If you schedule your next conference/convention/trade show/reunion/retreat underneath the largest unsupported dome in the world, (except for the Astrodome) your attendees would never forget the experience!

Just ask Diane Sawyer, who summed up the West Baden Springs Hotel thusly:  “It’s so amazing!  Everyone in the country has to come and see this hotel!”

West Baden, Indiana, is a small town with a huge attraction: the famous West Baden Springs Hotel, known as the 8th Wonder of the World.  Seriously.

Its history is fascinating: the dome has been a monastery, a college, a ruin, and now a newly-restored piece of Americana with a background unlike and far more interesting than any other hotel/conference center you’ll ever encounter.

West Baden Springs Hotel

Address: 8670 WSR 56, West Baden
Phone: 812-936-9300

Extraordinary National Historic Landmark Hotel built in 1902 with a one-of-a-kind domed atrium spanning 200 feet and often called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Rooms rise six tiers around the dome and balcony rooms provide a panoramic view of the atrium. Restaurants, shopping, pools, golf, stables and full service spa.

The garden that the monks created has been restored, and is one of the most beautiful and romantic places in which to stroll that you’ll ever see.

My husband’s grandfather helped to tile the roof; the dome was so dangerous to climb around on that little pieces of scaffolding were nailed all over the dome, every few feet.  I went to a prom under the dome, more years ago than I’m likely to admit to any of you.

Your attendees will probably spend all of their free time just walking around this place, gawking and admiring and taking pictures of both the inside and outside of the dome and its grounds.

Golf?  Yes.  Spas?  Several.  Forget to pack something?  There are several retail outlets in the dome.

Huge conference/convention/trade show rooms and smaller meeting rooms available.

Vanderbilts, Astors, and Rockefellers have stayed here.   The Cubs, White Sox, Reds, and other major league baseball teams used to come here for spring training.  It’s been whispered that the famous local mineral water in West Baden might have had something to do with the Chicago Cubs’ World Series win that year!

PBS did a documentary about the West Baden Hotel’s restoration; if you order it and let your people watch it, you’ll all be convinced that this is the hotel for your next conference!!

Why don’t you plan to hold your next convention/conference/trade show/corporate retreat in scenic southern Indiana, at the West Baden Springs Hotel?

Don’t forget to bring your camera.

P.S.  Free high speed internet!

The historic French Lick Resort and Casino in southern Indiana is one of the most classically beautiful and genuinely unique conference centers in the world!

Its history is fascinating:  John Dillinger had his own suite here at one time.  FDR did, too, and in fact came here regularly to enjoy the Pluto Water Spas!  (Google it; it’s amazing!)

People come here for many reasons: the golf courses, the casinos, and frankly, just to stay in the hotel and gawk.

Gawk at what?  The sights, both in and out of the building.

You’ll find, at the French Lick Resort and Casino, fantastic catering, restaurants, bars, spas, golf, swimming, formal gardens, and  ballrooms, among other things.

Did I say “golf?”  I should have said “PGA Championship!”

Don’t let the vintage look fool you:  your conference/convention/getaway/reception/trade show will have access to the most modern, up-to-date facilities imaginable.

Take a walk around historic French Lick itself.  Pretty much any person you meet will have interesting tales to share about the town’s origins, it’s past (WOW!) and the present, which is a recreation of much of that past.

The hotel is also just a stone’s throw from the historic West Baden Dome, which will be a post in and of itself.

Take the train ride.  Drive down to Patoka Lake.

Your attendees will beg to come back again for next year’s function.

P.S.  Dry-land midwestern French Lick is in Indiana, and Indiana law states that no casino can exist here unless it’s floating on water, hence all the riverboat casinos in the vicinity.  However, the French Lick Resort and Casino got around that law, quite legally.  Come on down and see for yourself.  It’s really awesome.

Check out the tiled floors.

Burlington, Vermont’s beautiful Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center is the perfect place for your trade show, conference, convention, meeting, reunion, wedding, or any kind of get-together, be it large or small.

The largest hotel and convention center in the state, the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center is right in the middle of downtown, and well within walking distance, or short driving distance, from pretty much anything an attendee would need or want to see.

If you fly in, the hotel has its own shuttle system, as well.

In the winter, you’ll find some of the finest skiing in the world right here at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center.  Remember when it snowed in the movie “White Christmas?”  That was Vermont!

As far as large meetings go:

Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center offers an impressive 30,000 square feet of flexible function space—including the 8,000-square-foot Emerald Grand Ballroom and the 12,500 square-foot Lake Champlain Exhibition Hall, for larger events and trade shows. Pre-function areas with expansive windows providing magnificent mountain views. Located primarily on two levels, the hotel’s flexible meeting space allows large groups to flow quickly from one venue to another so attendees can maximize their time.

For catered events, Executive Certified Master Chef Arnd Sievers’ fresh and unique creations rival the best in the world. Showcasing the finest in Vermont ingredients, and exhibiting the experience that has brought him international hotel awards, Master Chef Sievers and his culinary team create dishes that meet our clientele’s exceptional standards.

You don’t have to do it alone: our convention service managers will work closely with you to design your ideal event or conference. With on-site assistance on audiovisual and lighting issues, and Internet access in all meeting rooms, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

The Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center is located at 870 Williston Road, Burlington, Vermont 05403. Phone:  802-865-6600

• Contact the Hotel

The Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center is a Starwood Hotel.

If you are looking for a conference center, convention center, or trade show location that is paradise, inside the building and out – especially out – look no further than the Ramada Plaza on Nag’s Head Beach.

Nag’s Head, North Carolina, is part of the breathtakingly beautiful Outer Banks, home of the planet’s loveliest beaches.  Some of the most famous lighthouses of our time are here, along with much of our country’s pirate history.  That’s right:  I said PIRATE.  Ocracoke Island, also part of Nags Head, was home to the notorous Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. 

The Ramada Plaza itself is a place of comfort, convenience, and plenty of room for whatever function you are planning, be it a reunion, party, reception, retreat, wedding, conference, convention, or trade show – of almost any size, too.  Small?  Medium?  Large?  Extra Large?  the Nag’s Head Beach Ramada Plaza can accommodate your every need.

Just look at that view from this conference room!

All of this can be found at the Ramade Plaza Nags Head Beach Hotel, 1701 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil HIlls/Nags Head, NC 27948

Contact information: Phone: 252-441-2151    FAX:  252-441-1830

E-mail:  info@ramadainnnagshead.com

After your meetings, dinners, etc. are over, your attendees can step out of the hotel onto the beach, and experience the wonder that is the Outer Banks. There are many historic places within a short drive from the hotel, too. The Lost Colony of Roanoke and Kill Devil Hills (where the Wright Brothers flew that first airplane) are two of many fascinating places to visit.  Drive a little south onto the ferry at the southern tip of the islands, and your car and you will be on your way to Ocracoke Island, where you can eat at the famous Howard’s Pub, visit the British Cemetary, and explore the pirate museum, among other things.

The Kentucky International Convention Center, right in the heart of downtown Louisville, is large, lush, and beautiful to behold.

I’ve never actually seen a convention center with so many rooms, in fact.  The Kentucky International Convention Center has over 300,000 square feet of space, a 30,000 square foot ballroom and 52 meeting rooms, and all under one roof.

WiFi, and plenty of outlets, too.  I know, because I’ve personally been to two education conferences and an electronics trade show here.

The venue’s many and varied world-class facilities may be found if you click here.

Handy parking, too!  And, of the 10,00 hotel and motel rooms in Louisville, 2,00 of them are within walking distance of the convention center. 

Kentucky International Convention Center

221 Fourth Street

Louisville, KY  40202

Phone:  (502) 595-4381 or 1-800-701-5831

Fax:  (502) 595-3675

For ticket office information call:  (502) 595-3555

The Sheraton Denver West Hotel is not only a beautiful and almost perfect venue for any kind of event imaginable, large or small;  this hotel also has one of the most gorgeous views EVER.

Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, the view from my window was breathtaking.

The conference I was attending was three days long and was attended by several hundred people.  However, both rooms used by the conference were large enough for even more; it wasn’t crowded in the least.  All of us could easily fit into each individual room!  The chairs were comfortable and the tables were perfect.

I had only two non perfect items in my memory of this venue:  The Wifi, which was excellent, was NOT free, and the tables in the middle of the room had no access to outlets.  Everything else about this venue was FANTASTIC.

I do love an elegant staircase, and the Sheraton Denver West Hotel did not disappoint.  The elevators were large, roomy, and FAST.

The hotel’s catering service was great, and the several restaurants and pubs within were also good.

The Sheraton Denver West Hotel is located at360 Union Blvd, Lakewood, Colorado 80228.  Phone: (303)987-2000.

If the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco looks familiar, it might be because this hotel is in more movies than any other American hotel!

While the outside of the Westin St. Francis is pure Hollywood, the inside is pure vintage.  Tall ceilings, huge elevators covered with brass and carved wood, staircases that just stepped out of a Bette Davis movie. . . Walking into the Westin St. Francis Hotel is like walking into a time machine.  Where else can you find a pink marble staircase?

Make no mistake, though; the venue might appear to be a blast from the past, but it’s one of the most technologically up-to-date venues you’ll ever see.

Each meeting room that I saw was HUGE, and fully equipped with enough electrical outlets for the huge masses of conference participants when I was there.  The building’s WiFi was easily connected and the signals were strong and reliable.  This is of vital importance for almost any kind of conference, convention, trade show, meetup, reunion, wedding, etc.

San Francisco’s famous cable cars stop right outside the door of the Westin St. Francis.  Fisherman’s Wharf and Chinatown are within easy walking distance, too.

Reservations: (800) Westin 1 | General Inquiries: (415) 397-7000 | Meetings, Banquets, &Weddings : (415) 774-0126 | General Sales: (415) 774-0112 | Fax: (415) 774-0124

The beautiful Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers is the perfect venue for your conference, convention, trade show, or any other collection of people!

I was there only last year at the huge BlogHer conference, and the meeting rooms were large, lovely, and equipped with comfortable chairs and tables.  Most important of all, in this day and age of technology, each room had plenty of outlets!

This venue also has WiFi throughout – both in the conference and restaurant areas AND in the hotel rooms.

This brings me to another point:  A conference venue is always best when the building is also a hotel!  It’s awkward and expensive if your attendees have to hail a cab to get from their hotel to the conference venue.

The Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers is right in the middle of downtown Chicago: handy to everything!

301 East North Water Street Chicago, IL 60611
Main 312-464-1000 Fax 312-464-9140

Click here for a virtual tour of the Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers.

Nashville, Indiana is a former artists’ colony that has become the autumn haven for conferences, conventions, trade shows, reunions, retreats, meetings, and just plain shopping for people from all over the nation.  It’s open year-round, of course, but the fall is the prime season here.  This picture doesn’t begin to show the beauty of this place; it’s too breath-taking to be captured on film.  Or disc, as the case may be.

Nashville is the county seat of scenic Brown County, Indiana.  It’s nestled in the heart of the majestic Hoosier National Forest, and I defy any other place on earth to lay claim to being more lovely than this place!

Nashville, and Brown County in general, have many inns from which to choose for your conference. Whether you’re planning something for several hundred, several dozen, or just several, Brown County has the perfect venue for your function.  You can count on having the most modern, up-to-date facilities and technology at your disposal, even if you have chosen a venue that appears to be on the rustic side!

In your attendees’ free time, there are shops and sights the likes of which they’ll never find anywhere else: works of art, musical instruments made by hand, pottery, museums, galleries, studios, bakeries, glassware, furniture – even the kitchen (or bathroom) sink – all unique to Brown County.

When your employees or attendees find out that their convention, conference, or trade show, is being held in Brown County, Indiana, you can bet you’ll have fabulous attendance!

The Brown County Indiana Convention and Visitors Bureau, 10 North Van Buren Street, Nashville, IN 47448, can be reached by calling 1-800-753-3255.

For more information about group resources, check out the Brown County CVB website.

Be sure to put your camera in your briefcase before you leave your house.

The Conference Center at NorthPointe is located just 10 minutes from Columbus, Ohio. Nestled in a village-like setting of Georgian architecture and cobblestone streets, our full service IACC approved meeting center features 40 meeting and breakout rooms, an elegant 6,000 square foot ballroom, 120 hotel rooms, the latest in advanced audiovisual technology and professional conference services, a private conference dining room and an on-site pub. Purpose designed and constructed, The Conference Center at NorthPointe was built based on extensive input from meeting professionals and conforms to the high standards of the International Association of Conference Centers.

Our meeting and breakout rooms will suit your every need from business meetings, to corporate training sessions, to board retreats. NorthPointe Conference Center dining options are as diverse as they are outstanding in taste and presentation. Each of our hotel guest rooms and suites feature pillow-top beds and high speed Internet access. For the active set, guests may enjoy our fitness center, full size gymnasium and outdoor swimming pool, all located on meticulously landscaped grounds overlooking a picturesque two-acre pond.

9243 Columbus Pike
Lewis Center, Oh 43035

TEL: 866.233.9393
FAX: 614.880.4167
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