The Woodlands: A natural setting for doing business
Want to make attendees feel like VIPs?
The whole concept of The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center is to provide a serene natural setting where meetings can take place in an environment far removed from the day to day grind. The hotel has more than 60,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting space, including 32 meeting rooms (many of which have water or forest views), and fun extras like “18-hour” swivel-and-tilt executive conference chairs. Conference service managers can help planners put together themed events, such as margarita parties, Texas-themed banquets, tapas dinners and luaus. There’s also the spa, where small spousal groups or VIPs may convene for a day of pampering, enjoying meals at the terrace cafe in their robes and slippers.
Want to break out of the boardroom?
National CineMedia works with local theater operator CineMark to help meeting planners produce turnkey corporate meetings and events in movie theaters. From private screenings to presentations, product launches, team-building events and face-to-face meetings, CineMark can provide groups with event coordination, catering, marketing tools, advanced technical support and audio/visual tools that also can link attendees to groups meeting in other cities. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion hosts major concerts as well as cultural performances from the Houston Ballet and Symphony Orchestra. In addition to VIP seating, its amphitheater has a 1,600-sq. ft. Woodforest Bank Club that’s available for business meetings and receptions. Amenities include four 42-inch plasma TVs and a 10-ft. HD projection screen with multimedia capabilities, a full-service bar and an adjacent covered outdoor patio. Next to the club is a large, year-round event tent for 200 to 500 guests. Spectrum Catering, Concessions and Events is the venue’s preferred caterer. Waterway Square is a one-acre plaza with a synchronized musical water and light show seven days a week in the heart of the town center. Groups interested in using the plaza for receptions, should contact The Woodlands CVB.
Want unusual transportation?
The 1.4-mile long Woodlands Waterway stretches from The Woodlands Mall to the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and Town Green Park. Planners can shuttle attendees from one place to another along the corridor using Woodlands Water Taxis. Historic trolleys also run through the district corridor’s surface streets, linking hotels and meeting venues to restaurants and businesses. General public day passes with unlimited rides on the cruisers and trolleys are $5.
Want group dining?
Landry’s Seafood House is accessible by Woodlands Water Taxi or historic trolley. Custom menus and private dining areas are available. Located in the Market Street outdoor shopping complex, Grotto Ristorante offers authentic Italian cuisine in a trattoria setting. Its Enoteca Room seats up to 30 guests; the Amalfi Room seats up to 70 guests. Grotto can provide décor, including Italian ceramic pieces and candies, candles, custom menus, audio-visual equipment and florals as well as complimentary printing and ribbons for menus, if planners want to supply the stationery. Jasper’s is helmed by “Iron Chef America” winner Kent Rathbun. There are two private dining areas, including a frosted glass-enclosed boardroom, both of which are equipped with high-speed Wifi Internet. Crú Market Street is a wine bar that offers special wine-tasting menus and private wine lunches and dinners.
Want team-building?
Get attendees’ blood pumping with an early morning outdoor workout led by a personal trainer at The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center, or schedule a tournament on one of its premiere golf courses (it’s one of Golf Digest’s 75 Best Golf Resorts in North America). The resort campus also has five pools, 21 indoor and outdoor tennis courts, 145 miles of hiking and biking trails, and a 200-acre lake. Other area golf courses include Augusta Pines and The Woodforest Golf Club. Riva Row Boat House is a 1.6 acre park in the heart of The Woodlands Town Center, within walking distance of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, where groups can enjoy single and tandem kayak rides by the hour or day.
Want entertainment?
The Ice Rink at the Woodlands Town Center or individual ice rink tables may be reserved for private group functions. Special pricing is available for nonprofit organizations. Class Act Productions produces two full-scale Broadway musicals a year, featuring an array of young performers. If attendees are traveling with family, ask about Class Act’s Broadway musical, drama and dance workshops for youth, ages 7 to 21.
