Stay up to date on the latest venue openings and property renovations, including these found in the South.
Georgia
Atlanta is home to a new culturally based shared workspace that doubles as an inspiring space for events. Indie Studios is located in between Buckhead and downtown Atlanta and is a 35,000-square-foot retrofitted warehouse that can host meetings or events for up to 300 guests. It offers an expansive lobby, high ceilings, cozy banquettes, an eight-foot video wall screening room, two bars, a reference library, bike racks and a generous outdoor space.
Indie Studios is tucked between a brewer and distillery—perfect for a post-meeting happy hour—and has already hosted a number of events, including for Atlanta Magazine, the Atlanta Design Festival and Offbeat Media Group.
Louisiana
Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences New Orleans is now open in the heart of The Big Easy. It’s located just steps from the historic French Quarter, the Warehouse Arts District and a host of parks and greenspaces. It’s in the Central Business District and near the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, an ideal spot for business travelers.
The 33-story hotel offers 341 rooms, including 61 suites and beautiful views of the Mississippi River. It’ll bring new restaurant concepts that celebrate the South, as well as a lobby bar dubbed the Chandelier Bar (named for the 15,000-piece light and glass installation above it). A crescent-shaped rooftop pool will open this fall, with lounge chairs and four private cabanas. Other amenities include a 24-hour fitness center and a spa.
Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans also offers 29,000 square feet of meeting and event space. This includes ballrooms with river views and no pillars and open-air venues like the Event Garden and a two-level observation deck on the 33rd floor that can accommodate up to 100 guests.
[Related: A Wealth of New Facilities Has New Orleans Primed for Post-Pandemic Meetings]
Texas
Located right outside of Austin near Bastrop, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines recently unveiled a multi-million-dollar renovation of its 434 guest rooms and 56 suites. Designed by Stonehill Taylor, the refreshed rooms and suites reflect an upscale ranch-style feel with a modern aesthetic that pays tribute to the hotel’s central location in the Lone Star State and its proximity to Austin.
New details to the guest rooms include bright and airy ambiances, neutral tones with accents of burgundy and bright blue, leather-bound headboards with accent lighting, new furniture and handwoven tapestries. The suites received a full makeover with new furnishings, carpet and decor.
These renovations complement the updates to the resort’s meeting and event spaces, which were completed in 2020. The LBJ Pavilion and Wildflower Pavilion were equipped with floor-to-ceiling retractable glass walls for functionality year-round. The resort’s meeting and event space totals more than 60,000 square feet indoors and more than 240,000 square feet outdoors. Other amenities include the Wolfdancer Golf Club, Spa Django and the Renegade Trailhead equestrian facility.
[Related: Iconic Texas Filming Destinations That Add Box Office Appeal to Meetings]
Puerto Rico Unveils Huge New Entertainment Complex
Puerto Rico has recently welcomed a new five-acre, $185 million entertainment complex known as Distrito T-Mobile. The experiential venue combines global retail, destination dining, art, entertainment, music, technology and hospitality. It even houses one of the largest horizontal 4K screens in the Americas.
The new venue is part of the Puerto Rico Convention Center District and brings with it a new Aloft property with 177 rooms. The district already boasts a Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Sheraton and two Hiltons, bringing the total room count for these hotels to 2,178.
Fun details of the new complex include a zipline running through the main plaza, art installations by local artists, the Coca Cola Music Hall that can accommodate 5,000 people, and 12 dining concepts providing plenty of local flavor. The music hall is a state-of-the-art, 129,000-square-foot concert facility that can also host award shows and corporate meetings.
The complex was developed by PRISA Group and aims to be a historic addition to the Caribbean region for meetings and events.
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