NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE
Steps from Antler Hill Village & Winery, the new 209-room Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate (www.biltmore.com/stay/hotel) features a restaurant, bar, outdoor swimming pool, fitness center and complimentary shuttle service.
The new Hyatt Place Asheville/Downtown offers 140 guest rooms, including 10 suites, and 2,000-plus square feet of space, with a scenic rooftop bar and lounge available for private functions.
Slated to open in 2017, the 136-room Cambria Hotel & Suites–Downtown Asheville will offer 7,440 square feet of space, including a divisible ballroom, boardroom and outdoor terrace, plus a three-level parking garage.
CHARLOTTE
Recent upgrades at the Charlotte Convention Center include state-of-the-art technology, movable walls, stunning aesthetics and new energy-efficient Exhibit Hall LED lighting, representing the venue’s largest green initiative project in recent years.
In September 2016, Charlotte Marriott City Center completed a sweeping renovation of all of its 446 guest rooms and suites, plus its lobby, restaurant/bar and public areas. As Marriott Hotels’ flagship and innovative test lab, the property, offering 20,000 square feet of updated and upgraded space, also introduced next-generation meeting facilities, including the Event Hub. The hotel is also Marriott’s first-ever live beta hotel, or “idea incubator,” for guest testing of new product and service concepts.
Located across from the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Convention Center, the 250-room Embassy Suites Charlotte Uptown offers 6,200 square feet of space, boardroom and ballroom included, and is accepting reservations for arrivals starting end of January 2017.
CRYSTAL COAST
Atlantic Beach’s Clam Digger Inn will completely renovate this fall and rebrand as the 102-room Inn at Pine Knoll Shores, and will offer group space for 150 people, including a new oceanfront lawn.
DURHAM
Scheduled to open in January 2017 at Duke University adjacent to the Fuqua School of Business, the 198-room JB Duke Hotel will encompass the 20,000-square-foot Thomas Executive Conference Center, and also offer a full-service restaurant, two bars and a fitness center.
Targeting an April 2017 opening, the mid-century Jack Tar Motel, one block from the Durham Convention Center, will be converted into Unscripted Hotel, a 74-room boutique property with a 7,000-square-foot pool deck and 250-space parking deck.
GREENSBORO
Offering 17 meeting rooms and 11,048 square feet of total space, Greensboro-High Point Marriott Airport just completed a $12 million renovation of all of its 299 guest rooms.
GREENVILLE-PITT COUNTY
The Greenville Convention Center recently underwent a $4.5 million expansion and renovation. On the convention campus, the Hilton Greenville, offering 25,000 square feet of meeting space, just completed a $4 million renovation, including all 142 guest rooms, plus meeting rooms, lobby areas and a courtyard.
RALEIGH
Steps from the Raleigh Convention Center, the new 175-suite Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown, featuring three restaurant venues with outdoor seating and a rooftop bar, is expected to open in spring 2017.
Targeting a mid-2017 opening, StateView Hotel is a 156-room Marriott Autograph Collection hotel and full-service conference center on NC State University’s Centennial Campus, offering 9,000 square feet of space, plus an outdoor pool, restaurant and bar.
Opened in February 2016 in downtown Cary, the boutique Mayton Inn offers 34 guest rooms and 11 suites, plus six event spaces and an open-air terrace for functions, and a full-service restaurant.
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Also in Cary, the five-star The Umstead Hotel and Spa recently renovated its meeting spaces and conference center, including new AV equipment, the new high-tech Arbor Room and a gas fire pit in the terrace area.
Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley is finishing a $30 million transformation that doubles the size of its meeting space to 20,000 square feet and includes renovations of all of its 374 guest rooms and five suites.
WILMINGTON & THE BEACHES
Scheduled to open adjacent to the Wilmington Convention Center next fall, Embassy Suites Wilmington Riverfront Hotel will offer 186 suites and 6,600 square feet of space, plus a full-service restaurant and roof deck with a bar.
Wilmington’s River District added the 27,000-square-foot Pier 33 outdoor band shell at Port City Marina, hosting concerts and events for 4,000 people; two new restaurants; and coming soon, the 92-room Hampton Inn by Hilton Wilmington Downtown.
WINSTON-SALEM
In March 2016, downtown’s 100,000-square-foot Benton Convention Center commenced a multiphased, multimillion-dollar renovation project, including significant structural, design and technological upgrades for greater flexibility and functionality. The facility remains operational throughout the project; completion is expected by May 2017.
Opened in April 2016, the 174-room Kimpton Cardinal Hotel is the brand’s first Carolinas’ property. Reviving the landmark R.J. Reynolds building, the Cardinal offers 6,300-plus square feet of meeting space, plus a 120-seat restaurant and bar.
SOUTH CAROLINA
CHARLESTON
Designed in the tradition of a European opera house, the newly renovated Charleston Gaillard Center is an elegant and evocative choice for concerts and group events alike, with spaces that include the 1,800-seat Performance Hall and adjacent 16,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall, offering four meeting rooms, an on-site catering kitchen and a banquet capacity for 750.
Opened in July 2016, The Dewberry features 155 rooms and suites in a repurposed historic downtown building. The five-star hotel offers 7,500 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, plus a ballroom, rooftop observatory, walled gardens and restaurant.
COLUMBIA
Completed upgrades to the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center include brand-new carpeting, updated furniture with built-in charging stations, interactive informational screens and a new sustainability initiative. Future upgrades include updated digital signage and Wi-Fi and a new LED wall.
With origins in 1822 as site of the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, BullStreet is being redeveloped as South Carolina’s first urban “gigabit” community. Spanning 181-plus acres, the downtown project includes multiuse Spirit Communications Park. Home of the Minor League Baseball Columbia Fireflies, this year-round venue, opened in April 2016 and accommodating 9,000 people for sporting events and 15,000 for entertainment events, offers 16 luxury suites and the 7,000-square-foot Club Lounge for meetings and functions.
GREENVILLE
The new 156-all-suite Embassy Suites by Hilton Greenville Downtown Riverplace offers five meeting rooms, a divisible ballroom, a rooftop bar and a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND
With 76 new guest rooms introduced in February, Montage Palmetto Bluff, offering 16,000 square feet of meeting space, expects to complete its expansion this fall, adding a new 74-room inn, a new spa and 7,200 square feet of additional space.
Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa is slated to unveil the new all-season Grand Ocean Terrace in March 2017, offering 5,000-plus square feet of ocean-facing event space.
MYRTLE BEACH
In September 2016, the historic Springmaid Beach Resort reopened as DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Myrtle Beach Oceanfront following a 12-month, multimillion-dollar property-wide transformation. The coastal-themed redesign includes all 452 oceanfront guest rooms and 35,000 square feet of newly renovated indoor meeting space, including the region’s largest oceanfront conference center. The new 20,000-square-foot main building houses the refreshed lobby and guest registration, plus a new lounge and indoor-outdoor restaurant concepts, and an outdoor entertainment deck.
SPARTANBURG
Slated for a 2017 opening, the new 120-room AC Hotel Spartanburg will offer 2,000 square feet of flexible space and a rooftop bar with outdoor terrace.
