Allowing groups to experience and see the city like a local, The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte offers Meetings on the Grid, a guide of residents’ favorite haunts that groups can use during the day for sessions, teambuilding or corporate social responsibility programs, as well as in the evenings for events and receptions. Below are just some of the popular venues and activities offered through Meetings on the Grid.
The craft beer scene has taken off in Charlotte—North Carolina is home to over 100 breweries—and the city’s oldest brewery, Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, offers group tours and has a room that can be used for private events. The Festhalle is a 1,700-square-foot space that offers its own Biergarten.
An alternative to a ballroom or classroom, The NASCAR Hall of Fame offers meeting space and teambuilding activities. Attendees can participate in a Pit Crew Challenge or use the High Octane Theater for presentations. Space like the Great Hall and Theater Lobby are great for receptions, and the venue can accommodate groups from 10 to 2,400.
The U.S. National Whitewater Center is dedicated to the promotion of an active and outdoor lifestyle. Sitting on 700 acres, it’s an indoor/outdoor recreation area and Olympic training facility for whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking and hiking. Groups can customize teambuilding programs such as Adventure Dining, including “Zipline and Dine” or a meeting “Unwined” on the river. The center features multiple indoor and outdoor spaces for groups, such as the conference center, which can hold up to 200, or The Raft Pavilion, which can accommodate up to 450.
For groups that want to give back, the hotel’s Operation Sandwich, which provides the city’s homeless with meals through the Urban Ministry Center of Charlotte, is an option. The Center needs more than 800 sandwiches a day, which are based solely on donations from the community. The Ritz-Carlton’s VolunTeaming activity takes place on-property and volunteers assemble and pack sandwiches, which can include vegetables and herbs grown on the property’s green roof.