One of Atlanta’s nicknames, "The Big Peach," came about sometime in the 1970s when New York’s similar fruit-focused moniker took off. Like New York, Atlanta is a city on the move, where every day, according to the Atlanta CVB, either something new opens or something old is freshened up. Visiting groups won’t find any bruises on "The Big Peach," in fact, with more than $6 billion of development in the works, Atlanta will seem a new destination each time a group visits.
"Since 2008, 45 new restaurants opened in our downtown area, adding to our evolving dining scene, and seven new boutique hotels opened," says Mark Vaughan, executive vice president and chief sales officer at the Atlanta CVB. He adds that four more boutique properties are expected to open between now and 2012, and existing hotels have completed more than $300 million in renovations since 2006 to offer visitors the best in modern comforts and technology. "Atlanta has everything needed for a perfect getaway, even if it’s just taking a break during a meeting."
Georgia’s capital city certainly fits the bill for planners who are after an incredibly action-packed, as well as accessible and affordable, Southern metro for all manner of small to citywide gatherings. With 2.1 million square feet of flexible exhibit space and more than 94,000 hotel rooms in the Greater Atlanta area, plus world-class shopping, an eclectic dining scene, exciting sporting events and oodles of historic and cultural attractions, "Hotlanta" is indeed a hot spot for successful group events.
"Atlanta is a meeting planner’s dream," Vaughan says, emphasizing that Centennial Olympic Park connects the fourth-largest convention center in the U.S., the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), with 12,000 hotel rooms within walking distance, creating a compact convention district.
According to Vaughan, downtown Atlanta’s convention corridor includes several of the city’s largest hotels, including the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Hilton Atlanta, Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, Westin Peachtree Plaza and Omni Hotel at CNN Center, which is adjacent to the GWCC.
The tony Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, situated eight miles north of downtown, is home to the Atlanta History Center and major hotels including The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead; Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead; W Atlanta-Buckhead; JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead; St. Regis Atlanta; The Westin Buckhead Atlanta; Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel & Conference Center; and the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta.
"A visitor’s journey begins at Centennial Olympic Park, the perfect starting point for exploring Atlanta," Vaughan says, explaining that it is surrounded by top attractions including the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and Inside CNN Studio Tour at CNN Center. "New attractions are set to open around the park in the next few years, including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013."
In the meantime, both the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium double as unique spaces to hold off-site events in Atlanta.
The World of Coca-Cola has meeting space surrounded by Coca-Cola memorabilia and a theater-style space, and offers the option of tasting more than 60 Coca-Cola beverages from around the world in the Taste It! room. Located just across from the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium has 25,000 square feet of event space, including a 16,400-square-foot ballroom with windows into the Ocean Voyager and beluga exhibits.
Outlying Options
In 2012, a new international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) will be completed, adding more international lift to the city, according to Vaughan. Adjacent to ATL is the 400,000-square-foot Georgia International Convention Center (GICC), just minutes from downtown. The new 403-room Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway, adjacent to the GICC, offers meeting planners another 21,000 square feet of meeting space to work with.
In Peachtree City, a planned community located about 20 miles south of ATL, the motto is "Discover Life at 15 Miles Per Hour," according to Nancy Price, executive director at the Peachtree City CVB.
"We boast over 90 miles of golf cart paths and offer conference planners the opportunity to hold serious training sessions in a safe, contained community with exceptional amenities," she says, citing three championship golf courses, two lakes and the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater. "It’s the perfect alternative to Atlanta, with easy access to the airport and the nightlife in Atlanta."
Peachtree City has two conference facilities, the Wyndham Peachtree-Atlanta Conference Center and Dolce Peachtree-Atlanta, as well as five other hotels, including Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn and Best Western properties.
Atlanta’s DeKalb County, located just east of downtown Atlanta and 10 miles from ATL, is home to Stone Mountain Park, Georgia’s No. 1 attraction, according to the DeKalb CVB, and a must-see sight for visiting groups.
Home to the largest exposed piece of granite in the world, bigger than Mount Rushmore, Stone Mountain Park welcomes more than 4 million visitors each year. The DeKalb CVB recommends the Summit Skyride cable car, which zips visitors to the top of the mountain for views of the memorial carving and the Atlanta skyline.
Major meetings players in DeKalb County are the Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort, Emory University’s IACC-certified Emory Conference Center Hotel and Stone Mountain Inn, a Marriott property.
Meeting planners love Cobb County, which is just 10 minutes north of Atlanta, according to Holly A. Bass, CEO at the Cobb County CVB. The area features destinations such as Marietta, home to the Gone with the Wind Museum and the meetings-friendly Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel & Conference Center, with 18 holes of championship golf and 25,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.
"Hosting an event in Cobb County means working with professionals who understand what it takes to plan and execute successful meetings and events," she says, citing hospitality, affordability and accessibility.
Bass adds the meeting destination appeal of Cobb County changed drastically in 2007 when Cumberland Mall added five white-tablecloth-style restaurants directly across the street from the Cobb Galleria Centre, which boasts exhibition, ballroom and meeting space located on a single level. Also that same year, the internationally award-winning, 2,750-seat Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre opened as part of the expanding Cobb Convention Centre campus.
"With a continuing emphasis on value, meeting professionals are looking at venues outside of traditional downtown areas," Bass says. "Meetings can be hosted in areas like Cobb County’s Cobb Galleria, which is only 10 minutes north of downtown Atlanta and a 20-minute ride from the airport. We provide more affordable options for attendees while offering high-quality hotels, fantastic amenities and excellent restaurants, all with free parking and complimentary shuttles."
Connected to the Cobb Galleria Centre is the AAA Four-Diamond Renaissance Waverly Hotel. Both facilities combined offer a flexible meeting and exhibit hall space totaling 430,000 square feet.
Located minutes from Marietta Square, the Mansour Center is a newer conference facility with more than 8,000 square feet of total meeting space, including four classrooms, a 20-station computer lab and a large banquet room.
Twenty minutes north of downtown, Gwinnett County has the double appeal of being close to all the great in-town Atlanta attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola but also offering an affordability and ease of access that is difficult to find in the big city, says Lisa Anders, deputy director at the Gwinnett CVB.
"Our area is extremely group-friendly for groups large or small, and we offer a number of complimentary meeting planner services to draw events to Gwinnett," she says, explaining the CVB will work with planners to create and implement a rebate program to offset costs for larger room-night-generating events.
Anders also says that as meetings have shortened due to the economy, its location, central to Atlanta, South Carolina and other surrounding regions, has become even more of a draw as planners look to more-drivable locations.
The area’s top meeting facilities include the LEED-certified Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center and the Gwinnett Convention Center and 13,000-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, a complex that also features a 702-seat performing arts center that is ideal for corporate presentations.
The entire Gwinnett Center complex has free parking, as do the area’s major hotels, including the 426-room Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place, with 16,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 272-room Hilton Atlanta Northeast, with 20,000 square feet of function space, including an auditorium and 7,000-square-foot ballroom.
According to Anders, preparations are under way for a full-service, 250-room Marriott that will be located immediately across the street from Gwinnett Convention Center and Arena when it opens in 2013. The hotel will sport between 14,000 and 17,000 square feet of meeting space as well as two restaurants.
Anders adds that Gwinnett County is a terrific shopping destination with three major malls, including the Mall of Georgia, one of the largest in the Southeast.
"We’re also home of the Aurora Theatre, recently recognized as metro Atlanta’s top professional theater, and our downtown districts are the places to go for nightlife, eclectic dining and gallery shops," she says.
Gwinnett is also home to Lake Lanier Islands Resort in Buford at Lake Lanier, which has almost 700 miles of shoreline and more than 23,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space.
Another meetings option is the 276-suite Chateau Elan Winery Resort and Conference Center, located in nearby Braselton and featuring two ballrooms, 19 conference rooms, two boardrooms, a tiered auditorium and a variety of outdoor settings.
