Georgia’s Lowcountry region of Savannah, Brunswick and the Golden Isles of Jekyll, St. Simons, Sea Island and Little St. Simons has been seducing visitors for centuries with natural beauty and Southern hospitality. Having long promoted relaxation and outdoor encounters, the area is also unveiling new offerings for the meetings market.
In Savannah, where history mingles in large measure with urban amenities and conveniences along the Savannah River, incentives are in place to acquaint more planners with the city’s larger meetings capabilities. And on Jekyll Island, a new convention center is rising from a landscape that for generations has been a luxury traveler’s enclave.
Savannah
“Savannah has always been regarded as a great vacation and meetings destination for small and high-level meetings,” says Jeff Hewitt, vice president of business development for Visit Savannah. “But we want to change that perception held by many meeting planners.
“The state association market knows us well, but we’d also like to capture the attention of national and regional associations that may not be aware we can handle larger groups,” he adds. “We’d like to get the word out that we can handle between 1,200 and 1,500 guest rooms on peak night.”
The Savannah International Trade & Convention Center has 100,000 square feet of divisible exhibition space that overlooks the city’s renowned riverfront and historic district. Adjacent to the center is the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, and the Hyatt Regency, Savannah Marriott Riverfront and Hilton Savannah Desoto hotels are only two-minute ferry rides away within the meetings district along the Savannah River.
Smaller hotel alternatives include The Bohemian Hotel on the riverfront, with 75 guest rooms and suites and small group meeting spaces.
The Coastal Georgia Center is just minutes south of the main meetings district and offers auditorium seating for 350. Savannah Civic Center is an entertainment and cultural site that has space for meetings, receptions and exhibits.
To help achieve the objective of luring larger groups to the city, the “Savannah Sweet Savings” deal is in place until year’s end to achieve the objective. For groups that consume 600 room nights or more on peak, there are discounted guest room rates, free convention center rental and transportation via both water and ground, and 5 percent rebates off charges that are posted to non-commissionable master meetings accounts.
“In addition, every RFP at the 600 room-night or more level that comes in will be put into a drawing for an Apple iPad, and on December 1, we will have five winners,” Hewitt says.
More details about the current Savannah incentives are at available at www.savannahmeetings.com.
Meeting groups of all sizes will find a fresh coastal culinary scene emerging in Savannah, alongside classics such as waterfront shrimp and crab houses, and The Lady & Sons, a restaurant owned by award-winning and nationally known Chef Paula Deen. Sizzling steak house tables are also plentiful, as are perennials such as Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House, Belford’s in City Market and the Old Pink House Restaurant. Many venues offer private dining and meeting spaces.
The newer culinary faces include Circa 1875 Gastro Pub, an eclectic French bistro with casual fare and classic dishes such as lamb and pheasant, as well as an international wine list. The Green Truck Pub is a casual neighborhood diner where meals made from scratch include the best in local ingredients. Bonna Bella Yacht Club offers a waterfront dining experience in a mid-town location. It’s a casual atmosphere with a fine dining menu, creative wine list and specialty drink selections.
According to Joe Randall of Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School, a perfect Savannah day would begin with “breakfast at B. Matthew’s Cafe, followed by a brisk walk along River Street, lunch at Vic’s on the River, an afternoon carriage ride through the city squares and dinner classes at a cooking school.” The finale, he says, would be an evening of jazz at Jazz’d Tapas Bar.
Besides the culinary culture, Savannah meeting attendees find heritage is another enjoyable dimension of a city that is famous for its dedication to architectural preservation and history. This was the city that Civil War Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman famously granted a reprieve from destruction in 1864 because he thought it so beautiful. The same landscaped city squares that impressed Sherman are still in place and often set the stage for special events like dinners and receptions.
Brunswick and The Golden Isles
It’s about an hour from Savannah to the coast, where there’s more mixing of heritage and 21st century facilities that attract business groups to Georgia’s Lowcountry destinations. Resort elegance, natural beauty and coastal serenity define the barrier islands and the gateway city of Brunswick. Larger meeting spaces are coming soon, making the area even more enticing to meeting groups.
Adventurers in the 16th century landed on what became Georgia’s shores to seek New World gold. What they found was a different kind of treasure: golden marshes, brilliant golden sun and a sunset glow that suggested “The Golden Isles.”
Gild of a different kind settled on the islands of St. Simons, Sea, Little St. Simons and Jekyll Islands in the late 19th century. Wealthy scions of industry with the names Rockefeller, Gould, Vanderbilt, Morgan and others built their private resort vacation playgrounds and left an accommodations legacy that endures today in properties like The Cloister on Sea Island and The Jekyll Island Club Hotel, a National Historic Landmark.
The isles continue to attract the luxury leisure traveler as they have for generations. Scott McQuade, president and CEO of the Brunswick and the Golden Isles CVB, says the impending debut in 2012 of the new Jekyll Island Convention Center is bringing a new focus to meetings marketing.
The new 128,000-square-foot center will offer expansive views of sand dunes and the Atlantic Ocean, and feature a 45,000-square-foot ballroom and exhibit hall. Its design incorporates outdoor terraces, lawns and sustainable features like wind turbine electricity sourcing that developers hope will bring it a Silver LEED certification. The new center replaces a structure that was demolished with recycling and reuse of materials in mind.
“We are certainly after more and larger meetings,” McQuade says. “This new center really gives us the opportunity to advance our group and convention business in a big way. We believe people already familiar with the isles will find there is a renaissance happening here that really benefits groups. And we have a variety of lodging product, from the five-star experience to moderately priced lodgings and outdoor, rustic retreats for those interested in the local ecology.”
Other major projects of interest to meeting groups are unfolding in Jekyll Island’s multimillion-dollar renaissance. Following an interior renovation, Morgan Center, the former 1929 Morgan Tennis Center, can now host meetings and events with 5,900 square feet of function space. Great Dunes Park has 20 acres of beachfront space and picnic pavilions, a deck for beach events and beach access. Dune restoration, turtle-friendly lighting and educational signage about the environment are among the features.
The city of Brunswick, a historic seaport city and gateway to the coastal region, blends modern industry, commercial fishing and a facade of wide, oak-sheltered boulevards. It’s one place in the isles to find mid-range hotels like Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn & Suites, Embassy Suites and Best Western Brunswick Inn. Thompson Conference Center has over 9,000 square feet of meeting space.
Brunswick and The Golden Isles provide a plethora of pre- and post-business activities, including golf, fishing and ecology tours.
Georgia’s coastal destinations offer 180 holes of golf on classic greens and elegant fairways. The sport’s legacy spans eight decades on the island, a history that includes swinging stars such as Bobby Jones, Walter Travis and Davis Love III, captain of the 2012 Ryder Cup Team.
At Jekyll Island Club Hotel, groups can arrange croquet tournaments, biking and geocoaching for fun team building options.
Meanwhile, meeting groups have easy access by boat to Little St. Simons Island, where swimming, horseback riding and canoeing are popular activities. Rustic meeting space and accommodations are available at Cedar House and River Lodge.
