A dozen years after Hurricane Katrina and seven years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Mississippi Gulf Coast is not only back on its feet, but thriving. With exciting developments in the pipeline and a host of new options in the way of dining, entertainment and outdoor activities, groups have more reason than ever to meet in a resilient destination that couldn’t stay down for long.
“There is a lot happening throughout the region and there’s no sign of things slowing down anytime soon,” said Janice Jefferson, director of sales for Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast, whose territory includes the communities of Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian and Ocean Springs. “We’re so excited about it, especially since it’s bringing us back to where we were before Katrina. Groups will find diverse and flexible meeting spaces, plus a lot to do during free time.”
Along with 26 miles of white-sand beaches, deluxe casino resorts, historic venues, outdoor sports, shopping and a host of other attributes, the Gulf Coast offers affordability and convenience, according to Jefferson.
“We’re easy to navigate and we’re very budget-friendly,” she said. “That’s important as everyone is looking at the bottom line these days. We’re especially seeing an increase in Southeast regional events, but some national events as well. Sports-related events are growing noticeably, too.”
For planners looking for optimal value and flexibility, midweek dates are best throughout the year. With summer a busy time for leisure travel along the Gulf, January through April and September through November are especially favorable periods for group business, Jefferson said.
Hotel Scene
With everything from large casino resorts to intimate boutique hotels and historic inns, the Gulf Coast offers variety for groups of all sizes. Biloxi has the greatest concentration of meetings hotels as well as the region’s largest meeting facility, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center in Biloxi. The center has 410,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space and accommodates catered events for up to 6,000 attendees.
Group-friendly casino resort properties include the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, IP Casino Resort Spa, Palace Casino Resort, Margaritaville Resort Biloxi, Harrah’s’ Gulf Coast Casino Hotel & Spa, Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel, and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, all in Biloxi, and the Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast in Bay St. Louis. Non-gaming properties include the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Biloxi, South Beach Biloxi Hotel & Suites and the newly opened Hyatt Place Biloxi. In Gulfport, the 3,000-square-foot Gulf Coast Event Center recently opened at the Best Western Seaway Inn.
More meetings infrastructure is on the way. Last year the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation announced plans for the development of a Foxwoods-branded casino resort to be located in the Back Bay area of Biloxi with a possible opening in 2019. The $265 million property is to include a 500-room hotel with 71,000 square feet of meeting space plus multiple dining outlets, a full-service spa and outdoor entertainment choices.
Developers of the Margaritaville Resort Biloxi are seeking approval for a massive expansion that would add two hotels, additional convention space, restaurants and a huge Ferris wheel.
Construction is currently underway on the conversion of the former Santa Maria retirement home in downtown Biloxi into a 154-room, all-suite hotel named the Watermark that is expected to open next year.
New boutique properties are also being added to the area, including The Roost, which recently opened in Ocean Springs in a historic building close to downtown and the beach. In Pass Christian, the 11-room Hotel Whiskey, which includes a two-story lounge and steakhouse, opened last year, the first new property for the town in 90 years.
Arts and History
With roots going back to the 17th century when French colonists first settled the region, the Mississippi Gulf Coast is rich in activities and off-site venues celebrating the region’s Southern heritage, arts scene and more.
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In Bay St. Louis, a 300-year-old community where live oaks shade gingerbread houses and cafes, attractions include a 1928 train depot housing the Alice Moseley Folk Art & Antique Museum and the Mardi Gras Museum, where visitors can try on the elaborate costumes. Other sites include St. Rose de Lima Catholic Church and St. Augustine Seminary & Grotto, both among the oldest historically African-American Catholic churches and seminaries in the country.
Located across from the convention center in Biloxi, Beauvoir: The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library, has spacious outdoor grounds for large receptions with coastal views. Visitors can tour the 1852 mansion where the president of the Confederacy lived after the Civil War and the surrounding rose gardens and history museum.
Another historic home in Biloxi available for events is the Bond-Grant House, a charming Queen Anne-style home dating from 1904 that is owned by the nearby Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. The Bond-Grant House accommodates events for up to 50 people.
Biloxi’s Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art is a complex that includes a fanciful assortment of steel and brick buildings designed by Frank Gehry to replace structures damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The galleries contain changing exhibitions and permanent collections devoted to artwork by African Americans and ceramics by George Ohr, the self-proclaimed “Mad Potter of Biloxi,” whose eccentric works defied the conventions of 19th century America. Along with the galleries, visitors can tour the clapboard Pleasant Reed House, home to a prominent African-American family during the early 20th century. Available for receptions, the museum also offers art-focused teambuilding programs and workshops for groups.
Another venue combing art and history is the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center located in a repurposed 1928 public school building in Ocean Springs and on the National Register of Historic Places. Named for a legendary educator, the cultural center features exhibitions and several event spaces, including studios for workshops, a cafe offering culinary classes and demonstrations, and a 383-seat theater equipped for performances, presentations and meetings.
In the historic community of Pass Christian, an option for executive retreats and gala events is the Oak Crest Mansion Inn, which is set on 12 acres landscaped with live oaks and magnolia trees. Dating from 1920, the mansion offers several small meeting rooms as well as a ballroom for up to 300 guests and outdoor sites.
“We recently hosted a closing reception for a meeting group at Oak Crest and everyone was blown away by it,” Jefferson said.
Outdoor Pursuits
The rich ecosystem of the Gulf Coast is also very much a part of event possibilities in the region. Among the newest options is the Pascagoula River Audubon Center in Moss Point, which offers an art gallery available for events as well as numerous tours and activities that can be customized for groups.
“The Audubon Center is a beautiful eco-tourist venue where you can learn about the different species along the river, which is the longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 states,” Jefferson said. “Groups can go kayaking and paddleboarding, cruise along the backwaters of the river or simply bird-watch.”
The Gulf Coast’s rich maritime heritage and its importance to the nation’s seafood supply is the focus of Biloxi’s Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, which offers an array of exhibits that include seafood production, wooden boat building, local maritime history, maritime art and the management of marine resources. Rebuilt after Katrina, the stunning museum also features a state-of-the art theater and two sail-masted Biloxi schooners that can be chartered for up to 44 passengers.
“The museum offers a lot of fun facts about the Gulf Coast that many people don’t know,” Jefferson said. “For instance, we produce 70 percent of the nation’s oysters and 69 percent of the shrimp.”
