Florida
JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa opened last month on the beaches of Clearwater. The 162-room resort features a JW Kids Club, rooftop pool, expansive full-service spa by JW and fitness center. Guests can dine at Latitude 28, featuring Mediterranean cuisine; Eskape Beach Bar and Grille, offering bites for the beach; and the Nikki-Peruvian rooftop restaurant, showcasing panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico.
JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa offers 18,546 square feet of total event space, including the 6,002-square-foot Kiran Grand Ballroom with a capacity of 600 for a cocktail reception, and the 3,797-square-foot Pallavi Ballroom, which can host up to 380 guests. Both ballrooms also offer prefunction space and can be divided into smaller sections.
The Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, Autograph Collection has stood as an iconic landmark in St. Petersburg for nearly 100 years. In April, the resort announced the completion of the initial phase of its comprehensive renovation project aiming to capture Florida’s Golden Age and reflect the resort’s rich history.
The project will renovate spaces that include The Vinoy’s Veranda, grand lobby, guest rooms, historic ballrooms and meeting spaces, introduce diverse international dining experiences and bring a new spa and wellness area.
The Vinoy offers more than 60,000 square feet of event space, including two distinct ballrooms: The Vinoy Grand Ballroom, honoring the resort’s timelessness; and The Palm Court Ballroom, with chic Art Deco chandeliers referencing the resort’s past.
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Georgia
Atlanta’s Gas South District celebrated the grand reopening of the Gas South Convention Center following a lengthy expansion and renovation that brought an additional 50,000 square feet of convention space, as well as a new junior ballroom, upgraded technology, outdoor plazas, a food hall and more.
The state-of-the-art convention center now offers 90,000 square feet of exhibit hall space alongside a 21,600-square-foot ballroom and 24 versatile meeting rooms with additional outdoor gathering areas. The award-winning catering company Proof of the Pudding continues to oversee all food and beverage operations at the Gas South Convention Center, including those within its new food hall offering carefully crafted grab-and-go menus.
Gas South Convention Center is situated in the Gas South District, a 118-acre multipurpose campus housing a 13,000-seat arena, a 708-seat theater, the Hudgens Center for Art & Learning and the 348-room Westin hotel scheduled to open in 2024.
Waldorf Astoria Atlanta Buckhead announced the completion of its property-wide renovation, which refreshed all 127 guest rooms and suites and brought new Astoria Suites and a Presidential Suite redesign. The renovation also introduced the hotel’s new signature restaurant, Brassica, weaving brasserie-style French cooking with regionally sourced ingredients.
Guest rooms tell the story of the “City Within the Forest” and feature new paint, custom dogwood-inspired carpet and curated artwork from Soho Myriad. The hotel features 10,874 square feet of total event space, including the 1,960-square-foot Astor Ballroom with a capacity of 250 for a reception, and the 2,500-square-foot private garden, which can host just as many guests outdoors.
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South Carolina
The highly anticipated Moxy Charleston Downtown, located in the city’s Upper Peninsula welcomed its inaugural guests in early April. The property is Charleston’s first lifestyle hotel and promises guests a “spirited and edgy experience.”
Moxy Charleston Downtown offers 131 guest rooms, and when guests check in, they are invited to begin their stay with a complimentary libation as part of the hotel’s “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere” philosophy. The lobby serves as a gathering space for guests to compete in a friendly game of ping pong or attend one of the hotel’s daily themed events.
Moxy Charlestown Downtown features 3,581 square feet of meeting space across four event rooms, the largest of which can hold up to 75 guests. The 735-square-foot War Room can host 35 for an intimate cocktail reception, or groups can gather on the 2,000-square-foot Rooftop Terrace for drinks and conversation overlooking the Ravenel Bridge.
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Virginia
IHG Hotels & Resorts welcomed its first on-campus property to its brand portfolio with the opening of Kimpton The Forum Hotel on the grounds of University of Virginia Darden School of Business. The 198-room boutique hotel serves as a gathering place for guests to enjoy entertainment, education, business, F&B and more in a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere.
The five-story hotel offers amenities such as morning coffee and tea service, an evening social hour, a modern fitness center, pet-friendly accommodations, an arboretum and botanical gardens, as well as F&B options Birch & Bloom, a modern steakhouse with farm-to-table offerings, and The Good Sport, a neighborhood craft beer bar with local brews and bar bites.
Kimpton The Forum Hotel features more than 22,000 square feet of meeting and event space with a capacity for more than 500 guests. The 6,000-square-foot Grove Ballroom serves as the hotel’s main gathering space, and outdoors, groups can gather in the hotel’s arboretum to use its amphitheater, event lawn and botanical gardens.
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