| May 2005 • Volume 25 • Number 5 • The Meeting Professional |
Showcase Destinations Texas Hill Country: Head for the Hills
The Texas Hill Country is a land of rolling green hills blanketed with wildflowers, glittering streams and cattle ranches that stretch for miles. It is also the home of iconic landmarks such as the Alamo, the River Walk and the University of Texas. The region’s two main meeting destinations, San Antonio and Austin, offer not only central locations for attendees, but also premier meeting facilities seasoned with distinct Texas flair.
SAN ANTONIO
Visitors to San Antonio can’t help but get caught up in the city’s exuberance and liveliness. The famed River Walk runs through downtown, connecting legions of hotels and entertainment options to the 1.3 million-square-foot Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
And meeting attendees seeking a good time can’t go wrong in the city that takes 10 days off for “Fiesta,” an annual celebration commemorating the heroes of the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, two key events that led to Texas’ independence from Mexico. The city explodes in a vision of colorful paper flowers, confetti and exquisitely decorated floats that line the streets in one of the festival’s many parades.
Planners can recreate this fun any time of year with help from venues like La Villita Historic Arts Village. Here, San Antonio’s rich culture comes alive in its first neighborhood, a village with inhabitants that have included Spanish mission- aries, Alamo patriots and German and French immigrants. This downtown area now offers restaurants, shops and galleries and five plazas of varying sizes.
Groups can hold their own niosita (or little NIOSA) in one of the plazas any time of the year. NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio) is one of the city’s favorite party traditions, occurring during the “Fiesta” week. A niosita includes traditional Spanish dishes, guest-greeting mariachi bands and other entertainment options.
For a taste of the truly bizarre, head to the Buckhorn Museum and Saloon for a quick tour or a seated dinner. The museum opened in 1881 when a young entrepreneur traded deer antlers for a cold pint of beer. Today, the saloon has accumulated more than 1,200 racks and is host to a wide range of Texas history exhibits, a stuffed gorilla and a 120-year-old bar where Pancho Villa is rumored to have organized the Texas Revolution.
To unwind from the festivities, try the recently opened Watermark Hotel and Spa, San Antonio’s only downtown lodging option with a spa. While the Watermark boasts a more chic, contemporary feel, its sister property, La Mansión
del Rio hotel, is a staple of old-world River Walk elegance. Both offer exquisite meeting facilities, with 15,000 square feet at La Mansión and 4,500 square feet at Watermark.
AUSTIN
Planners were delighted with last year’s opening of the Austin Convention Center, having found a perfect fit for meetings in Austin’s laid-back style and gorgeous natural surroundings. Planners can now book meetings of any size while offering an appealing array of pre- and post-conference activities. Known for its live music, zesty barbecue and cold beer, Austin tempts visitors to step out of the fast lane, sit for a spell and relax.
The capital city takes its fun seriously, dedicating an entire office of its CVB to music. Planners can work with the CVB to select a musician perfectly tailored to their group’s personality.
After the meetings wrap, attendees can head to downtown’s Sixth Street and Warehouse entertainment districts for evenings filled with more of Austin’s claim to fame. Hundreds of live music selections are available every night of the week, and the six-block scene ranges from dive bars to cool cocktail clubs.
Yvette Remschel, vice president of education and leadership division manager at the Independent Bankers Association of Texas and MPI Texas Hill Country Chapter president, suggests that planners offer a dine-around on Sixth Street.
“Guests can experience a wide variety of food and music without having to provide busing,” she said.
Groups won’t have a problem finding daytime activities, either. Ranked by Men’s Health Magazine as one of the United States’ healthiest cities, Austin provides visitors with an array of outdoor activities, such as kayaking on Town Lake or running on its 10 miles of trails. Or plunge into Barton Springs, a pecan tree- lined spring-fed pool near downtown.
Austin is also home to the world’s leading retailer of organic foods, Whole Foods Market. Be sure to visit their latest opening on Lamar Street, offering more than 150 fresh seafood selections with on-site preparation and Candy Island with handmade lollipops and a chocolate fountain. Group cooking classes are also available.
For a true taste of Texas history, the Stephen F. Austin InterContinental Hotel on Congress Avenue gives guests a glimpse into life centuries ago, when horse-drawn carriages rumbled up the avenue to the original capitol, just blocks away. Luxuriously spacious suites are furnished with hand-tooled armoires, genuine Texas leather, large marble baths and Texas artwork. Enjoy an alfresco meal at the Roaring Fork—the onsite restaurant—which features the only balcony seating on the avenue. The property’s meeting spaces are ideal for smaller groups.
Groups seeking a full-service resort need look no further than the Horseshoe Bay Resort Marriott, about an hour’s drive from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Ranked by Texas Monthly as the best golf destination in Texas, this hotel boasts three Robert Trent Jones, Sr.-designed championship golf courses and a $6 million, 18-hole putting course.
Hotel guests can also enjoy a spa, a private airport, a marina, private beaches and 22,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.
FREDERICKSBURG AND
KERRVILLE
Each only about an hour-drive from San Antonio and Austin, Fredericksburg and Kerrville are charming communities worthy of a day trip. And with recent renovations and openings, the two cities are emerging in their own right as meeting destinations.
In Fredericksburg, the Inn on Baron’s Creek opened last month, offering 5,000 square feet of meeting space, 82 rooms and a spa. Its central downtown location provides easy access to the many shops and dining options on the town’s famed Main Street. Don’t miss authentic German food and house-brewed beers at the Fredericksburg Brewing Co.
The Hangar Hotel and Airport Conference Center opened in late 2003, offering 10,000 square feet of meeting space near the Fredericksburg Municipal Airport.
Popular group activities in Fredericksburg include trips to Enchanted Rock, the United States’ second-largest granite batholith; Wildseed Farms, the nation’s largest wildflower farm; and the National Museum of the Pacific War.
Visitors to Kerrville delight in the quaint town nestled on the banks of the Guadalupe River, and meeting attendees will find ample championship-level golfing options in this sleepy community. Golfers seeking a challenge must experience River Hills, designed by Byron Nelson, and Comanche Trace, designed by Tom Kite. For those wanting a less demanding game, head to the Scott Schreiner Golf Course, where the fees are less, but the greens are still resplendent with Hill Country allure.
For a true Hill Country experience, catch a Pointe Theatre production underneath the starry Texas sky. The rippling Guadalupe is the backdrop for all outdoor productions, and a reception hall that opened in April provides meeting facilities for up to 130.
TMP
KIRSTEN ROCKWOOD is publications coordinator for The Meeting Professional.
Texas Hill Country
San Antonio
Rooms: 30,000
Prominent Meeting Facilities: Henry B. Gonzalez Convention
Center (1.3 million square feet),
Alamodome (160,000 square feet), San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter (60,000 square feet), Hyatt Regency San Antonio (40,000 square feet), The Westin La Cantera Resort (39,000 square feet), Clarion Riverwalk (37,000 square feet), Crowne Plaza Hotel San Antonio Riverwalk (37,000 square feet), Airport Convention Center (35,000 square feet), Municipal Auditorium and Conference Center (35,000 square feet), Barton Creek Resort & Spa (30,000 square feet), Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa (27,000 square feet), Hilton Palacio del Rio (24,000 square feet), The St. Anthony-A Wyndham Historic Hotel (24,000 square feet), The Westin Riverwalk (19,000 square feet), La Mansión del Rio Hotel (15,000 square feet)
Fredericksburg
Rooms: 930
Prominent Meeting Facilities:
Gillespie County Fairgrounds and Exhibition Hall (14,000 square feet), Hangar Hotel and Airport Conference Center (10,000 square feet), Inn on Baron’s Creek (5,000 square feet)
Austin
Rooms: 22,000
Prominent Meeting Facilities: Austin Convention Center (900,000 square feet), Lester E. Palmer Events Center (130,000 square feet), Renaissance Austin Hotel (60,000 square feet), Hilton Austin (57,000 square feet), Hyatt Regency Austin (23,000 square feet), Doubletree Hotel Austin (22,000 square feet), Horseshoe Bay Resort Marriott (21,000 square feet), Lakeway Inn (20,000 square feet), Omni Austin Hotel (20,000 square feet), The Driskill (15,000 square feet), Four Seasons Hotel Austin (15,000 square feet), Hilton Austin North (15,000 square feet)
Kerrville
Rooms: 1,160
Prominent Meeting Facilities: Inn
of the Hills Resort and Conference Center (23,000 square feet), Y.O. Ranch Resort Hotel and Conference Center (11,000 square feet)
New Braunfels
Rooms: 2,000
Prominent Meeting Facilities:
New Braunfels Civic Center (15,700 square feet), T Bar M Resort & Conference Center (11,000 square feet), John Newcombe Tennis Ranch (10,000 square feet)
Getting Started
Austin CVB
www.austintexas.org
Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce
www.fredericksburg-texas.com
Greater New Braunfels
Chamber of Commerce
www.nbcham.org
Kerrville CVB
www.kerrvilletexascvb.com
San Antonio CVB
www.sanantoniovisit.com
San Marcos CVB
www.toursanmarcos.com
Your MPI Connection for
Texas Hill Country
MPI Texas Hill Country Chapter
Yvette E. Remschel, CMP
(512) 474-6889
www.mpithcc.org
What’s New in Texas Hill Country
• The Hyatt Regency San Antonio recently completed a $16.6 million renovation that included upgrades to technological amenities, the lobby and all 632 guest rooms and suites.
• Last August, the Adam’s Mark Hotel in downtown San Antonio became a Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts property.
It is planning for a $6.3 million renovation.
• Hotel Contessa opens in November on San Antonio’s River Walk with 13,500 square feet of meeting space, 265 luxury suites and a spa.
• A 350-room La Quinta Inn & Suites Convention Center opened in January in San Antonio with 8,000 square feet of meeting space.
• The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa opens outside of Austin in summer 2006 with 50,000 square feet of meeting space, an 18-hole golf course and a spa.
• In San Marcos, a $50 million Embassy Suites Hotel and $15 million conference center will break ground by year’s end.
Texas Dance Halls
Texans love to boot-scoot almost as much as they love their boots. Experience one of the oldest Hill Country
traditions in some of the original dance halls. You can also put a Texas twist into your meetings with these rentable venues.
• Floore’s Country Store, a honky-tonk just outside of San Antonio is known as the “Home of Willie Nelson,” and the pony-tailed Texas icon still makes frequent stops at the dance hall where he first glimpsed stardom. www.liveatfloores.com
• Just steps from the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, Gruene Hall is Texas’ oldest dance hall. The cozy feel of
this rustic building, combined with star-studded live music performances, makes for an unforgettable evening. www.gruenehall.com
• Established as a trading post in 1849, Luckenbach is a short drive from Fredericksburg and is a guitar-picking refuge where “Everybody’s Somebody.” The original post office still exists, though it now does time as a beer joint, and the dance floor is still as swinging as ever, hosting more than 50 events each year. www.luckenbachtexas.com