Virginia Beach, Va., For Meeting Planners

Staying, Meeting and Entertaining Groups On the Va. Ocean

Aug 10, 2009

It's easy being green when meeting in Virginia Beach, where environmentally friendly practices take the forefront - and the oceanfront.

Virginia Beach offers more than just an oceanfront leisurely getaway. It's also an ideal spot for meeting planners looking for a off-the-path place to hold conventions and entertain large groups.

The 500,000-square-foot Virginia Beach Convention Center, completed in January 2007, is the crown jewel of the area’s meeting planner facilities, offering a 150,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 31,000-square-foot ballroom and 29,000 square feet of meeting space.

The building’s design makes use of the area’s most distinctive attractions: natural light, water and wood. The facade, a wall of glass shored up by indoor and outdoor pools of water, reflects the city’s beauty, and guests access the center from a wooden boardwalk.

An observation deck on the 10th floor is perfect for sunset-watching. Groups can choose from among five meeting rooms that can be divided into 22 different spaces, and the center provides both wired and wireless high-speed Internet access.

A 360-foot video wall offers the opportunity to create impressive presentations.

Distinctive Gourmet, the center’s onsite caterer, is a cut above the usual convention catering; a lunch buffet, for example can be Mexican, Italian or bistro-style. The center is certified Virginia Green, meaning it recycles, uses few disposables, and is water- and energy-efficient.

Nearly 8,000 of the city’s 12, 000 rooms are by the ocean, and 3,500 of the 12,000 are located within two miles of the convention center.

More than a dozen area hotels, including The Founders Inn, Virginia Beach Resort Hotel and Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront, are certified Virginia Green: They offer waste reduction and recycling, energy and water conservation, and optional linen services.

What to Do Between Meetings

Best-known for its beaches and plethora of water-based activities, Virginia Beach was also ranked the nation’s least-stressful metropolitan area.

Adding to its metropolitan panache is the new Town Center, which covers 17 downtown blocks of retail, living, dining, and office space, and boasts the 1,300-seat, Philip-Johnson-designed Sandler Center for the Performing Arts.

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Center, which can be rented for 2,500-person receptions, features live shark and sea turtle galleries.

For a city on the Chesapeake Bay, it's no surprise that seafood should be the order of the day. Groups can watch the catch of the day arrive from Rudee's on the Inlet; charter a boat to catch their own fish, which several local venues will be happy to cook up; or simply enjoy fresh fish at one of numerous seafood restaurants.

For an upscale dining adventure, Virginia’s Jewel, a dining yacht, offers both public and private charters where groups can take in the spectacular oceanfront homes and the wildlife of the surrounding First Landing State Park.

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