Chattanooga: Inspiring innovation and revitalization
Want to mix business with pleasure?
The Chattanoogan Hotel calls itself an urban resort, and it is an oasis of sophisticated business-centric amenities in fun, family oriented, downtown Chattanooga. Perks include a full-service spa and 25,000 square feet of space (capacity: 500), which includes a 7,752-sq. ft. ballroom, an 85-seat amphitheater, and several breakout and general session spaces. If more space is needed, the Chattanooga Convention Center is next door. The property also can help planners put together golf programs, whitewater rafting trips, hang gliding adventures, or other group activities.
Want to break out of the boardroom?
The Bluff View Art District has bed-and-breakfast inns (Maclellan House, Bluff View Inn), restaurants (Back Inn Café, Tony’s), a sculpture garden, galleries and art museums (Hunter Museum of American Art, The Houston Museum of Decorative Arts, River Gallery), and a reception and conference center. Groups can meet or hold retreats in an 1835-era log cabin at the Tennessee River Gorge Trust Pot Point House.
Want unusual group activities?
Groups can picnic during Chattanooga Lookouts baseball games at BellSouth Park or reserve a luxury skybox suite; have an after-hours event at the Chattanooga Zoo; enjoy a private concert at Rhythm & Brews; or take an amphibious tour of the city with Chattanooga Ducks. The Chattanooga Billiard Club is a multilevel entertainment complex with banquet space, a full-service tobacco shop and conference facilities. The Chattanooga Riverboat Company offers a stationary party boat as well as themed charter cruises. The historic Tivoli Theatre hosts touring Broadway shows, ballet, opera and big-name concerts.
Want to meet by the river?
The 22-mile Tennessee Riverpark winds through the heart of downtown Chattanooga and is home to most of its attractions. Coolidge Park has a vintage carousel, a pavilion, an interactive fountain and sculptures. The Creative Discovery Museum has hands-on exhibits, an auditorium, colorful meeting rooms and a boardroom. The Hunter Museum of American Art has riverfront patio space for private events in addition to an auditorium and art galleries. The Tennessee Aquarium has an IMAX theater, ocean and river galleries, a boardroom and A/V equipment; food and beverage service is available throughout the facility during private events.
Want to meet in a place with history?
In addition to exhibits on African-American art, history and culture, the Chattanooga African-American Museum has rental facilities, including an atrium (capacity: 221) and the Bessie Smith Performance Hall (capacity: 350). Any traveler worth his or her salt knows about Rock City (subject of the famous “See Rock City” roadside signs). It has an outdoor pavilion, gardens with 400 native plant species, on-site dining and accommodations on Lookout Mountain with additional meeting space in its Grandview Tudor-style lodge. Ruby Falls is another famous roadside attraction that accommodates group functions. Lake Winnepesaukah is an old-fashioned amusement park with an on-site catering department, a 2,000-seat concert venue and picnic facilities. The Chattanooga Choo Choo and its historic train terminal are now part of a museum and hotel complex with meeting space; guests can spend the night in a Victorian train car.
