And restaurants are a marvelous mix — everything from Maryland crabs and milkshakes to hot chicken and tikka masala.
Baltimore
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is a scenic, waterfront destination along the I-95 corridor. It is the centerpiece of the city’s walkable convention campus, home to the National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center, delicious dining, restored historic ships, and water taxis to nearby neighborhoods like Fell’s Point and Baltimore Peninsula. Only a few blocks inland, Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, and M&T Bank Stadium, home to the Baltimore Ravens, draw sports fans.
Only two blocks away from the Inner Harbor is the Baltimore Convention Center. The center has much to offer planners, with 300,000 square feet of exhibit space, 50 meeting rooms, a 36,600 square foot ballroom, and a 15,000-square-foot terrace. It is also connected to not one, but two downtown hotels: the 757-room Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel and the 488-room Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel. Each has significant meeting space: 128,043 square feet at the Hilton and 35,000 at the Hyatt. And they are by no means the only nearby hotels. Baltimore has 8,000 hotel rooms downtown, and 2,300 of them are within a block of the convention center.
To learn more about National Harbor and Baltimore or other greater D.C. meeting destinations, visit meetinmaryland.com, a partnership of Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Visit Baltimore, Visit Howard County, Visit Montgomery, and Experience Prince George’s, five DMOs that work together to market Maryland meeting venues in the greater D.C. area.
