These hotels not only offer meeting and event spaces, but updated guestrooms, immersive experiences, relaxing treatments, and plenty of outdoor spaces. Some even cater to families fit for a bleisure trip now that work and home are blending more together.
1. Hawaii
The Hyatt Regency Maui recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation to its 810 guest rooms, including 31 suites, as well as its lobby. Attendees can take advantage of the property’s offers including Stay, Learn and Play at Hyatt Regency Maui, and Hyatt Regency Maui to Yourself.
The Stay, Learn and Play offer includes accommodations in a newly renovated deluxe Ocean Front Suite with a connecting room, a private astronomy lesson from NASA Ambassador Edward Mahoney on the rooftop, and dinner during sunset with a stargazing experience on the rooftop. In addition, the package includes exclusive access to the activity lawn that includes daybeds with a $500 food and beverage credit, a spa treatment, a private hula dance class, yoga and meditation break, and an interactive wildlife experience with penguins and birds.
Both packages are inclusive of all food and beverages for three nights, and feature culture immersion classes such as hula dance and lei making, Hawaiian-inspired cooking and mixology classes, luau performances, paddleboarding lessons, nighttime Tour of the Stars, interactive wildlife experience, plus yoga.
The property has also introduces Luau from your Lanai where guests can watch the “Drums of the Pacific Lu’au” show from the glass lanais in their guestrooms. The experience also includes a traditional Hawaiian dinner of Huli Huli chicken, Kalua pork, or Pacific ahi poke, cocktails, Hawaiian leis and LED fire knife sticks, all of which can be enjoyed in the newly renovated guestrooms.
In addition the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort offers over 100,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor function space.
2. California
Located in wine country, The Lodge at Sonoma, an Autograph Collection hotel, has completed a property-wide transformation as it joins Marriott International’s Autograph Collection offering new hotel experiences to guests.
Updates include a refreshed front drive featuring lush landscaping, a pergola, and a fountain with fire features. The updated lobby features an open concept and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the hills. All 182 guestrooms, suites, and cottage accommodations have been redesigned inclusing the Cottage Suites and Cottage Rooms, which now feature private outdoor soaking tubs and fireplaces in some rooms.
Culinary experiences have also been upgraded with partnerships with local farms. Wit & Wisdom offers California cuisine featuring products from local Sonoma and Napa Valley; Benicia’s Kitchen, located next to the lobby, serves farm fresh fare for breakfask and lunch, and High Horse Bar is a horse trailer turned poolside bar.
Attendees can take part in signature rituals and immersive hotel experiences such as the “Day Dream Wall” where guests write down their personal dreams and place them in a bottle at the property’s Heritage Oak space beneath a 400-year-old valley oak tree. Over time, the resort will gather this paper as compost and add it to the soil that feeds the vineyard and trees on-property. A self-serve lobby wine experience is also available for guests to enjoy the region’s flavors on their own time. During their stay, attendees are invited to unwind with a new “Sonoma Soak” ritual, which includes a curated drop of relaxation-inducing bath amenities delivered directly to their doorstep. Grape harvesting, cheese-making for private groups, and bicycle route maps for the resort bikes are also offered, along with more experiences off-property.
And, after a day of meetings or adventure, the Raindance Spa features locally inspired treatments that highlight an array of indigenous botanicals found throughout the property and region‑from antioxidizing wine facials to hair masks made from locally sourced olive oil. An apothecary-style retail boutique allows guests to hand-select scents and ingredients they wish to use in their treatments or take home with them as a keepsake.
The resort also offers nearly 32,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor function space, including an expansive event lawn, along with teambuilding activities—from olive oil tasting to wine blending. And, groups guests can enjoy curated menus from the resort’s award-winning culinary partner, Mina Group.
3. Maryland
After a $64 million guestroom renovation, the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center will reopen with redesigned rooms, new menus, a new rooftop venue and seasonal hotel experiences. All of the 1,996 guestrooms and suites have been updated, and the updated culinary offerings feature local food including Maryland’s blue crabs and honey harvested from the resort’s rooftop hives. Cheese is also sourced from Maryland farms.
The new Pose Rooftop Lounge will debut Replay, an 80s themed pop-up bar featuring neon lights, retro arcade games, and 80s music while offering summer beverages and PB&J milkshakes, boozy popsicle push-pops, and more.
Ranging from 8,000 to 50,000 sf the property’s ballrooms can be divided into intimate spaces and breakout rooms. The total event space at the property is 546,889 sf, 94 event rooms, and a maximum of 101 breakout rooms with a capacity for up to 10,000 in the largest space.
4. Nevada
Caesars Palace is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation of the original main entrance, main casino, and porte-cochere, plus redesigned gaming areas and a new lobby bar. The renovations began earlier this month and are expected to be complete by New Year’s Eve.
The main entrance to the property will be entirely rebuilt from the ground up matching the property’s hotel lobby. Once completed, guests will be welcomed by a dramatic and soaring dome and barreled ceiling over a stunning 15-ft. tall statue of Augustus Caesar. The project also includes two new gaming pits, which will flank the enhanced entrance, a new lobby bar and a renovation of the property’s domed table games floor.
Planners have access to more than 2.1 million sf throughout the 50 properties under the Caesears Entertainment, Inc. umbrella. Event planners can mix and match properties and venues within a desitnation under one contract and earn rewards through Caesars Rewards Meeting Diamond Program.
During construction from July through December, the following changes will occur:
- Main valet off Las Vegas Blvd. will accommodate Caesars Rewards Diamond and Seven Star members only
- The Colosseum valet (ground floor of the Caesars Palace self-parking garage off Frank Sinatra Drive) will accommodate all valet guests
- Rideshare pick-up and drop-off will be relocated to the exit doors next to Vanderpump Cocktail Garden
- Express hotel check-in/check-out kiosks will be placed at all available entrances
5. North Carolina
Opening this Fall, near the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, the new 100,000 sf convention center at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort features mountain views, while the lobby and exhibition hall and onsite ballrooms can be used for pre-function areas, plus there’s a 3,000 seat Event Center.. In addition, attendees can enjoy 150,000 ft. of gaming with live tables including Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, and more.
The property features 1,100 guest rooms, 10 restaurants, and a 18,000 sq. ft. Mandara Spa, as well as nine retail shops. Attendees also have access to the Eastern Band of Cerokee Indian-owned Sequoyah National Golf Club, and the resort also features the UltraStar Multi-tainmnet center, which features 24 bowliing lanes, an arcade, and three bars.
6. & 7. Texas
Hotel Drover, an Autograph Collection Hotel, is now open in the Fort Worth Stockyard’s National Historic District. The property gives guests the opportunity to dive into the historic destination as they dine on Texas-inspired cuisine, experience daily cattle drives on Exchange Avenue, visit the newly opened John Wayne Museum and enjoy rodeo shows and live music from local and national artists.
The property offers about 40,000 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Groups can choose from five unique venues including The Barn, Legacy Hall, The Drover Boardroom, Vaquero Room and Ranchero Room. The Barn is an elegant 4,000-sf. venue that offers vaulted ceilings, four custom Italian crystal chandeliers, a built-in bar, hand-placed Texas stone, and abundant natural lighting. The Barn has a lushly landscaped 2,500-sf outdoor lawn that overlooks Marine Creek and offers a custom clear tent to be utilized year-round.
Hotel Drover showcases a rustic-luxe design throughout, honing in on the spirit of the West through various touch-points including its signature neon Cowboy installation by Austin’s famed Neon Jungle. On property there is also a 2-story lobby library filled with Texas-inspired books. The property features 200 guestrooms and spa suites such as the Presidential Suite, which offers an indoor and outdoor fireplace, or The Bunkhouse offering bunk suites featuring a king bed with a double overhead bunk. In addition, 26 suites offer oversized bronze soaking tubs, fireplaces, and expansive terraces.
Onsite, atendees can dine at 97 West Kitchen & Bar at Fort Worth Stockyards, which features contemporary Texas fare and Southern comfort foods such as sweet tea-marinated fried green tomatoes. The restaurant also offers an indoor Chef’s Table adjacent to the open-air kitchen, and an outdoor Chef’s Table located underneath a pergola overlooking Marine Creek. There’s also the Veranda Bar with outdoor seating overlooking Marine Creek, and the Lobby Bar for late-night drinks and snacks.
The property’s half-acre outdoor space, The Backyard, located along Marine Creek, offers attendees a heated pool and Jacuzzi, three private cabanas with hanging daybeds and custom chandeliers, fire pits, a creekside bar, and yard games—enough activities to dive into for a bleisure getaway. There will also be live music from the outdoor stage—The Backyard Unplugged. Onsite there are also retail spaces, and a fitness center complete with Peloton bikes and MIRROR.
Additional programming includes custom luggage tags that the hotel’s blacksmith can brand.
Recognized as America’s largest indoor waterpark resort (ideal for a bleisure family trip), the $550 million Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Round Rock opened November 2020. Featuring 975 guest rooms and a convention center with 200,000 sf of flexible space, two ballrooms, and 16 meeting rooms. There is also 50,000 sf of outdoor event space available.
Round Rock and the three other Kalahari Resorts—located in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania—feature an African theme with original art, sculpture, and furniture.
Kalahari’s “All under one roof experience” makes it a popular bleisure group option as well. Among the family fun amenities are 20 pools, 30 waterslides. On property, guests can also enjoy a spa, an adventure park with thrill rides, ziplines, climbing walls, mini-golf, and laser tag. There are also 20 onsite dining options including the resort’s first Redd’s Piano Bar.
“Over the past 18 months the lines between work and life have bled together, and now more than ever organizations are seeking experiences for the entire family,” says Kyra Popp, Kalahari Resorts and Conventions assistant director of corporate.
8 & 9. Florida
This fall, Lake Nona Wave Hotel is opening in Orlando within Lake Nona, known as a leading wellness center and community of the future. The new property will feature 216 guestrooms, 16 one-bedroom suites and two Penthouse Suites.
The property features 12,000 sf of event space, which offers technology equipped for hosting hybrid events, plus complimentary WiFi 6 for meeting attendees.
Groups can go beyond the boardroom and enjoy the destination through enrichment classes from Chopra, an introduction to rock climbing or a lively evening at Boxi Park. And, event planners can also plan for social events on the roof-top pool deck or the garden setting offering a locale for gatherings under the canopy of almost 300 palm trees.
At this property, guests can experience Dr. Deepak Chopra’s Mind-Body Zone and Spa at Lake Nona Performance Club, relax in the rooftop pool deck featuring pastel-colored cabanas, or indulge in one of three dining venues and two cocktail bars. The lobby “Living Room” will feature a stadium staircase lounge within a pop-art designed space, communal workspaces, intimate seating areas, and a game room.
The hotel will debut with View Glass smart windows that tint using predictive intelligence in response to the sun and outdoor conditions, voice-automated in-room controls, TOTO Toilets, Healthe Inc. Cleanse Solutions that keep vital surfaces sanitized in-room tablets, keyless entry, and more.
Attendees who have forgotten their toothbrush, want to order food to be waiting in their room upon their arrival, or want to discover the many weekly enrichment events available to them will find this and more within the app. In addition, once guests step outside of the hotel, they’ll witness self-driving shuttles, robotic lawn mowers, super-fast free WiFi 6, Verizon 5G Innovation Hub and coming soon—an electric air ‘’taxi’’ network.
Located steps from the hotel is Dr. Deepak Chopra’s Mind-Body Zone and Spa, a first-of-its-kind for holistic wellness center. In addition, guests have access to miles of nature trails, a Technogym-powered fitness studio, and the Lake Nona Performance Club, which is a 130,000 sf center of wellbeing, as well as an indoor performance training center for golfers, and a ROX rock-climbing gym.
Within a 5-minute drive, guests can visit USTA, the largest tennis facility in the nation; Nona Adventure Park, a water-based entertainment center with an inflatable aqua-park and obstacle course; and more.
The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village has debuted a $15 million renovation. The guestroom-focused transformation debuts almost a full year ahead of schedule as a result of the nationwide hotel closures that impacted 2020.
The hotel’s renovation was inspired by the concept of biophilia, a belief that people have an innate desire to connect with nature. Each guestroom includes a collection of locally sourced materials from Florida, including wood and glass elements.
In addition to room enhancements, the hotel renovation increased guestroom inventory from 293 rooms to 308 rooms by converting 15 three-bedroom suites into 2-bedroom suites and upgrading the remaining accommodations into new deluxe guestrooms.
Additional new amenities include the Fridge Fill program, which provides in-room ingredient baskets for restaurant-quality, ready-made meals to be enjoyed from the comfort of guests’ newly renovated suites.
Plus, in 2018, the property debuted a 30,000 sf meetings and events center, The Tarpon Point Ballroom.
10. Massachusetts
The new 61-story Four Seasons One Dalton Street, located in Boston in the center of Back Bay, offers travelers an indoor pool, a spa, and the onsite property Zoma.
Event planners can choose between two ballrooms and five function rooms, all of which offer floor-to-ceiling windows; plus, two of the meeting rooms offer outdoor terraces for a total of 10,825 sq. ft.
For those planning incentive travel, the property’s team can put together an array of creative ideas for both onsite and off-site experiences that offer both networking and team-building opportunities. In addition, with The Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s seven gallery spaces near the hotel, the Four Seasons One Dalton Street team can help you coordinate an exclusive tour or reception at the gallery for your group.
Guests can also take in the onsite art collection and the Wellness Floor, which features a spa, an indoor lap pool, and a fitness center.
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