Tradition defines the Virginia region known as Hampton Roads, home to such historic locales as Williamsburg, while 21st century attractions and activities in cities like Norfolk, Hampton and Virginia Beach welcome meeting groups to the area for business and recreation.
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach has been known to generations for its sand, sun and surfside activity options, but it’s now a destination that offers even more variety.
Beach fun remains the main draw, but there are also early Virginia and American heritage stops like First Landing State Park, where the nation’s first English settlers erected a cross to express thanks for their safe passage from England.
The Town Center of Virginia Beach is a new and evolving downtown destination that is home to the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, shops and restaurants like Gordon Biersch Brewery, where patrons may indulge in various microbrews and learn about beer production. For attendees with a sweet tooth, chocolate tastings are a highlight at Schakolad Chocolate Factory and The Royal Chocolate shop.
Delegates with a passion for aviation can head to Virginia Beach’s Military Aviation Museum. World War II and Korean War vintage aircraft occupy the huge hangers, where groups can enjoy a catered meal followed by swing band entertainment.
Additionally, Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center will unveil its new $25 million renovation this month, and private events are welcome amid environments such as a Malaysian peat swamp, the Red Sea and an active volcano exhibit.
Virginia Beach is continuing to augment the Virginia Beach Convention Center area with planned developments such as a new headquarters hotel and entertainment complex, complete with a corridor connecting the two.
Meanwhile, the Westin Virginia Beach Town Center is one of the city’s newest meetings-ready hotels, while well-established favorites include the IACC-certified Founders Inn and Spa, the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront and the Sheraton Oceanfront.
According to Al Hutchinson, vice president of convention sales and marketing for the Virginia Beach CVB, this is the year to book the city, due to great incentives.
“We are an affordable destination in any economy, and in this downturn we are offering some great incentives for multiyear bookings to planners who are interested in using our new convention center,” Hutchinson says. “We encourage groups to take a serious look at us now. The incentives are customized for each group.”
Norfolk
Groups that gather in Norfolk find scenic waterways, a thriving port, historic sites, diverse entertainment choices and modern facilities to accommodate them. Norfolk has great accessibility no more than a day’s drive from most East Coast cities, as well as plenty of heritage stops.
Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval installation, is a popular tour with groups, as is the Chrysler Museum of Art.
The Elizabeth River and Chesapeake Bay form the city’s west and north borders, so it’s no surprise that Norfolk offers an array of water sports and boating excursions. American Rover offers a tall ship cruise experience in which guests can lend a hand with the sails. Victory Rover is a Navy-themed vessel that gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Naval Station Norfolk.
The Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center is a premier special event center, with 23,000 square feet of interior space. Outside, the 3,400-square-foot Promenade Deck overlooks the river, and the 9,600-square-foot Lido Deck has panoramic city views.
Norfolk now provides an evolving epicurean experience for visitors. Part of what’s driving the trend is more than 80 chef-owned restaurants, many of which showcase Virginia wine and Virginia-grown produce and meat. Spring and fall restaurant and wine festivals encourage local interest in all things culinary.
Planners who book Norfolk in 2009 can get up to $10,000 credit toward any Norfolk meeting or convention that occurs through March 2010. Groups that sign multiple meeting contracts can expect an even higher credit.
Hampton
Waters of the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads Harbor bank the city of Hampton, so groups meeting in the destination have plenty of water-related activities to enjoy, such as harbor tours aboard the 65-foot Miss Hampton and fishing at Buckroe Beach and in the bay.
Hampton’s variety of historical and cultural attractions includes the Virginia Air & Space Center and the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe, which chronicles the imprisonment of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the fort’s role in the American Civil War.
The Hampton Roads Convention Center features 344,000 square feet of function space, and adjacent to the center is the John Q. Hammons Embassy Suites. Coming near the convention center is a new town center project that will bring a second convention hotel, 2,000-seat theater operated by Gaylord Entertainment/Corporate Magic, as well as shopping and dining components.
Lacy Gibson, director of sales for the Hampton CVB, says the city’s diversity of hotels in most price sectors gives Hampton the edge.
“Hampton offers 3,200 guest rooms and 1,900 of them are within walking distance of the Hampton Roads Convention Center. Our brands include Embassy Suites, Courtyard, Holiday Inn, Springhill Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Crowne Plaza, Best Western and Days Inn, to name a few,” she says.
The hotel inventory comes with venues like the Boo Williams Sportsplex, she adds.
After-hours fun is plentiful at The Power Plant of Hampton Roads, a new retail and entertainment complex that will welcome a NASCAR Sports Grille later this year.
Williamsburg
As one corner on Virginia’s Historic Triangle, Williamsburg shares the visitor spotlight with Jamestown and Yorktown. Together, these destinations portray three centuries of Virginia’s and America’s earliest heritage and provide modern facilities and amenities to accommodate groups of many sizes and interests. The options range from archaeological tours and candlelight walking excursions of Williamsburg’s historic area to outlet shopping excursions and soothing treatments at The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg.
This year’s interactive street performances of The Revolutionary City will have guests meeting patriot leaders, visionary preachers and other Williamsburg residents who experienced the road to the nation’s birth in the late 18th century. Groups can invite Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry or other patriot luminaries to appear at their lunch or dinner.
Meanwhile, Williamsburg accommodations are reaching out to groups this year with bargains. Kate Hamaker, director of sales for the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance, says planners have many choices this year. A good strategy is to contact the alliance for assistance or hotels such as Kings Mill Resort & Spa or Colonial Williamsburg properties like Woodlands Hotel and Suites or Williamsburg Lodge, with 45,000 square feet of meeting space.
“Planners can come to us at the alliance for one-stop shopping, and we can canvas all Historic Triangle hotels for them,” Hamaker says. “We can also suggest some of our unique venues for occasions they won’t soon forget. For instance, The Schooner Alliance docks in Yorktown from April through October, and it can take up to 50 people for an evening cruise. The three replica ships at Jamestown Settlement—the ones that brought the original settlers across the Atlantic—are very interesting.”
Newport News
Newport News hospitality managers are pushing customer service as never before. According to Cheryl Morales, marketing manager for the Newport News Tourism Development Office, groups will find lots of help with logistics and other components of event planning and implementation.
“We can do a lot for groups once they get here,” Morales says. “This ranges from setting up welcome tables in registration areas so we may answer attendee questions about the destination to providing coupon books that grant percentages off retail, restaurants and attractions.”
Two new hotels are gracing the city: the 120-room Courtyard Newport News Airport and the 125-room Residence Inn Newport News Airport. Both are located in Patrick Henry Place, a new urban village that has shopping and dining options near the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.
One of Newport News’ latest stars is a planetarium at the popular Virginia Living Museum. The computer-based Spitz sciDome projection system projects sky views from anywhere on Earth across 200,000 years, or as seen from other known bodies in the universe. Coming in May are new interactive astronomy-related exhibits. Popular with groups for after-hours entertainment are two laser programs that splash brilliant laser light across the entire surface of the planetarium’s dome.
Chesapeake
Situated within an hour’s reach of beaches, Chesapeake augments Hampton Roads’ meetings package with theater, arts, historical sites and professional sporting events.
The Chesapeake Conference Center is the premier group facility, with a 20,000-square-foot ballroom and a location about 15 minutes from Norfolk International Airport. The new 226-room Marriott Chesapeake is adjacent to the center and brings another 13,000 square feet of meeting space to the scene, along with its Virginia Green Hotel designation.
A.K. Wilkinson of Chesapeake Conventions and Tourism says groups in search of ultra chic and modern venues now have the aloft Chesapeake by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
“There is one meeting room with complimentary Wi-Fi, plus a 50-inch plasma screen and 500 square feet of space,” Wilkinson says. “The 136 loft-like rooms have a hip, urban attitude with all the accessible technology.”
Chesapeake is also a good choice for recreational options like guided kayaking tours, hiking, ropes courses and other team-building options. Many of these activities occur in the 107,000-acre Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge or the Northwest River Park.
Portsmouth
With five historic districts and group-friendly facilities and venues, Portsmouth offers multiple options along the Elizabeth River.
Groups can gather in the IACC-certified Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center, Holiday Inn-Olde Towne and Hawthorn Hotel and Suites, and conduct team-building exercises and after-hours events in the one of city’s headline museums.
Steve Givens, educational director at the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, says team-building programs are often designed to promote the character of the hall’s inductees.
“We use the stories, films and exhibits related to people who have risen above adversity in their lives to develop good character and expertise in their chosen area of sports,” Givens says.
Banquets, trade shows, receptions and larger meetings can also take place in the venue.
The restored 1945 Commodore Theatre in Olde Towne is another top venue choice.
Suffolk
Outdoor fun and peanuts are big in Suffolk, one of the region’s most eco-friendly destinations. With lakes covering over 8,000 acres, fishing and boating are big because of easy access to Hampton Roads harbor, the bay and the Atlantic, while peanuts are on most every local’s mind during the annual October peanut festival, featuring parades, a carnival, concerts and other events.
Suffolk has its share of heritage, too, at the 32-acre Cedar Hill Cemetery. It’s the final resting place for many Confederate soldiers and generals, and one stop of the Virginia Civil War Trail. Additionally, Old Nansemond County Courthouse was a Union Army headquarters during the war. It was originally built in 1755 but has been burned and rebuilt several times in the past three centuries.
Local meeting facilities include the 150-room Hilton Garden Inn and Suffolk Conference Center, with 14,000 square feet of meeting space, and the new Comfort Suites at BelleHarbour, with 116 guest rooms and meeting space for up to 170 people.
Chesapeake Conventions and Tourism 757.502.4898 www.visitchesapeake.com
Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance 757.229.6511 www.visitwilliamsburg.com
Hampton CVB 757.722.1222 www.hamptoncvb.com
Newport News Tourism Development Office 757.926.1400 www.newport-news.org
Norfolk CVB 757.664.6620 www.norfolkcvb.com
Portsmouth CVB 757.393.5327 www.visitportsva.com
Suffolk Division of Tourism 757.923.3880 www.suffolk-fun.com
Virginia Beach CVB 757.385.4700 www.vbfun.com
Virginia Tourism Corporation 804.545.5500 www.vatc.org
