Plan Your Meetings

Watch for:

• An all-green hotel will be breaking ground on nearby Daniel Island this year.
• The Charleston Marriott recently completed an extensive renovation of its public areas, guest rooms and meeting space.
• The Inn at Middleton Place was named to National Geographic Traveler’s first-ever, annual “Stay List.” The list celebrates hotels that are among the best in blending location-inspired architecture, ambience and amenities, eco-stewardship and an ethic of giving back to the community.
• The Woodlands Resort & Inn and The Dining Room at Woodlands received the Mobil Five-Star Award for the fifth consecutive year. It also was ranked No. 1 in the Continental U.S. and Canada, and No. 3 worldwide in the 2008 World’s Best Service Awards by the readers of Travel + Leisure Magazine.
• Charleston was named 4th Best City in America by the readers of Travel+Leisure magazine.
• The Center for Birds of Prey opened. Amenities include guided walking tours and flight demonstrations.

Want eco-friendly events?

The Inn at Middleton Place is a member of the Green Hotel Association, the Audubon Society and the International Ecotourism Society. Located on the grounds of the 18th century Middleton Place Plantation, it has a 3,000-sq. ft. meeting facility (The Lake House) with built-in audio/visual equipment, WiFi Internet access, and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of woodlands and water.

Want to meet in a place with history?

The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon has three rooms available to private groups: The S.C.D.A.R. Room (capacity 100) is an elegant meeting room; the Great Hall accommodates up to 150 people for a seated dinner overlooking Broad Street; and staging or additional seating is available in the Isaac Hayne Room. Groups meeting there can incorporate a pre- or post-event tour of Charleston’s old sea wall and prison. The USS Yorktown in Mt. Pleasant accommodates up to 800 people on its flight deck for catered affairs and dances; the ship also has a museum, classroom space and a boardroom for private meetings.

Want to roll out the red carpet?

Charleston Place, one of the “World’s Best Places to Stay” (Condé Nast Traveler), also is home to a spa and the award-winning Charleston Grill. Planners can unfurl a red carpet that leads from the restaurant to the entrance of the 450-seat Riviera Theater, setting the stage for a dramatic evening event.

Want Southern-themed events?

The Lowndes Grove estate on the Ashley River is a trolley or rickshaw ride away from downtown Charleston, and within walking distance of The Citadel and Hampton Park; indoor and outdoor venues are framed by spiral staircases, sweeping piazzas, live oak trees and arched porticos. Sister venue the William Aiken House is located in the Upper King Design District downtown and has two formal 19th century dining rooms, ballrooms, piazzas, a drawing room and one of the largest private decorative art collections in Charleston.

Want group dining?

Fleet Landing is a casual seafood restaurant on a reinforced pier once used by the U.S. Navy; it’s also one of the few waterfront restaurants Charleston has. High Cotton is famous for its Lowcountry Sunday brunch, and can accommodated private dining for up to 54 and receptions of up to 80 people. Sister restaurant S.N.O.B. (Slightly North of Broad) gets raves from the Post & Courier and local gourmands for its fresh, locally sourced takes on Southern staples, served in a converted warehouse. It’s located on East Bay Street, home to other fine restaurants, such as Magnolias and Cypress Lowcountry Grill, both of which have private dining facilities.

Want catered events in unusual venues?

Duvall Catering & Event Design, a full-service caterer and events services provider, is the preferred vendor at venues such as the South Carolina Aquarium, the Gov. Thomas Bennett House and Middleton Place & Gardens. Carolina Catering, a full-service caterer that can borrow menu items from restaurants the Boathouse on East Bay and Carolina’s, is the preferred vendor at the Gibbes Museum of Art and the Magnolia Plantation & Gardens.

Want local items for gift baskets?

It’s a Charleston tradition to give unexpected gifts, called surcees, so why not leave a pillow gift from the Charleston Cookie Company? Another local tradition is serving rice at a 2 o’clock dinner; Charleston rice spoons are treasured family heirlooms and make inexpensive gifts. Gullah Gourmet has Gullah gear, gift baskets and mixes, breads, desserts and bottled treats so attendees can bring a taste of the Lowcountry home with them. Put your company’s logo on hand-rolled cigars, private label golf balls or mini liquor bottles from Coastal Cigars. Or venture down Market Street, or to the “four corners of law” at the intersection of Broad and Meeting streets, to pick up benne seed wafers, grits, rice, pecans and sweetgrass baskets.

Want group activities?

Take attendees on a tour of the city’s ghosts, history, architecture or pubs, or arrange for a carriage tour. Tours aren’t limited to land, either. Harbor tours and dinner cruises take attendees around Fort Sumter and Patriot’s Point, and allow guest to view the “Holy City” and its Rainbow Row the way it was built to be seen. Several plantations, including Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation and Middleton Place, line the Ashley River, and are open for tours, meal functions, team-building programs and meetings. Kenda Sweet Events can put together a customized city-wide scavenger hunt.