Lone Star storylines infuse many meeting venues with a powerful spirit and sense of place. Take the Smithsonian-affiliated The Witte Museum in San Antonio, for example.
Opened in 1926, The Witte emerged as a gathering place for artists, researchers, scholars and the general community. In the 1930s, the museum commenced pioneering archaeological research in the prehistoric Lower Pecos Canyonlands of southwest Texas. About 150 miles west of San Antonio, this ancient landscape of river bends, plunging canyons and sheltered overhangs was inhabited by hunter-gatherers for some 9,000 years.
Their story is told today at The Witte’s People of the Pecos Gallery. Spanning the entire second floor, the expanded space is part of a sweeping $100 million renovation unveiled this March. Capping a 15-year transformation, the update incorporates an innovative, technology-driven concept called Texas Deep Time (see “Zoom In,” page 30), which immerses visitors in Texas history over successive eras, from millions to thousands to hundreds of years ago.
Along with detailed “lifeways” dioramas and rock art (The Witte offers guided rock art tours in the Lower Pecos region itself), the People of the Pecos Gallery presents a wide-screen narrated video powerfully depicting life in the region, imagined night skies included, from 4,200 years ago.
The video moved me to tears, and I was not alone. The little girl next to me asked her mother, “Can we see something happy now?” Speaking afterward with Marise McDermott, the museum’s president & CEO since 2004 and driving force behind its transformation, she affirmed The Witte’s focus on fostering “deeper engagement and milestone experiences” for visitors, meeting and event groups included.
Needless to say, it’s working. From haunting to inspiring to exhilarating, Texas is a whole other set of emotions, too. The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, overlooking the JFK assassination site. The Alamo and its sister missions. Space Center Houston. Defining coordinates abound across the state—alongside exceptional convention and hotel product.
From long-time anchors to recent game-changers, here is a diverse cross-category mix of leading Texas venues for moving the agenda to greater heights.
The National Museum of The Pacific War, Fredericksburg
Featuring 900-plus exhibits over 55,000 square feet of space, this six-acre, three-museum complex in Fredericksburg’s historic downtown is the only such U.S. institution focused on the human story of the Pacific campaign in World War II. Following multimillion-dollar upgrades in 2009 and this year, the museum, driven to “inspire our youth by honoring our heroes,” is a must for Hill Country convention groups.
The flagship of the complex is the Admiral Nimitz Museum. Formerly the Nimitz Steamboat Hotel, this late 1800s landmark was the birthplace and childhood home of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, the heroic five-star commander of the Pacific Fleet in World War II.
Fitted with modern technology, the restored grand ballroom, once the heart of the Fredericksburg social scene, is an evocative choice for events. Other spaces include the second-floor Cailloux Education Center and intimate Hubbard Boardroom.
Gripping throughout, the George H.W. Bush Gallery presents the span of the Pacific War story through multimedia presentations, interactive displays and true artifacts including tanks, artillery, planes and boats. Outside, the Plaza of Presidents (10 American presidents who served during WWII), Japanese Garden of Peace and Memorial Courtyard invite quiet reflection.
Truly unforgettable for groups is the WWII Pacific Combat Program. On set weekends throughout the year, volunteers discuss Pacific War weaponry and equipment—before engaging in a full battle reenactment, complete with machine gun fire, grenade blasts and flamethrowers.
Austin Convention Center
Spanning six city blocks in the heart of downtown Austin, this nationally recognized facility has kept pace with the changing times, as surging hotel and high-tech industry growth continue to transform the Texas capital.
Winner of the Prime Site Award every year since 1995, the Center’s forefront credentials make it a leader in the convention and meetings industry. With 369,132 square feet of total space, the LEED Gold-certified building offers 247,052 contiguous square feet of column-free exhibit space; 54 meeting rooms totaling over 58,000 square feet; and seven ballrooms, the largest at 40,510 square feet. Plus, the adjacent 800-room Hilton Austin, and 1,700 spaces in two parking garages.
The gigabit-rated facility is also one of the nation’s most technologically advanced convention centers, transmitting voice, video and data at over 1 billion bits per second.
“We have evolved with the needs of meeting and event planners,” said Mark Tester, the center’s director since 2008. “The emergence of ‘open space learning’ for events is one source of new clients. Austin’s new identity is also attracting tech and medical groups, which typically look to larger first-tier cities for their events, but are bringing their trade and consumer shows here.”
As blockbuster events like SXSW and the Austin City Limits Music Festival amp up Austin’s destination appeal—weekend tourism especially—the center also helps fill the Monday to Thursday weekday gap.
“This results in over 80 percent downtown hotel occupancy, which is fantastic,” Tester said. “We work closely with Visit Austin to ensure a positive experience for every group in the city that uses our facility.”
The Menil Collection, Houston
As late collectors and philanthropists Dominique and John de Menil intended, viewing their peerless art and artifacts—assembled from the 1940s to the 1990s and gifted to Houston—is a spiritual experience beyond words.
Opened 30 years ago, the building, designed by preeminent museum architect Renzo Piano, anchors a 30-acre neighborhood of art. There is no admission fee; there are also no guided tours or event facilities. Yet, for groups seeking spiritual inspiration, the leafy grounds and museum’s interiors are truly a place to “lose your head.”
PageBreakSpanning the centuries, the rotating multi-genre collection goes from the ancient to the avant-garde. Planners, take note: the art is not identified, the idea being to spark personal contemplation, interpretation, understanding and conversation. Piano’s building itself is a wonder of skylights, atria and wraparound porticos.
Across the street, Bistro Menil, from longtime Houston chef Greg Martin, offers private dining for 24 and receptions for 33. The campus extends to other cultural jewels including the Byzantine Fresco Chapel and Piano-designed Cy Twombly Gallery.
Omni La Mansion Del Rio, San Antonio
Originally opened as the St. Mary’s Academy in 1853, just 17 years after the fall of the Alamo, La Mansion del Rio was launched as a luxury hotel in 1968, the year of Hemisfair, San Antonio’s World’s Fair. Acquired by Omni in 2006, this Spanish colonial-style confection on the River Walk, offering 338 rooms, 18,000-plus square feet of flexible space and Las Canarias restaurant, turns 50 next year with its time capsule charm intact.
“Regardless of technological innovation, our guests know they can count on our tradition of service and commitment to the power of personal experience,” said Jim Malone, director of sales for the property. “We were one of the first hotels on the River Walk, but really, we are a hacienda, a place that welcomes people like friends and family. As a result, we’ve developed a loyal following of business and leisure customers who return year after year, including many local and regional corporations, and social groups.”
Guests can access Forbes Four-Star treatments at companion property Mokara Hotel & Spa.
Omni Dallas Hotel
As the Dallas group market strengthened through the 2000s, one piece was missing—a headquarters hotel. In November 2011, the Omni Dallas Hotel, clad in four miles of programmable LED tube lighting, made its dazzling debut. Like a beacon, the luxurious 1,001-room hotel, connected by skybridge to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, continues to attract significant new business to town.
“In the two years prior to our opening, Dallas averaged 10 citywide meetings per year,” said Harold Queisser, the property’s director of sales & marketing. “From 2014 to 2016, that yearly average rose to 22. Attracting groups that would not have considered Dallas before, such as CEDIA (leading global authority for the $14 billion home technology industry), Chick-fil-A and the Produce Marketing Association, the Omni Dallas Hotel has really helped put Dallas on the map as a major meetings destination.”
Providing convenient access to more than 2.1 million square feet of space at the convention center, the hotel itself offers 142,000-plus square feet of indoor and outdoor space for groups of up to 3,000, including approximately 2,500 attendees in its largest ballroom. It is also the nation’s largest LEED Gold-certified hotel outside of Las Vegas.
Ideally located in the revitalized downtown area, in close proximity to major local attractions, the hotel offers four dining options, with more steps away on Lamar Street; the full-service Mokara Spa; and a year-round heated outdoor infinity swimming pool, with firepit, cabanas and great city views.
Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center, Galveston Island
Few convention facilities come with as compelling a legacy as Moody Gardens. Originally the Hope Arena, the venue was established in 1986 by the Moody Foundation as a hippotherapy (horse-based) rehabilitation facility for people recovering from head injuries.
Since expanding and being renovated to 103,000 total square feet of customizable space, including a 60,000-square-foot ballroom-quality exposition center, the venue today anchors this premier 242-acre Galveston resort. Other sustained reinvestments over time have only enhanced its perennial group appeal.
“We are fortunate to have the Moody family supporting us,” said Jamie Weir, director of sales and marketing. “Their continual pursuit of excellence is inspiring, while their faith in us has allowed for Moody Gardens to grow and expand at an unparalleled pace.”
Sparkling after its $37 million renovation, the Aquarium Pyramid’s new underwater exhibits, unveiled in May 2017, are mesmerizing to behold. This follows a recently completed $25 million refresh and modernization of the 428-room hotel, public areas and meeting spaces.
With other on-site attractions including the MG 3D Theater, featuring the largest screen in Texas, and trademarked five-tier Sky Trail ropes course and zipline experience, hospitality ties it all together.
“We serve small corporate meetings, weddings and large conventions of 2,000-plus people,” Weir said. “The level of service is the same for all; we treat our clients like family and they feel at home when they are here with us.”
