There’s a destination in South Carolina with a thoroughfare actually named Meeting Street, lined with elegant hotels and one-of-a-kind museums available for event rentals. It’s a metro region where cutting-edge hotels, antebellum mansions, prestigious golf courses, and luxurious island beach resorts vie for planners’ attention. It’s a city with nearly 100 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and hundreds of new hotel rooms and thousands of square feet of meeting space being added to its inventory in the next two years.
Paved with history and geared for growth, Charleston and its resort islands bring the past into the future—and into events—with grace and style.
New and Noteworthy
Renovations and groundbreakings are all the rage in Charleston this season, and every property has its eye on attracting more meetings. With a current metro count of more than 185 hotels and nearly 12,000 rooms, Charleston is preparing to significantly expand its group business.
“The entire area around the convention center has seen lots of new development with the addition of several new restaurants and a Tanger Outlet Center,” says Jennifer Aiken, convention services coordinator for the Charleston Area CVB. “There are several new properties with varying amounts of meeting space either under construction or on the drawing boards.”
An aloft hotel and a Homewood Suites are under construction around the Charleston Area Convention Center Complex. In downtown Charleston, a 185-room Hilton with 5,000 square feet of meeting space adjacent to Marion Square is scheduled to break ground later this year. Another project, named Midtown, is coming to the trendy Upper King Street Design District. It will open in 2010 and feature 250 guest rooms and 8,000 square feet of meeting space.
The 150,000-square-foot Charleston Area Convention Center Complex is the city’s largest group venue, with the 30,000-square-foot North Charleston Coliseum, the 2,300-square-foot Performing Arts Center, a 77,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 25,000-square-foot ballroom, and 20 meeting rooms.
Leading meeting hotels near the convention center include the 255-room Embassy Suites North Charleston–Airport Hotel and Convention Center, which is connected to the convention center itself, and the 142-room Holiday Inn Charleston Airport and Convention Center.
In the charming, cobblestone-paved and historically significant downtown area, top meetings-ready options include the 182-unit Doubletree Guest Suites Historic Charleston, the 230-room Francis Marion Hotel and the 341-room Charleston Marriott.
A very special stretch of Meeting Street in Charleston’s venerable downtown is launching its own attraction branding initiative as the Museum Mile. Among other unique cultural and historical institutions, the Museum Mile boasts the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry, presenting the cultural and natural history of the region; the Charleston Museum, founded in 1773 as the first museum in the U.S.; and the Gibbes Museum of Art, featuring a variety of contemporary and older art, often with local connections. Each of these museums is available for private events.
Other interesting sights along Museum Mile are the Confederate Museum, the Old Slave Mart Museum and the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.
Group-friendly hotels on Meeting Street include the elegant 320-room Charleston Place Hotel, which features a 14,000-square-foot ballroom and 18 breakout rooms, and the luxurious 214-room Mills House Hotel, with nearly 5,000 square feet of meeting space.
Meanwhile, additional airlift is making it easier and cheaper to get to Charleston.
“The arrival of AirTran Airways last year has resulted in significant reductions in the average cost of flying to Charleston,” Aiken says. “AirTran has also increased overall seat capacity, which has encouraged more groups to consider Charleston for their meeting and incentive programs.”
Another new trend has Charleston taking gastronomy more seriously than ever before, and the city is taking on a new reputation as a foodie mecca.
“Although primarily known for its rich history and lush resort beaches, the Charleston area is becoming equally acclaimed as a culinary destination,” Aiken explains. “This combination makes the Charleston area even more appealing for meetings and conventions. Charleston has several James Beard chefs as well as the Food & Wine Festival. We are also home to chefs like Bob Waggoner and Bob Carter, who have been seen on Food Network and Turner South.”
Visitors to Charleston shouldn’t leave without sampling its Lowcountry cuisine, a rich array of dishes starring delectable local oysters, crab and shrimp with complex and savory influences from the Caribbean and Africa. Restaurants to keep in mind include the highly rated 82 Queen and the popular Poogan’s Porch, both of which welcome groups.
Old-Time Treasures
Charleston’s city seal reads, “She guards her buildings, customs and laws.” From a planner’s perspective, that watchful eye for tradition is a big plus, since the city has carefully and lovingly preserved a large number of institutions, many of which are available for group tours and as unique off-site event venues.
Plantations are one of the most iconic images of the Old South, and Charleston boasts several lovely and well-maintained examples.
Lowndes Grove Plantation, a 14-acre antebellum estate located on the Ashley River, is a popular spot for events with that turn-of-the-previous-century flair. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the property is currently undergoing a restoration. The 6,800-square-foot main house features a variety of gracious venues, and outdoor space can accommodate as many as 560.
Other event-friendly venues include Middleton Plantation, a National Historic Landmark also located on the Ashley River, and the lush Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, with gathering spaces including a 4,000-square-foot carriage house.
Groups can pay homage to Charleston’s roles in the Civil War and World War II with a group visit to a piece of American military history. Options include the Civil War-era Confederate submarine the Hunley at Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, as well as the World War II aircraft carrier USS Yorktown at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mt. Pleasant. In 2007, the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum opened onboard the ship.
The city’s great mansions also double as memorable event venues. The Wentworth Mansion, now a top-rated luxury hotel, offers impeccable meeting space in its 700-square-foot Blockade Runner Room. William Aiken House, built in 1811 and painstakingly restored, offers 20,000 square feet of event space.
History doesn’t need to be stuffy. In fact, it can be downright spooky, with after-hours walking tours of ghosts and dungeons or haunted jails. Bulldog Tours will customize a program for corporate groups and offers exclusive nighttime access to a number of attractions.
The Resort Islands
Charleston’s easily accessible resort islands, featuring some of the South’s best beaches and golf courses, give groups a chance to get away from it all without going very far.
The small island towns of Folly Beach and Sullivan’s Island offer miles of sandy beach and inspiring ocean vistas dotted with lonely lighthouses, and Mt. Pleasant is a larger suburban town connected by bridge to Charleston, yet the private resort islands of Isle of Palms, Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island are the region’s true escapes.
With tennis, golf, spa services, and other island adventures, Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms is an ideal spot for relaxing, fun-filled gatherings. Meeting venues include the 10,000-square-foot Sweetgrass Pavilion and a large amount of outdoor space. The imaginative meetings team can organize nearly any kind of event, from a day of beach Olympics on the ropes course to golf scrambles and kayak tours. Accommodations include the 93-room Boardwalk Inn and a number of rental homes and villas.
Kiawah Island Golf Resort boasts five award-winning championship golf courses, including the prestigious Pete Dye-designed Ocean Course, as well as a state-of-the-art golf learning center. For lodging, groups can choose between 255 hotel guest rooms and 600 villa units or private homes. Meeting space includes The Sanctuary, with two ballrooms plus several breakout rooms; East Beach Conference Center, with the 7,000-square-foot Governor’s Hall and several meeting rooms; two golf clubhouses; and Mingo Point, an outdoor space perfect for barbecues or oyster roasts for as many as 800 people.
Seabrook Island Resort offers 12,000 square feet of meeting space, with some venues located right on the ocean, and accommodations in villas or townhouses. Rounding out the property’s amenities are two championship golf courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and William Byrd, respectively; a tennis center; and an equestrian center offering beach rides.
For More Info
Charleston Area CVB 843.853.8000
www.charlestoncvb.com
