meeting planners guide

Transcription

Louisiana
M
P
g
eeting
lanners
uide
Supplement to Collinson Media Publications
LouisianaTravel.com | 800-227-4FUN
Photo Credit
sPeCiaL adverTisinG seCTion
2 Louisiana TraveL Guide 2011
he future site of many a command performance, the Crescent City’s long revered convention center will now feature a 60,300 square foot
divisible Great Hall, 25,400 sq ft multi-use pre-function space, and include gracious appointments throughout—comparable to those found in
hotel ballrooms. Never before has this impressive 1.1 million sq ft center so perfectly complemented the city’s walkable hotel packages. Additional
features of note include a 5,700 sq ft executive club lounge and a 4,660 sq ft junior ballroom complete with a 3,420 sq ft rooftop terrace
and a 980 sq ft indoor balcony. To learn more, contact the sales department at 504.582.3023, [email protected], or scan the QR code.
2 LOUISIANATRAVEL.COM
Searching for a dozen oysters, salty and cold.
Getting off the beaten path.
Satisfying a different appetite.
© 2011 The Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism
iron grillwork galleries
and brick walks add
to the charm of
downtown natchitoches.
This state has a beguiling mix of
history, mystery and attitude that
beckons business and pleasure
travelers from around the country. It
might spring from the people: Its early
blend of cultures included American
Indian, Spanish, French and African,
a blend that continues to inform
Louisiana’s singular character.
4 LouisianaTraveL.com
Louisiana is an unforgettable place
to visit, but it’s an even better place
for your next meeting or convention.
In Louisiana’s historic cities, your
group will find facilities with state-ofthe-art technology and a variety of
local activities that both entertain and
educate. In this state, you often get
“lagniappe”—or “something extra”—
and meeting planners always find that
in the Pelican State. Louisiana offers
a spirit that enlivens meetings, lifts
your mood and boosts your creativity,
leaving you excited to learn more.
Whether you want a traditional
convention hall with plenty of exhibit
space and breakout rooms, a fullservice hotel that’s business friendly,
or a 19th-century historic home for offsite gatherings, you’ll find venues that
guarantee memorable meetings.
This state knows business and
how to get business done. In 2010,
Business Facilities Magazine named
Louisiana State of the Year for its
business-development programs,
workforce training and economic
growth strategy.
Louisiana is preparing to celebrate
200 years as a state in 2012. Ten flags
have flown over Louisiana, including
French and Spanish, and the colonial
influence is still felt throughout the
state’s parishes and towns.
The early explorers used Louisiana’s
waterways to navigate the region, and
Natchitoches Area Convention And Visitors Bureau
Bienvenue
enLouisiane!
That’s French for
“Welcome to Louisiana,”
and planners will find
Louisiana is ready
and waiting to
welcome meetings.
INSIDE
The mighty mississippi reflects the crescent city
connection and new orleans’ skyline.
rivers continue to define many of the
major cities in Louisiana. The Crescent
City and Baton Rouge, an hour’s drive
apart, share the Mississippi River;
Shreveport and Bossier City, in the
northwest part of the state, sit
on the Red River, as do Alexandria
and Pineville in central Louisiana;
Lafayette has the Vermilion River;
St. Tammany Parish has the Pearl and
Tchefuncte rivers on the north shore of
Lake Ponchartrain; and Monroe and
its sister city, West Monroe, are also
located on a river—in this case the
Ouachita, which winds southerly from
its headwaters in Arkansas.
Louisiana’s rivers provided early
travel around the territory, nourished
the settlers and formed geographical
boundaries. Today these same
rivers facilitate industry, tourism and
entertainment. Water is one of the
reasons Louisiana’s appeal endures.
You’re never far away from a swamp
tour or a river cruise. History helps, too.
This state comfortably incorporates the
charm of the past into everyday life. A
stroll through old Natchitoches (1714),
the oldest settlement in the Louisiana
Purchase territory, reminds visitors of
the past, shows you the way it used to
be—and often still is. And, of course,
the music and food traditions that
blossomed in this state are legendary.
Wherever you travel in Louisiana,
you’ll find space ideal for meetings
large and small, and the kind of
hospitality that adds a special something to events. Louisianans want you
and your group to enjoy your stay here,
blending business with hundreds of
years of history along with a warm
welcome from its residents.
6
New Orleans
12
Jefferson Parish
14
Northshore / St. Tammany
16
Baton Rouge
20
River Plantations
22
Lafayette
26
Lake Charles
28
Iberia Parish
30
Houma and Thibodaux
32
Shreveport-Bossier
36
Monroe-West Monroe
39
Alexandria and Pineville
40
FacilityListings
49
CVB Information
The Louisiana Meeting Planners Guide is a
publication of louisianatravel.com, the official travel
authority for the state of Louisiana. Contents and
design ©2011,all rights reserved. Every effort was
made to ensure accuracy of the information in this
guide as of press time. However, louisianatravel.
com and Collinson assume no responsibility for
errors, changes or omissions. The Louisiana Meeting
Planners Guide is published by Collinson Media
& Events for louisianatravel.com. Louisianatravel.
com and Collinson make no endorsement,
representation or warranty regarding any goods
or services advertised or listed in this publication.
Listings and advertisements are provided by the
subject companies, and louisianatourism.com and
Colllinson shall not be responsible or liable for any
inaccuracy, omission or infringement of any third
party’s rights therein, or for personal injury or any
other damage or injury whatsoever. Corporate
information and advertising specifications available
at CollinsonMedia.com.
Cover photos: Virginia Delaney/ Lafayette CVC;
Houma House Plantation and Gardens; Superdome
publishedby
Collinson Media & Events
15 Technology Parkway South, Suite 250
Norcross, GA 30092
[email protected]
Sales: 770-582-9700
Louisiana meeTing PLanners guide | 800-227-4Fun
5
sPeciaL adverTising secTion
New Orleans Hotels
In New Orleans, planners can find hotels with size and style.
Adjacent to the convention center is the Hilton New Orleans
Riverside, with 1,622 rooms and 122,000 square feet of
function space. In the French Quarter, the AAA Four-Diamond
Omni Royal Orleans offers 17 function rooms, many with
natural lighting, as well as ballrooms, a garden terrace and
345 hotel rooms. Another option is the New Orleans Hotel
Collection, a single group that manages several upscale,
meeting-friendly properties and their on-site restaurants, bars
and lounges, including Bourbon Orleans, Dauphine Orleans,
Crowne Plaza New Orleans Airport, Wyndham Riverfront New
Orleans and St. Louis Hotel. The collection’s website provides
a single point of reference for meeting planners to compare
properties’ meeting space and amenities. Crowne Plaza New
Orleans Airport, for instance, has more than 11,000 square
feet of meeting space accommodating groups of up to 770
people, whereas Bourbon Orleans has 7,000 square feet of
event space in a historic French Quarter hotel complete with a
cottage and courtyard for smaller, more intimate gatherings.
Bourbon orleans
Greater New Orleans
The French Quarter or “Vieux Carré”
is often a visitor’s first stop in New
Orleans. And why not? The city’s most
famous neighborhood buzzes with life
24 hours a day. Restaurants, hotels,
nightclubs and one-room attractions
are woven together by the friendly
welcome of the French Quarter. For
the meeting planner, a variety of
lodging and event venues, convenient
transportation, proximity to day trips
with plenty of local culture, and an
abundance of qualified convention
and business vendors make it easy for
groups to convene.
It’s little wonder New Orleans
is among the top destinations for
meetings and events: In downtown
New Orleans, planners will find more
than 22,000 overnight rooms within a
GNOTCC / Michael Terranova
Meeting in New Orleans?
Better come ready for a
party, too. Truth is, that’s
only half the story. New
Orleans is certainly a fun
city but it’s also a cultural
experience that attendees
take home with them and
remember.
Maybe that’s one reason why tourism
is a $5 billion-plus industry for the city,
drawing 8.3 million visitors in 2010.
More than 22 percent of those visitors
came to the city for business meetings
such as conventions, trade shows and
corporate events.
If you think Bourbon Street is the
only draw for these record numbers
of visitors, nothing could be further
from the truth. There is plenty to see
and do packed into this very walkable
mid-size city! Readers of Travel and
Leisure Magazine in 2010 voted New
Orleans among the 10 best cities in
the United States and Canada. The
reputation is helped, no doubt, by the
city’s volunteer staff of ambassadors
greeting visitors the moment they
disembark planes at the airport.
Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World
nEW orlEans
The colorful seahorse float (left) is among the many floats, sculptures and
props at Blaine Kern’s mardi gras World, which offers tours and event space.
a jazz cruise on the steamboat natchez riverboat (above) is another popular
new orleans experience.
2-mile radius and more than 35,800 overnight rooms around the
entire city.
The sprawling Ernest N. Morial Convention Center lays claim
to being one of the largest convention centers in the country.
Built the year after the 1984 World’s Fair and renovated in
2006, the convention center boasts 3.1 million square feet of
gross space and enviable technology, including digital flatpanel audiovisual systems and high-speed Internet access,
as well satellite links to video teleconferencing. More than 1.1
million square feet of exhibit space is complemented by a
4,000-seat theater and 140 key card-access meeting rooms,
as well as two ballrooms, La Louisiane and La Nouvelle
Orleans with 30,487 and 36,448 square feet of space,
respectively. Capacity for the center is 35,000. The convention
center provides boxed lunches, sit-down dinners, private
dining, and concessions and cafes.
After its $60 million face-lift in 2006, the convention center
invested another $30.7 million in exterior upgrades, including
attendee-friendly signage and landscaping. Planners can
be assured of the facility’s commitment to greener meetings:
7
ernest n. morial
convention center
Therapy Association (APTA) in
Alexandria, Va., says her organization’s
recent New Orleans conference
attracted a record-breaking 9,094
attendees from around the country.
“APTA always puts the attendee first.
Does the city offer a compelling reason
to visit?” she says. “We look at cities
that offer a lot within walking distance,
and NOLA fits that bill.”
APTA’s most recent New Orleans
conference included multiple
meeting locations (including the
convention center), and McIntyre
credits the success of the conference
to the longevity of service among
the facilities’ staff and spirit of
collaboration.
McIntyre was impressed by “the way
the client experiences the collaboration
between the CVB, the [convention
center] and the hotels. All of these
groups work together with one singular
goal—to maximize the attendee
experience.”
Other major downtown meeting
facilities include the Louisiana
Superdome, home of the New Orleans
Saints, with 166,000 square feet of
unobstructed space, and the adjacent
New Orleans Arena, home of the New
Orleans Hornets basketball team, with
24,650 square feet of space on the
arena floor and seating for up to 18,500
people. In the French Quarter, boutique
hotels with wrought-iron balconies
and hidden courtyards are set to host
smaller, more intimate meetings.
Beyond the meeting room, planners
can organize off-site trips to a variety of
nearby attractions, including touring the
city’s unusual above-ground cemeteries,
Michael Palumbo 2008
It uses low-flow and automatic
faucets, energy-efficient lighting,
environmentally preferred cleaners,
outdoor irrigation systems with rain
sensors and recycling programs.
The Morial Convention Center
isn’t done expanding, either: In
2013, the center will debut the Great
Hall, a divisible 60,300-sq.-ft. room
complemented by 25,400 square feet
of pre-function space. The expansion
also includes a 5,700-sq.-ft. executive
club lounge, and a 4,660-sq.-ft. junior
ballroom with a 3,420-sq.-ft. rooftop
terrace and a 908-sq.-ft. indoor balcony.
Combine this expansion with the space
available at nearby meeting hotels and
it’s easy to see why this slice of the Big
Easy is a major draw for planners.
Alison McIntyre, director of meeting
services for the American Physical
neworleansonline.com
Louisiana superdome
viewing Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras
World’s Carnival memorabilia, or
experiencing nature at one of the
Audubon Institute properties like the
zoo, Aquarium of the Americas or
Insectarium. Also not to be missed
is the recently expanded World War
II Museum. Additionally, attendees
can spend free time dining at a jazz
brunch, cruising the Mississippi River
on a paddle wheeler or just wandering
the French Quarter. In 2010, almost half
of business travelers extended their
stay by two days for pleasure.
New Orleans offers an abundance of
options for planners who want to meet
without the temptations of the French
Quarter in their events’ backyard.
Radiating south and west from the
city are a number of conference
spaces in pleasant suburbs, where
local restaurants and shops thrive and
parking is usually free. The University
of New Orleans in the Lakefront area
has two properties: Sen. Nat G. Kiefer
Lakefront Arena, home to big-name
concerts and lovely outdoor grounds,
and the Lindy C. Boggs International
Conference Center with 20,000 square
feet of conference space.
9
| VISIT |
KEnnEr
Kenner is the New Orleans bedroom community where Louis
Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is located, but this
Jefferson Parish town offers much more for meetings than an
arrival and departure point for attendees. Kenner is, in fact, a
convention destination in its own right, with the 70,000-sq.-ft.
Pontchartrain Center (see p. 12) and a wide variety of hotel
accommodations. Its proximity to New Orleans makes the
historic districts, venues and off-site activities in Kenner good
options for meetings throughout the metro area.
Rivertown, a 16-block historic district on the Mississippi
River, is a one-stop cultural attraction, with Kenner Heritage
Park, a replicated village of late-19th and early-20th century
buildings, a children’s castle with puppetry and other
performances, several museums, a planetarium, repertory
theater and LaSalle’s Landing on the Mississippi River all
open by appointment exclusively to groups of 10 or more
Tuesday through Friday. Late-night excitement can be
found at Treasure Chest Casino, a riverboat casino on
Lake Pontchartrain, with live music and, of course, plenty
of gaming.
Special weekday meeting package offering free wi-fi, breakfast, welcome drinks,
fitness and business centers, heated pools, in-room spa services, and historic locations!
Treasure chest casino
Boutiques along magazine street delight attendees on downtime.
While You’re There
Getting There
 Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, served by
most major airlines, is about 12 miles west of the city (about a
20-minute drive) in the Kenner suburb.
 Drive-in attendees most likely will use Interstate 10.
neworleansonline.com
Guests don’t have to stay downtown to have fun. Travel
uptown to the Garden District, where wrought-iron balconies
give way to white-columned historic homes. This neighborhood
is graceful, quintessentially Southern and offers a distinctly
New Orleans experience. Take your group to dinner at
Commander’s Palace or tour the ornate above-ground tombs in
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.
New Orleans offers everything necessary to renew your
soul. Opportunities exist for community projects that can be
tailored to your convention group during your meeting. Visit
volunteerlouisiana.gov for information.
Marc Becker | Area Director of Sales & Marketing
New Orleans Hotel Collection | 504-527-0407 | 855-798-6642
WWW.NEWORLEANSHOTELCOLLECTION.COM/MEETINGS
Louisiana meeTing PLanners guide | 800-227-4Fun 11
Conventi on
& Vi si t o r s
Bu reau
The Pontchartrain center
(far left) includes green
initiative programs for
meetings. The Hilton
garden inn overlooking
Lake Pontchartrain is next
to the Treasure chest
casino (above) in the
charming Laketown area.
shrimp is fresh off the boat
and a feature at most area
restaurants.
Jefferson Parish bills itself as the
Gateway to New Orleans, and the
description certainly fits: Louis
Armstrong International Airport is in
Kenner, a Jefferson Parish community
that is part of greater New Orleans.
Back in the 19th century, New
Orleans neighborhoods such as The
Garden District were part of Jefferson
Parish. Although Orleans Parish
annexed districts as the city grew,
Jefferson Parish remains rife with
an easy spirit bonding it with New
Orleans—a distinction both the parish
and the city enjoy sharing.
For meetings, the Gateway
to New Orleans is an attractive
destination. The parish has two
convention centers: the 70,000-sq.ft. Pontchartrain Center in Kenner
and the 30,000-sq.-ft. John A.
Alario Sr. Event Center in the town
of Westwego. The Pontchartrain
Center boasts 46,080 of column-free
exhibit space and 14,681 square
feet of multi-use meeting rooms, as
well as a 9,750-sq.-ft. lobby and
25,000-sq.-ft. glassed mezzanine
lobby both suitable for pre- and
post-function meeting space. Recent
events have included the U.S. Food
Service Food Show and the AKC
Lagniappe Classic Dog Show. The
Alario Event Center, a multi-purpose
complex across the Crescent City
Bridge from the French Quarter, is
part of the larger Bayou Segnette
Sports Complex, which lies on the
West Bank of the Mississippi River
and adjacent to Bayou Segnette State
Park. The center features the 2,200seat Main Arena with approximately
30,000 square feet of additional
space in on-site exhibition halls,
and the larger complex includes
Segnette Field and the Alario Center
Festival Grounds.
Jefferson Parish has about 7,200
hotel rooms, including fly-in attendee
friendly Hilton New Orleans Airport
with 317 guest rooms and 21,564
square feet of meeting space, and
Four Points by Sheraton New Orleans
Airport Hotel, with 220 guest rooms
and seven meeting rooms with
a combined 3,276 square feet
of space.
Groups in Jefferson Parish find
plenty to do off-site in the area’s
historic communities, with Gretna
standing out as one of the state’s
largest districts on the National
Register of Historic Places. A few
minutes drive from the French
Quarter, Gretna’s attractions include
the country’s oldest volunteer fire
company, now home of the Louisiana
State Fire Museum, the Southern
Pacific Freight Depot and the
Illinois Central Caboose museum.
The historic district is also home
to the German-American Cultural
Center, where costumed tour guides
take visitors through this museum
chronicling the contributions of
German settlers to Louisiana’s
development.
You can hear the echoes of French Quarter jazz.
Jefferson is that close.
Jefferson offers premier venues for mid-size meetings & conferences, with almost
a quarter of a million square feet of meeting space, world class restaurants,
retail shops & a sportsman’s paradise, just a beat away from New Orleans.
Jefferson Convention and Visitors Bureau
JEffErson Parish
C o n v e n t i o n
&
V i s i t o r s
B u r e a u
13
cute. Madisonville, the oldest town in
the parish (1811), has a fine maritime
museum and picturesque waterfront
on the Tchefuncte River, where you
can dine with a view. Stroll through
historic downtown Covington for
antiques, clothing and jewelry, and
browse its galleries (original art can be
purchased tax-free). In addition to the
quaint towns, the Northshore features
80,000 acres of green space, state
parks and wildlife refuges. It bills itself
as the natural choice for nature lovers,
golfers and adventurers. In their free
time, attendees can take a swamp tour,
kayak a bayou or rent a bike and cycle
the Tammany Trace.
Northshore Harbor Center
Slidell, St. Tammany’s largest city,
is the site of the Northshore Harbor
Cheryl Gerber/LouisianaNorthshore.com; louisiananorthshore.com; Fleur de Lis Event Center
St. Tammany Parish,
known as Louisiana’s
Northshore, is casual,
business savvy and
visitor friendly. It offers
planners diverse
meeting facilities in
quaint towns, a
dynamic culinary
scene and refreshing
green spaces.
The area gets its nickname from its
location on the northern shore of Lake
Pontchartrain. The Northshore was
once a sleepy timber and shipbuilding
region, as well as a resort area for
19th-century New Orleanians. There’s
a little less hustle and a little more
room to move around on this side of
the lake, but you won’t sacrifice any
New Orleans flavor: Northshore towns
have plenty of great restaurants and
fun attractions to keep attendees
happy. And the parish has more
than 2,500 affordable hotel rooms
representing 20 national chains.
Exploring the Northshore generally
requires a vehicle—St. Tammany’s
communities are spread over
850 square miles. If you have the time,
visit its historic districts and heritage
museums, which are often postcard-
John Everett
Northshore /
st. tammaNy Parish
northshore Harbor center
(left) is efficient, versatile
and easy to get around,
reflecting the area. Friendly
and inviting activities
include the farmers market
in mandeville (above) and
Honey island swamp tours
(right). The Fleur de Lis
event center features the
Pontchartrain Ballroom, the
Jazz room (far right) and
the orleans room.
Center, a 45,000-sq.-ft. venue with
flexible floor plans accommodating
up to 2,500 people for conferences,
business expos, trade shows and
other events; amenities include highspeed data ports and Wi-Fi.
“No one, except an event planner,
knows what it really means to create,
develop, and execute an event which
is meaningful and ‘just right’ for the
client,” David Kiviaho, the director of
marketing and fund development for
Truth 180, a mental-health services
provider in Slidell, wrote on the Harbor
Center’s website. “The Northshore
Harbor Center Team is an exception
to that rule. Their expertise in all
phases of event planning is refreshing
and very helpful to our agency’s
Development Team.”
Northshore Harbor Center has partner
hotels in Slidell, some new and some
recently renovated. Additionally, the
Clarion Hotel and Suites Conference
Center, about 30 minutes away in
Covington, La., has 155 guest rooms
and can accommodate meetings of up
to 340 people.
Mandeville is also home to the
brand-new Fleur de Lis Event Center,
housed in a renovated theater. The
center accommodates 500 people with
breakout rooms for smaller groups.
Gaslights, a courtyard and a wroughtiron balcony call to mind a bit of the
French Quarter on the Northshore.
Mandeville
Getting There
West of Slidell in Mandeville, the
Castine Center offers 28,000 square
feet of multipurpose space in Pelican
Park. The center blends social with
functional: It’s convenient and wellequipped for trade shows and training
sessions, but amenities such as its
900-sq.-ft. kitchen and adjacent
outdoor cooking spaces make it ideal
for after-parties and banquets, too.
 The area is serviced by Louis
Armstrong New Orleans
International Airport, about an
hour away.
 About 45 minutes northeast of
New Orleans, near the Mississippi
state line
 At the intersection of Interstates 10,
12 and 59
15
Museums, public spaces
and historic buildings make
downtown Baton Rouge a
popular stop on Louisiana
itineraries.And the state
capital has a business side
that makes this riverfront
town an attractive meetings
destination.There’s a wide
array of event facilities here,
and they continue to grow.
and trade shows but also has 7,000
square feet of meeting space inside.
Recent events have included Mardi
Gras balls, home and garden shows,
health expos, and the Baton Rouge
Boat and Sport Show. In 2012,
the U.S. Bowling Congress Open
Championships will bring upward of
66,000 bowlers to the River Center.
The 750 attendees of the Louisiana
Community and Technical College
System’s annual conference recently
met at the Baton Rouge River Center.
Leah Goss, the group’s executive
director, says: “We wanted a location
that had attractive restaurants
and downtown nightlife that would
appeal to our participants and would
be within walking distance of the
convention location. Baton Rouge
has done a great job creating an
appealing downtown for visitors to
walk around, enjoy great restaurants,
©Eddy Perez, LSU Public Affairs; ©1986 George Jardine / BRACVB; LouisianaTravel.com
BATON rOuge
The multilevel Baton Rouge River
Center (formerly known as the
Riverside Centroplex) is the city’s
meetings hub. It combines four
facilities under one umbrella:
a 70,000-sq.-ft. exhibition hall,
26,000-sq.-ft. ballroom, 28,000-sq.-ft.
arena (capacity 10,000) and the
1,900-seat Theatre for Performing Arts.
Besides plenty of space, the facility is
in an expansion phase, adding 26,000
square feet of pre-function space to
its Galleria, increasing meeting rooms
from eight to 17 and adding a VIP
lounge. The expansion is scheduled
for completion in fall 2011. The River
Center has garage parking and on-site
catering available.
The exhibition hall and the arena
form the largest contiguous exhibit
space at 100,000 square feet. The
arena is known for hosting big-name
concerts, professional sports events
Baton Rouge Area CVB
Plantation Country
The river center (left) was
designed to provide dramatic
views of downtown Baton rouge
and the mississippi. This page:
Lsu’s Tiger mascot isn’t just a
jester at games—attendees can
visit mike the (real) Tiger in his
new 15,000-sq.-ft. habitat; Baton
rouge Hot air Balloons offers
rides and special events; southern university’s art museum
has an extensive african art
collection.
live music, historic sites and views of
the river.”
Goss’s group also had specific
needs from the River Center.
“We needed a facility that was
experienced in handling a large
meeting like ours with multiple
scheduling demands.” Goss adds
that planning the annual conference
always leads to programming
changes, and the River Center
offered excellent customer service as
the group finalized its plans.
Hotels close to River Center include
the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino and
Hotel, the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol
Center and the newly opened Hotel
Indigo. The city has more than 10,000
hotel rooms, and according to the
Baton Rouge Area Convention and
Visitors Bureau, hotel rates here are
among the country’s most affordable.
The city of Baton Rouge is giving
the waterfront property around the
River Center a face-lift as well, with
green spaces, a transit shelter, concert
stages and more.
Meeting options exist throughout
the area. At the West Baton Rouge
Conference Center in nearby Port
Allen, banquet and conference rooms
accommodate groups of 50 to 800 in
about 7,000 square feet of meeting
space, offering smaller groups more
options in the area. At the Jerusalem
Shrine Center in Destrehan, the
ballroom holds 500 guests, and other
meeting rooms are available.
If you’re a fan of SEC football,
you might have spent some time
in Tiger Stadium, where Louisiana
State University’s football team plays
every fall, but the campus offers more
than an off-site excursion on game
days. The Lod Cook Alumni Center
offers more than 12,000 square feet
of event space with nine meeting
rooms. And attendees don’t need to
be transported throughout town for
sightseeing: 6,000-year-old Indian
Mounds and LSU’s mascot, Mike the
Tiger are right on campus.
Southern University, a historically
black college, is almost synonymous
with Baton Rouge’s Scotlandville
community in Nouth Baton Rouge,
where it has educated students since
1914. Southern’s art museum has an
extensive African art collection, as
well as works by African-Americans,
17
A Tall Building
with a Long Tale
| VISIT |
St. FranciSville
Louisiana’s Depression-era state capitol building was the
realized dream of Gov. Huey P. Long’s, who championed its
construction. At 34 stories and 450 feet, the building is the
nation’s tallest state capitol, designed in a classical style with
Art Deco details. Long wasn’t even there for its dedication—
he was in Washington, D.C., at the time—but in 1935, he was
assassinated inside. Later he was buried on the state capitol
grounds. A replica of the capitol building accompanies his
memorial. It’s open daily and admission is free.
Long’s building replaced the Old State Capitol, notable
for its ornate Gothic style. It’s been said to look like a castle
or a cathedral, and Mark Twain once mocked its appearance.
Nonetheless, it survived the Civil War and two fires. Today it
houses exhibits and the Old State Capitol Center for Political
and Governmental History.
Baton Rouge also has two governors’ mansions: the old
(1929), now a historic house museum, and the current (1963),
whose exterior was designed to look like Oak Alley Plantation
in Vacherie, La. Both are open for tours.
Charming little St. Francisville (West Feliciana Parish) is a halfhour from Baton Rouge, perfect for a day trip. St. Francisville
doesn’t have a large population (less than 2,000, by 2000
census data) but it’s big on Main Street hominess. You can
see plantations here too, including a plantation ruin—Afton
Villa—surrounded by spectacular gardens. The house at
Afton Villa was consumed by fire in 1963, and the nearness
of the pristine, manicured gardens lends a haunting beauty to
the remains of the house.
The most famous house in St. Francisville has a haunting
quality as well—but at Myrtles Plantation, the hauntings are
based on murder and intrigue. Your group can tour the house
to hear the legend of the plotting slave Chloe and why she
still hangs around the Myrtles. The weekend Mystery Tour
is designed to bring on chills and highlight unexplained
phenomena—sightings and unusual noises are common
at the Myrtles. Whether or not you believe in spirits and
including Louisiana artists. The museum is located in the
14,000-sq.-ft. Martin L. Harvey Auditorium, which has eight
galleries, a stage and pre- and post-function space suitable
for receptions and other special events. Nearby, the Hilton
Garden Inn offers 131 rooms, a full-service restaurant and
banquet facilities to host 64 or 125 theater-style.
Another meeting option in Baton Rouge, the Holiday Inn
Baton Rouge South Hotel, has multiple meeting room options
including an executive room for small board meetings and a
4,611-sq.-ft. ballroom suitable for receptions of 450 people.
Other venues immersing attendees in local culture include
The Louisiana State Museum—Baton Rouge. It has more than
10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space. Two
of its galleries are dedicated to the state’s history, and a third
is reserved for traveling exhibitions. The LSU Museum of Art,
located in the Shaw Center for the Arts has a 13,000-sq.-ft.
gallery accommodating up to 400 people, and the 2,000 sq.-ft.
Bert and Sue Turner Gallery overlooking the Mississippi River
and accommodating receptions of approximately 200 people.
Getting There
 80 miles northwest of New Orleans at the intersection of
Interstates 10 and 12
Myrtles Plantation
18 LouisianatraveL.coM
 Serviced by Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (American,
Continental, Delta, US Airways and Vision Airlines)
Baton Rouge Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
lovely, nestled among moss-draped trees.
the american institute of architects recognized the shaw center for the
arts for excellence in exterior architecture and sustainability.
Katie Young/The Myrtles Plantation; © 2004 Marie Constantin/BRACVB
otherworldly apparitions, the grounds of this 1796 home are
Louisiana Meeting PLanners guide | 800-227-4Fun
19
Along the River Road in Southeastern
Louisiana you’ll find treasures of its
antebellum past—grand plantation
homes, many of which have been
restored and opened to the public
or converted into hotels with special
event space. Some of these estates
pack all their grandeur into one story;
others feature thousands of square feet
of splendid massive columns, grand
staircases, intricate plaster friezes, and
yards of balconies and galleries. Some
have restored slave cabins as well. If
you have time for more than a tour, plan
a meal in a plantation restaurant.
At 53,000 square feet, Nottoway
Plantation in White Castle, now known
as Nottoway Plantation and Resort,
is the South’s largest remaining
antebellum mansion with 64 rooms.
The 1858 house is in the midst of a
of Oak Alley on the Mississippi.
This antebellum estate dates from
Louisiana’s colonial period and is
the oldest documented plantation
home in the lower Mississippi River
Valley. Its storied history is perhaps
best exemplified by the Jefferson
Document in the aptly named Jefferson
Room. This paper, signed by Thomas
Jefferson, assigns four men to the
Orleans Legislative Council. Today
the past is alive with costumed tour
guides and historic demonstrations.
The estate has special event space
accommodating up to 200 people.
Other plantations with significant
event space include Houmas House,
a 38-acre plantation in Darrow (with
a pavilion, ballroom, restaurant and
outdoor space), and the whimsical San
Francisco Plantation in Garyville, where
a 6,000-sq.-ft. pavilion invites special
events.
Houmas House Plantation and Garden; Destrehan Plantation; Nottoway Plantation & Resort; LouisianaTravel.com
river PlANTATiONS
multimillion-dollar expansion project that
will add guest capacity, meeting rooms
and amenities. Currently, Nottoway
has eight meeting rooms and three
ballrooms, state-of-the-art audiovisual,
and shuttle services to area airports,
other hotels and off-site activities.
Further south, in the River Parishes
region, you’ll find the popular Oak Alley
Plantation, Restaurant and Inn
in Vacherie, built in the 1830s and
known for the quarter-mile colonnade
of oaks that inspired its name. The
antebellum estate made an appearance
in scenes from the movies “Hush...
Hush, Sweet Charlotte” and “Interview
with the Vampire,” but planners will find
there’s much more to the estate than
graceful architecture. This expansive
plantation’s 2,600-sq.-ft. West Pavilion
and 600-sq.-ft. Plantation Meeting
Room offer space suitable for meetings
and retreats, and an on-site restaurant
emphasizes regional cuisine.
Destrehan Plantation lies downstream
Houmas House Plantation and Gardens; Nottoway Plantation & Resort; Oak Alley Plantation
This page, clockwise from top left: Houmas House gardens make for as beautiful an event
backdrop as its 16 indoor rooms filled with period antiques. The grave site at nottoway Plantation
and resort honors the owners of what is the south’s largest remaining antebellum mansion. The
on-site restaurant at oak alley Plantation creates lavish buffets for special events.
clockwise from top: elegant meeting possibilities beckon at nottoway Plantation’s White Ballroom; oak alley Plantation, called the “grande dame of
the great river road;” Houmas House Plantation with its gardens and front pond; and historic destrehan Plantation.
21
Louisiana’s Acadiana
region is known
for its Cajun culture.
The area stretches
from the Texas border
southeast to Grand Isle at
the Gulf of Mexico and
almost far enough north
to shake hands with
Alexandria/Pineville.
This wide swath is diverse—visitors
can find American Indian, Spanish
and African influences—but it was the
“great migration” that provided the
region with its defining characteristic,
the Cajun influence. In 1755 the
English government in Nova Scotia
drove out French-speaking Acadians,
many of whom ended up around
today’s Lafayette area. “Cajun”—
derived from ’cadian—refers to those
Francophones and their way of life.
Today, Cajun French remains widely
spoken in southwestern Louisiana
homes.
Today, the Cajun moniker is applied
liberally and lovingly around this
area. From arena names to food and
music, Acadiana’s cities and small
towns embrace their identity, adding a
cultural flair to meetings and events.
Lafayette is sometimes referred
to as the “unofficial capital of Cajun
country,” and the nickname fits—the
city is right in the middle of Louisiana’s
Acadiana region. Lafayette’s metro
area includes eight parishes, but it’s
easiest to see the Cajun influence
at the University of Louisiana at
Lafayette, whose mascot is the Ragin’
Cajun, and main meeting space is the
Cajundome and Convention Center.
The multipurpose Cajundome is a
13,000-seat arena hosting a variety
of events, including ULL athletics.
In 2002, the university added a
$16.7 million convention center to
the complex. The 100,000-sq.-ft.
Cajundome and Convention Center; Nahoko Miyake / LCVC; Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission
LAFAYETTE
Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission
Cajun Country
Business and
pleasure mix
well here:
cajundome
convention
center (above
and opposite);
university of
Louisiana art
museum (far
right); busy
downtown Lafayette (right).
convention center spreads across
two floors and includes a more
than 37,000-sq.-ft. exhibition area
accommodating 5,000 guests, 12
breakout rooms, a 5,000-sq.-ft. mall
area for boat, RV and sports shows,
and banquet space with full-service
catering emphasizing Cajun cuisine.
Recent meetings at the convention
center included the Junior Beta Club
State Conference and Louisiana Gulf
Coast Oil Exposition.
“The event division of our company
produces many events at the
Cajundome Convention Center each
year, ranging from luncheon lectures
[some draw 200, others 800] to
an annual bridal exposition, which
attracts 1,500-plus attendees and
exhibitors,” says Publisher Cherry
Fisher May of The Independent
Weekly Publishing Group in Lafayette.
“Obviously, venue flexibility is
important to us, but we go back again
and again because of the professional
staff, their impeccable service and the
talented catering staff.”
Other notable meeting places in
Lafayette include the Heymann Center,
a 2,230-seat auditorium housed in a
historic 1960s building. The site also
includes the 20,000-sq.-ft. Frem F.
Boustany Convention Center; and the
Acadiana Center for the Arts, where
10,000 square feet of space and a
new state-of-the-art performance
theater with seating for 275 are set
against contemporary artwork and
glossy, innovative architecture. All
told, Lafayette has 6,000 hotel rooms.
A meeting in the Acadiana region
isn’t complete without taking
time to experience Cajun culture,
and attendees will delight when
immersed in the signature sounds
and flavors influenced by this region’s
diverse background. Here, you’ll
find authentic dishes prepared
from century-old recipes. Take a
food tour: If you’re lucky, you might
come across a crawfish boil (in this
region, don’t even think of calling it a
crayfish).
Attendees can take off-site trips to
the Acadian Cultural Center, which
has exhibits explaining the migration
and how Cajun culture came to
be. Rangers also speak about the
Atchafalaya Basin. Boat tours led
by a National Park Service ranger
take visitors on Bayou Vermilion in a
traditional boat while they learn about
Lafayette and the numerous people
and cultures who have called it home.
Festivals at the center often focus
on musical traditions. Acadiana is
home to Cajun and zydeco music, the
former featuring the fiddle and triangle
and described as “bluegrass with a
23
ernest n. morial convention center
While You’re in Lafayette…
DINE on authentic, award-winning Cajun cuisine at Prejean’s
Restaurant. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner,
you’ll enjoy spicy seafood, wild game and more in colorful
surroundings. Groups are welcome. Prejean’s offers live
music, an unforgettable dark-roux gumbo, and several
preparations of alligator. prejeans.com
DANCE at the weekly Zydeco Breakfast at Café des Amis
in Breaux Bridge. If you have two left feet, no one will ever
know—that’s how crowded the dance floor is. Menu items
include beignets and specialty omelets. The wait is worth it.
cafedesamis.com
EXPERIENCE old-fashioned Acadiana at the Vermilionville
Living History Museum and Folklife Park, where a
representation of a bayou village takes visitors back more
than 200 years. Get a good look at the architecture, as some
of the structures are originals. Artists and musicians, some
of whom still speak French, complete the folklife experience.
Tours are available, and space can be rented for private
events. bayouvermilion.org
Lafayette's oldest authentic vision of life in 19th century southwest
Louisiana, acadian village is a perfect backdrop for a special event.
French accent,” and the latter is a product of black Creoles
incorporating the washboard and accordion. Acadian Village
provides another opportunity to learn about the culture. The
folklife museum has restored period homes decorated with
native antiques.
With so much culture surrounding Lafayette, attendees
will appreciate the opportunity to explore the city and take
day trips to the little towns around it, such as St. Martinville,
a short drive south. St. Martinville is home to the Acadian
Memorial, a tribute to the original immigrants from Canada,
as well as a statue of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s tragic
heroine, “Evangeline.” City and waterway tours are plentiful
around the area, and a little farther south, the Cajun Coast’s
Morgan City sits along the Atchafalaya Basin, an overflow
swamp covering 800,000 acres, making it the perfect spot
for wildlife tours.
Getting There
 60 miles west of Baton Rouge
 Near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 49
 Serviced by Lafayette Regional Airport (Delta, American
Eagle, Continental)
Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission
SEE the swamps of Southwestern Louisiana from water
level: Take a swamp tour in the Atchafalaya Basin or the
surrounding waterways near Lafayette. The boats are small
enough to navigate narrow openings through trees. Guests
might see birds of prey, waterfowl, deer and the occasional
alligator. visitor.lafayettetravel.com/attractions.aspx
25
the 3,892-sq.-ft. Sycamore Room and
the 1,653-sq.-ft. Cypress Room. The
26-story hotel and casino includes
attendee-pleasing amenities such as
an 18-hole championship golf course,
tropical pool, a luxurious spa and onsite marina.
About 20 minutes away, the Delta
Downs Racetrack Casino and Hotel
provides attendees with a different
kind of gaming experience, with
year-round horse races on a regular
schedule. A high-limit gaming area as
well as 1,600 slot machines complete
the casino experience, and Vista,
the newest restaurant on-site, has
panoramic views of the race track.
Lake Charles made a name for
itself as a lumber boomtown in the
1800s, and there's no better way for
attendees to learn how this shaped
the city's character and culture than a
tour through the Charpentier Historic
District. Builders and carpenters
headed into the city along with the
LAkE ChArLEs
Lake Charles in Southwest Louisiana
is actually closer to Houston than
New Orleans, making it convenient for
drive-in attendees from the west. The
city has a wide array of venues, from
civic centers to arenas and expansive
casinos, with the Lake Charles Civic
Center serving as the city’s meetings
centerpiece. It has three spaces
in one complex: a 17,875-sq.-ft.
exhibition hall, a coliseum for up
to 8,000 people and the Rosa Hart
Theater, which accommodates 2,000
attendees. Other Lake Charles event
spaces include Burton Coliseum,
a domed arena with 24,000 square
feet of floor space and seating for
8,400 coupled with a 168,000-sq.ft. Livestock and Exhibit Building,
and the West Calcasieu Arena in
the nearby town of Sulphur, which
has more than 130,000 square feet
of covered space and permanent
seating for 1,800. Planners who want
to inject a slice of the Texas cowboy
culture that's so close to Lake
Charles can take a look at McNeese
State University's Cowboy Stadium,
with a 17,410 seating capacity.
The historic buildings of Lake
Charles are both graceful and
dramatic, making for memorable
special events. The three-story
Calcasieu Marine National Bank built
in 1928, features Neoclassical-style
architecture with bronze detailing and
intricately designed friezes on the
exterior. Inside, event spaces include
a nearly 4,000-sq.-ft. main hall with
striking details such as Corinthian
pillars and walls in shades of pink,
buff and gray. The Cash and Carry
building, a restored 9,600-sq.-ft.
warehouse that was once a grocery
store, has rustic details such as
exposed brick walls and wooden
beams in the ceiling that make for
an entirely different but equally
memorable special event setting.
Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana
casinos, of course, have much to
offer planners, with L’Auberge du
Lac Casino Resort, and the Isle
of Capri Casino and Hotel taking
center stage. The Isle of Capri has
both the Paradise and Flamingo Bay
ballrooms, together offering more
than 14,500 square feet of flexible
meeting space, and the hotel has
several meeting room options. The
1,000-room L’Auberge has 26,000
square feet of state-of-the-art meeting
space, featuring the 14,175-sq.-ft.
L’Auberge Ballroom, which can be
broken up into six separate rooms,
Lake
Charles/Southwest
Louisiana
Convention
& Visitors
Bureau
©2011,
George H. Long, All
rights reserved;
John
A. Alario
Sr. Event Center
The civic center makes an
impressive presence on the
lakefront (above), lit up here
by fireworks. in contrast
to the modern center, the
city's charpentier Historical
district invites visitors to
experience another side
of the city. Lake charles
is known for its festivals,
including, of course, mardi
gras, which offer great tieins with meetings.
lumber industry, and architects
didn't make their way in until the
early 20th century. Charpentier,
French for carpenter, pays homage
to these early builders, who, rather
than follow a single architectural
style, constructed and embellished
buildings according to their individual
skills, talents and interests. The
40-block district is on the National
Register of Historic Places, with two
ready-made walking tours available.
The district has museums and
attractions such as the Mardi Gras
Museum of Imperial Calcasieu,
which has the world’s largest
collection of Mardi Gras costumes
in a single collection.
While in Lake Charles, outdoorsloving attendees will enjoy the Creole
Nature Trail All-American Road. This
180-mile trail takes explorers through
Louisiana’s Outback country and
includes several national wildlife
refuges. For an up-close marsh
experience, visit the Sabine National
Wildlife Refuge, which has an elevated
boardwalk through marshland called
the Wetland Walkway.
Lake Charles might be close
to Texas, but it still has plenty of
Louisiana's signature foods. Here,
attendees should try boudin, a
Cajun sausage so popular in the
Lake Charles area that the CVB has
developed a Southwest Louisiana
Boudin Trail taking visitors through
all the restaurants, shops, diners and
dives frequented by local boudin
afficianados.
Getting There
 Serviced by the Lake Charles
Regional Airport (American
Airlines, Continental)
 On I-10, about 30 minutes from the
Texas border
/5
!2%�9 '!-%
27
Mystery novel buffs likely
have heard of New Iberia,
the home of detective
Dave Robicheaux, writer
James Lee Burke’s
fictional character whose
exploits frequently
include the author’s
hometown.
There is, however, more to New Iberia
and the greater area of Iberia Parish
than its literary notoriety (but do
consider paperback copies of Burke’s
latest for a “novel” room drop).
Located in the Acadiana region, this
parish offers plenty of opportunities
for off-site excursions that will keep
attendees talking long after a meeting
has passed—a great opportunity for
creating year-round engagement.
New Iberia
This town’s main street has made an
appearance in many Robicheaux
novels, and there’s little wonder why
Burke keeps bringing his character
back: This three-quarter-mile long
district on the National Register of
Historic Places hugs the course of
picturesque Bayou Teche, a river
that runs through the center of town.
Dozens of buildings in the district
date between 1890 and 1930, some
featuring Greek and Gothic revival
architecture. Also located within the
historic district is Conrad Rice Mill,
America’s oldest operating rice mill,
and KONRIKO® Company Store.
The quaint downtown has loads
of local restaurants emphasizing
Acadiana’s culinary traditions. The
town has, in fact, done such a good job
preserving its architecture, character
and traditions that it won the National
Trust for Historic Preservation’s Great
American Main Street Award in 2005.
The area surrounding New Iberia
also has much to offer, and nothing
is too far away. In Jeanerette, groups
can check out LeJeune’s Bakery,
dating from 1884 and known for its
LouisianaTravel.com
IberIa ParIsh
Iberia Parish CVB
The Bayless conference center (facing page)
overlooks Lake Peigneur and the rip van Winkle
gardens. The oriental house (left) and Jungle
gardens on avery island are worth a visit, but
the biggest draw on this little island paradise is
its TaBasco® bottling plant and store (above).
French bread and ginger cakes, and
the Jeanerette Museum, featuring a
pictorial history of the 200-year-old
sugar cane industry. Jefferson Island
is one of Louisiana’s geographic
anomalies: Five islands in the Delta
region don’t just rise above sea level,
they rise 50 to 100 feet above sea
level. They are actually mountains
of salt estimated to run five miles
deep to the ocean floor. The main
attraction on Jefferson Island is Rip
Van Winkle Gardens, which lies on a
coastal salt dome alongside a lake.
The picturesque botanical garden
is fringed with live oaks and has
manicured landscapes ranging from
a Japanese garden to a modern rose
garden. For special events, planners
can rent the Joseph Jefferson
Mansion and the Bayless Conference
Center, which can accommodate
parties of up to 300.
Avery Island
No trip to Iberia Parish is complete
without a stop at Avery Island,
another of the five salt mountains, but
possibly more importantly, the home of
TABASCO® Sauce. The brand remains
family owned since its inception in
1868—and so does the island where it’s
produced. Jointly owned by the Marsh,
Avery and McIlhenny families, the
island is where TABASCO’s® signature
peppers grow, where the production
takes place and even where the majority
of the company’s 200 employees live.
Groups can take tours of the factory,
which include a guided tour through
the bottling and packaging operations
and ends at the TABASCO® Country
Store, where all of the brand’s flaminghot (and the occasional medium and
just-this-side of mild) sauces are sold.
The company also protects the flora
and fauna native to the island, as well
as those Edmund McIlhenny, the grower
of the original pepper crop and founder
of TABASCO®, brought to the island. An
avid gardener, McIlhenny planted rare
species of flowers around the island,
including azaleas, Japanese camellias
and Egyptian papyrus. He also brought
a colony of egrets to Avery Island in
1890 (at the time the snow-white birds
were hunted for their plumes), and
though the birds migrate to Mexico
every year, the descendents of the
original egrets return to what is now
known as Bird City. Groups can take
jungle tours through the 150 acres of
protected gardens and bird sanctuary.
29
than 10,000 square feet of event space
with seating for more than 3,000 and
6,000 feet of flexible meeting space.
A great location for discovering the
Cajun culture, itineraries for day trips
to Thibodaux and greater Lafourche
Parish should include the Jean Lafitte
National Park Wetlands Acadian
Cultural Center, where Cajun music
jam sessions take place most Monday
evenings. Laurel Valley Plantation,
the largest surviving 19th- and 20thcentury sugar plantation in the country,
and the sugar cane fields, slave
quarters and general store (which now
sells local arts and crafts) are open
for viewing. The Edward Douglass
White Historic Site, a Louisiana State
Museum property, celebrates the
political and judicial contributions of
Louisiana Governor E.D. White I and
Chief Justice E.D. White II. The family’s
antebellum Creole cottage-style
plantation estate now houses exhibits,
and the surrounding six-acre property
can be used for picnics.
interesting side trips: chauvin sculpture garden
(left) is one man’s vision of the world; cabins at
Laurel valley Plantation (above); and the edward
douglas White Historic site (facing page).
Thibodaux
Slightly north of Houma, Thibodaux is
the county seat of Lafourche Parish,
an area that embraces its past and
its surroundings in the form of cultural
centers, plantations and scenic
drives. The city can accommodate
small meetings and events at its
Harang Auditorium, which has more
HOUMA
La Fourche Area CVB
About two hours southeast of
Lafayette and a little less than an hour
southwest of New Orleans, Houma is
situated in the heart of Bayou Country.
This town is practically synonymous
with moss-draped cypress trees and
mysterious swamps, and though these
natural attractions bring travelers in
spades, planners will find draws all
their own.
The city can accommodate
meetings and events at the
100,000-sq.-ft. Houma-Terrebonne
Civic Center, which features 37,000
square feet of open floor space and
a 10,000-sq.-ft. meeting wing with
dividable rooms and adjustable
show, but other exotic waterfowl such
as Great Blue Herons call the area
home. Numerous charter fishing tours
launch from the Houma area and head
to the Gulf of Mexico, and landlubbers
can get their fill of area culture
at points of interest including the
Chauvin Sculpture Garden, featuring
more than 100 pieces of concrete
sculptures by the mysterious folk artist
Kenny Hill.
meetings
Houma
lighting. The civic center also has a
parking lot accommodating up to 200
RV hookups. Special events can be
held at unusual venues such as the
Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum,
which can accommodate guests for
small meetings and receptions. The
museum is dedicated to the town’s
longstanding relationship with the
wetlands, and seafood and water
transit industries.
Swamp tours, obviously, are
abundant, and attendees certainly
won’t want to miss the view of
quintessential Louisiana swampland.
Houma has large swaths of protected
wetland, sanctuaries and wildlife
refuges, and there’s more to area
wildlife than gators: America’s Wetland
Birding Trail swings through Houma’s
Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge,
where snowy egrets typically steal the
© Misty Leigh McElroy/Nicholls State University; La Fourche Area CVB
Houma and THibodaux
PLAN YOUR MEETING IN
CREATE AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENT
100,000 sq. ft. Civic Center that can be
Transform your meeting into an unforgettable event when you host
it in Houma, Louisiana. You’ll �nd all the tools to inspire, empower,
entertain and bring people together like never before. With an
overabundance of meeting venues, a wide selection of stylish,
sensibly priced hotels, unique attractions, delicious dining venues,
lively nightlife and more along with a knowledgeable staff to help
you with all the details, you’ll soon discover why Houma, with its
centuries-old Cajun culture and hospitality, is the only place to meet.
divided into 5 meeting rooms an arena and
the ability to accommodate 200 RVs.
21 Hotels with more than 1,500 rooms
many featuring intimate meeting venues.
For more information about meetings in Houma, call 800.688.2732 or visit houmatravel.com
31
www.shreveportmeetings.com
shreveport’s Festival Plaza draws crowds year-round to events along the banks
of the red river, as do five Las vegas-style casinos.
Shreveport-BoSSier
Billing itself as
“Louisiana’s Other Side,”
Shreveport and Bossier
City make up the largest
metropolitan area of
northwest Louisiana.
Shreveport gets its name from a story
of tall-tale proportions: In the 1830s,
the Red River was clogged with miles
of deadwood—known as the Great
Raft—and was not navigable. Capt.
Henry Miller Shreve, a steamboat
captain and de facto river engineer,
managed to clear the deadwood and
open the river to traffic. This feat led
to a boom in Shreveport’s economy.
After Shreveport was officially
incorporated in 1839, the neighboring
trading post of Cane’s Landing
blossomed into Bossier City. And
where does the nickname “Louisiana’s
Other Side” come from? Its proximity
to Texas. This bustling metro area
with a population of 356,000 is only
20 miles from the state line and has
a frontier spirit that makes it the
gateway to the Southwest, not to
mention a penchant for the kind of big
space commonly associated with its
neighboring state.
At the multilevel Shreveport
Convention Center, planners have
Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau
Sportsman’s Paradise
Let us make your next meeting the star attraction in Shreveport-Bossier: Louisiana’s Other Side. Our state-ofthe-art Shreveport Convention Center and attached Hilton Hotel will extend star treatment and hospitality to
conference planners and attendees alike. Let us roll out the red carpet for you.
Contact Kim Brice, vice president of convention marketing for
the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau to plan
your meeting today.
1-800-551-8682 ext. 109 • [email protected]
33
Shreveport Facts
•
Elvis Presley got his start in Shreveport. In 1954 he was
a guest on a radio show called the “Louisiana Hayride,”
which was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal
Auditorium. Elvis signed a record deal with RCA the next
year. The street where the auditorium is located is now
named in his honor.
•
Shreveport celebrates Mardi Gras! The area attracts
about 400,000 revelers to its annual parades. About
8 million beads fly through the air on the two Carnival
weekends.
•
Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City is home to the
2nd Bomb Wing, known for its B-52 aircraft.
•
Strawn’s Eat Shop is nationally known for its strawberry,
chocolate and coconut pies. You can buy them by
the slice or by the pie, but you can only get them in
Shreveport.
•
The Independence Bowl was first played here in 1976,
making it the 11th-oldest bowl game in the country.
•
The blues singer Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter was
born on a plantation near Mooringsport. Lead Belly is
famous for his recordings of “The Midnight Special” and
“Goodnight, Irene.”
•
Shreveport-Bossier has a thriving film industry with postproduction and sound studios. Major studio movies are
filmed here; the Louisiana Wave Studio films aquatic
movie sequences in one of the largest facilities of its kind;
and the Robinson Film Center not only features classic
and independent cinema, but also serves as a film and
media production resource.
•
Housed in a 1927 National Register of Historic Places
building, family-owned Fertitta’s Delicatessen is known for
its muffuletta sandwich.
•
Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center has a special domed
IMAX theater.
•
At the Shreveport Regional Airport (10 minutes from
downtown), about 350,000 passengers board flights per year.
There are plenty of games outdoors and at the tables at Harrah’s Louisiana
downs casino and racetrack to get your attendees excited.
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percent non-smoking Hilton Shreveport Convention Center hotel
is connected to the convention center. In all, Shreveport-Bossier
boasts 10,000 hotel rooms. Some of the area hotels—including
casino hotels—have plentiful meeting space, ballrooms and
convention facilities to choose from,
such as Sam’s Town Hotel
The shreveport convention center
and Casino, whose 10,000 square feet of meeting
andspace
Hilton Hotel
includes a grand ballroom. Across the Red, DiamondJacks
Casino and Resort has 570 rooms and 22,000 square feet of
event space in Bossier City.
Shreveport-Bossier can easily handle large events, such
as the annual AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl at
Independence Stadium. With a recent $30 million renovation
to the host stadium, Independence Bowl brings upward of
$12 million to Shreveport, with game-day crowds approaching
capacity, about 53,000. In 2012 the Bassmaster Classic returns
to Shreveport-Bossier.
Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
6,==/,1*6800(56$9,1*635202
350,000 square feet of meeting space
to work with, but the space is easily
downsized into manageable, intimate
settings. If, however, big is what
you’re after, the convention center can
deliver. Its main exhibit hall boasts
95,000 square feet, and the complex
includes a ballroom and a boardroom.
The convention center also features
wireless Internet, paid garage parking
for 800 cars, full-service catering with
portable concessions available, and AV
equipment and support. The facility is
a few blocks from the river.
Veta Samuels, deputy commission
clerk of the Caddo Parish Commission,
helped organize the Police Jury
Association of Louisiana’s recent
convention in Shreveport. “It
was wonderful: the planning, the
entertainment, the facility itself,”
Samuels says. “The CVB met with
us, listened to us.” She adds that the
CVB arranged a “Hollywood South”
riverboat event for the group that went
over so well the guests were interested
in taking the movie memorabilia
decorations home (they didn’t).
Samuels says conventioneers are still
talking about the event months later.
The full-service, 313-room, 100
Getting There
 Serviced by Shreveport Regional Airport
 At the intersection of Interstates 20 and 49
For more information on meeting space and hotels in
Shreveport-Bossier City and other areas in this guide,
visit the websites listed on pages 40-49. You can also
find more information at louisianatravel.com and at
individual CVB websites listed on page 49.
35
| VISIT |
Ruston
An hour west of Monroe-West Monroe is Ruston,
in Lincoln Parish. A smaller metropolitan area at
42,612, Ruston is the home of Louisiana Tech and
known as a college-style town; Grambling State
is a few miles west on Interstate 20 in the town of
Grambling. Ruston has plenty of historic architecture
to check out while you stroll around downtown. Make
plenty of time to browse shops where you might find
craftsman pottery or original artwork to take home.
And whatever you do, don’t leave without sampling
some Southern food, the peach dishes in particular;
Ruston is famous for the fruit. Make time to visit
the Louisiana Military Museum, the Lincoln Parish
Museum and, on the Grambling campus, the newly
opened Eddie G. Robinson Museum, a tribute to the
late football coach.
eddie g. robinson museum pays homage to the legendary football coach with
memorabilia from his 56 years as head coach during which he sent more than 200
players to the big leagues.
Doubtless, 18th century Spaniards (as
well as other settlers) were attracted
to the scenic Ouachita, flanked by
both pine-covered hills and wetlands,
when they set up camp at the fort;
river transport opened the area to
conference hall, a 7,600-seat arena
with 46,025 square feet of exhibit
space, the 2,000-seat W.L. “Jack”
Howard Theater and an equestrian
pavilion. All of the civic center
facilities are easily accessible from
one another.
In the convention center, square
footage can be arranged into
configurations of four to 15 rooms,
each equipped with variable lighting,
individual temperature controls, AV
systems and computer connections.
The banquet area has a stage and
a full-service kitchen (catering is
available from off-site vendors).
Across the river, the renovated
West Monroe Convention Center has
three conference halls and meeting
rooms (with an executive boardroom),
complemented by wireless Internet and
full-service catering.
Monroe-West Monroe is the site
Landry Vineyards
Northeast Louisiana’s
twin cities sit on opposite
banks of the Ouachita
River, welcoming groups
to an area that was
once a Spanish outpost,
Fort Miro.
merchants and other businessmen.
Today Interstate 20 is the major
transportation artery through Monroe,
making it easily accessible for drivein attendees. Both of the twin cities
are located in Ouachita Parish, its
population is about 148,355, and
Monroe is the sixth-largest city
in Louisiana.
Monroe-West Monroe is the hub of
northeast Louisiana and has more
than 2,000 hotel rooms, including
three full-service convention hotels:
Clarion Inn and Suites Conference
Center and Atrium Hotel and
Conference Center, both in Monroe,
and in West Monroe, the area’s newest
hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn.
Plan your event at the 31-acre
Monroe Civic Center Complex and
you’ll have several venues to choose
from. The 22,000-sq.-ft. convention
center is joined by a 14,000-sq.-ft.
Dennis Lomonaco; NewOrleansOnline.com
MonRoe-West MonRoe
Monroe-West Monroe CVB; LouisianaTravel.com
Tours are popular at Bidenharn museum and
gardens (above); the clarence edward Band
performs at the Louisiana Folklife Festival, a
Local Legacy held annually in monroe (top).
37
clockwise from left:
alexandria museum
of art; coughlin
saunders Performing
arts center and
river oaks square
art center. Throughout the state, art
organizations thrive
alongside music.
Your attendees and their guests can shop for antiques in
antique alley (above) or you can arrange a wine tasting event
at Landry vineyards (right).
Crossroads
AlexAndRiA-Pineville
Alexandria/ Pineville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Monroe West Monroe CVB
for entertaining events: The Civic
Center Complex hosts the annual Miss
Louisiana pageant, and the National
Horseshoe Pitchers’ Association
will hold its 2011 World Horseshoe
Tournament here.
Louisiana’s twin cities both have
picturesque downtowns with shopping
districts such as Antique Alley and the
Garden District, where attendees also
will find a number of day spas. The area
boasts 70 locally owned restaurants,
many of which offer Southern comfort
foods with Cajun and Creole influences.
Options for off-site activities abound,
including Ouachita River cruises,
cooking classes and vineyard tours.
Originally founded in southeastern
Louisiana, Landry Vineyards relocated
to the hill country of the northeast.
Schedule a tour of the grounds, or
enjoy time in the tasting room or at the
vineyard’s outdoor concert series.
In town, attendees can visit several
museums, such as the Northeast
Louisiana Delta African American
Heritage Museum and Chennault
Aviation and Military Museum. Attractions
include the Louisiana Purchase Gardens
and Zoo, West Monroe Motocross and
Twin City Dragway.
Located exactly in the
middle of Louisiana,
Alexandria and Pineville
are the heart of the state
and popularly known as
Louisiana’s crossroads.
Their easy accessibility certainly mirrors the moniker: Interstate 49 travels
north and south through Alexandria,
and the area is serviced by Alexandria
International Airport (American, Delta,
Continental). The airport is located
inside England Industrial Airpark and
Community, on the grounds of the decommissioned England Air Force Base.
Central Louisiana combines the best
of French heritage and tradition with
small-town friendliness, all set along the
Red River. Alexandria can offer excellent value, with options for economy,
moderate and upscale budgets.
Alexandria Riverfront Center, built in
1996, has 35,000 square feet of exhibit
space for conventions and trade shows,
and views of the Red River. Capacity is
about 2,700; Wi-Fi keeps guests connected. Catering is through Riverfront
Center’s sister property, the Alexander
Fulton Hotel and Convention Center.
Patrick Credeur, executive director of
the Louisiana Rural Water Association,
says his group has met at the Alexandria
Riverfront Center for 13 years, and attendance at the annual conference has
increased since its move to centrally
located Alexandria. The convention attracts up to 1,500 attendees and about
130 exhibitors from around Louisiana.
Besides Alexandria’s location, Credeur says: “The Riverfront Center is a
great place to have a convention. It’s
huge. It has a lot of area for vendors to
set up…when we lease the facility it’s
almost like our home.”
Convention Hall is also on the riverfront, one block away from the Riverfront
Center, and has an auditorium setting
that can hold 1,000, with 12,000 square
feet of usable space.
Other Alexandria meeting options include the Coughlin-Sanders Performing
Arts Center, Rapides Coliseum arena
(on 40 acres with RV hookups and a
helicopter pad), and, in Pineville, the
Country Inn and Suites and the adjacent Pineville Convention Center, which
offers catering. In all the area has about
2,500 hotel rooms to choose from.
At the downtown riverfront area, attendees can stroll through a variety of
museums and arts attractions like the
Alexandria Museum of Art, Arna Bontemps African-American Museum and
Cultural Center, and River Oaks Square
Arts Center.
39
Greater New OrleaNs
New OrleaNs
rOOms/meetiNG space
HOtels
Details
Jw marriott New Orleans Hotel
marriott.com/msyjw
494 rooms
19,000 square feet
Near the convention center and business
district
le pavillon
lepavillon.com
226 rooms
9,060 square feet
n/a
astor crowne plaza
astorneworleans.com
693 rooms
32,000 square feet
24-hour business center; AV equipment
loews New Orleans Hotel
loewshotels.com
285 rooms
17,000 square feet
AAA Four-Diamond hotel; business center;
teleconferencing capabilities; full-service AV
Bourbon Orleans Hotel—French Quarter
neworleanshotelcollection.com
218 rooms
7,000 square feet
Ballroom dates to 1817
marriott New Orleans at the convention center
legendaryneworleansmeetings.com
331 rooms
24,000 square feet
Across the street from the convention center in
Arts District
chateau Bourbon—a wyndham Historic Hotel
wyndham.com/hotels/MSYCB
251 rooms
10,000 square feet Private courtyard; business center
New Orleans marriott
marriott.com
1,275 rooms
80,000 square feet
Wireless Internet access in meeting rooms and
public areas
courtyard New Orleans Downtown/
convention center
marriott.com/hotels/travel/msycn
192 rooms
2,500 square feet
AAA Three-Diamond; copy and fax services;
meeting equipment; free Wi-Fi in hotel;
wireless Internet in meeting rooms
Omni royal Orleans Hotel
omnihotels.com
346 rooms
14,000 square feet
AAA Four-Diamond hotel; rooftop deck
overlooks the French Quarter
Dauphine Orleans Hotel—French Quarter
111 rooms
1,872 square feet
4,800 square feet of off-site space available
renaissance New Orleans arts Hotel
marriott.com
210 rooms
10,000 square feet
Circa 1910; AV equipment; full-service
business center; catering
Doubletree Hotel New Orleans
neworleans.doubletree.com
367 rooms
20,000 square feet
Overlooks the Mississippi River; 24-hour
business center
renaissance pere marquette Hotel
marriott.com
272 rooms
6,600 square feet
Central business district location;
videoconferencing capabilities
embassy suites Hotel New Orleans—
convention center
embassysuites.hilton.com
370 rooms
8,000 square feet
AV equipment rental; 24-hour business center;
full-service catering
the ritz-carlton, New Orleans
ritzcarlton.com
527 rooms
35,000 square feet
n/a
288 rooms
12,000 square feet
AAA Three-Diamond; on-site catering; 10
meeting rooms; business center
the roosevelt New Orleans
therooseveltneworleans.com
504 rooms
60,000 square feet
Full-service business center
Hampton inn and suites New Orleans
convention center
hamptoninn.hilton.com
483 rooms
20,000 square feet
Harrah’s New Orleans Hotel and casino
harrahsneworleans.com
royal sonesta Hotel New Orleans
sonesta.com/royalneworleans
450 rooms
160,707 square feet
AAA Four-Diamond hotel with views of the
Mississippi River; near French Quarter and
convention center
State-of-the-art boardroom; 20 customizable
function rooms; customized menus and
themed decor
royal st. charles Hotel
neworleansboutiquehotels.com/royalstcharles
150 rooms
4,100 square feet
n/a
st. louis Hotel
98 rooms
2,200 square feet
n/a
sheraton New Orleans Hotel
sheratonneworleans.com
1,163 rooms
100,000 square feet
Full-service business center;
multi-lingual staff
Hilton Garden inn New Orleans convention center
hiltongardeninn.hilton.com
284 rooms
5,000 square feet
24-hour business center; event catering;
2,700-sq.-ft. Woodward Ballroom
Hilton New Orleans riverside
neworleansriversidehotel.com
1,622 rooms
122,000 square feet
Adjacent to the convention center
Hilton New Orleans/st. charles avenue
hilton.com
250 rooms
12,000 square feet
1920s architecture; skyview terrace
Holiday inn New Orleans Downtown superdome
holidayinn.com
296 rooms
5,691 square feet
Complimentary shuttle to Arts District
springHill suites New Orleans Downtown
marriott.com
208 rooms
4,000 square feet
AAA Three Diamond; on-site parking; wireless
Internet in public areas/meeting rooms;
preferred New Orleans Convention Center hotel
Homewood suites by Hilton
homewoodsuites.hilton.com
166 rooms
6,000 square feet
24-hour business center; AV equipment rental;
catering services
w New Orleans
starwoodhotels.com
410 rooms
10,000 square feet
Business center; Internet access throughout
Hotel le marais—French Quarter
66 rooms
800 square feet
n/a
the westin New Orleans canal place
starwoodhotels.com
21,000 square feet
n/a
Hotel monteleone
hotelmonteleone.com
570 rooms
24,000 square feet
Largest hotel in the French Quarter; two
award-winning restaurants
windsor court Hotel
windsorcourthotel.com
322 rooms
10,000 square feet
Hyatt regency New Orleans
neworleans.hyatt.com
1,193 rooms
200,000 square feet
Reopening in October 2011 after a multimillion
dollar renovation; adjacent to the Superdome;
near the convention center and French Quarter
AAA Four-Diamond hotel; executive
boardroom; business center; rooftop
event space
wyndham riverfront New Orleans
wyndham.com/hotels/MSYRF
202 rooms
3,000 square feet
Across from the convention center; catering
from its on-site restaurant
the iberville suites
ibervillesuites.com
230 rooms
11,000 square feet
Historic French Quarter hotel shares building
with Ritz-Carlton
cONveNtiON/cONFereNce ceNters
the inn on Bourbon ramada plaza Hotel
innonbourbon.com
179 rooms
4,000 square feet
Four-time winner of the Pinnacle Award; AAA
Three-Diamond hotel; nine flexible meeting
rooms; business center
ernest N. morial convention center
mccno.com
1.1 million square feet
12 combinable exhibit halls; 4,000-seat
theater; three restaurants and VIP dining suite;
60,300-sq.-ft. Great Hall opening in 2013
intercontinental New Orleans
new-orleans.intercontinental.com
479 rooms
32,487 square feet
Two blocks from the French Quarter and on
the Mardi Gras parade route
OtHer Facilities
international House
ihhotel.com
134 rooms
2,374 square feet
Two blocks from French Quarter; wireless
access in meeting rooms and public spaces;
member of Green Hotels; historic architecture
20,000 square feet
On-site support includes registration website,
maintaining database of attendees and
processing account receivables and payables
lindy c. Boggs international conference center
conferences.uno.edu
41
louisiana superdome
superdome.com
162,434 square feet
n/a
New Orleans arena
neworleansarena.com
21,250 square feet
n/a
sen. Nat G. Kiefer lakefront arena
arena.uno.edu
43,300 square feet
n/a
JeFFersON parisH
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
Gretna
HOtels
clarion inn
clarionhotel.com
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
clarion inn and suites conference center
clarionhotel.com/hotel-covington-louisiana-LA269
1 ballroom and 6 meeting rooms
8,500 square feet
Renovated in 2011; multiple breakout rooms;
full-service, on-site banquet facilities, free
Internet
courtyard New Orleans covington
marriott.com/msycv
5 meeting rooms
3,200 square feet
Smoke-free; 2,500-sq.-ft. courtyard for special
events
9 cabins
6,300 square feet
n/a
2 meeting rooms
3,500 square feet
Located on the banks of the Tchefuncte
River; two flexible event rooms; space to
accommodate 350 rooms
4 meeting rooms
28,000 square feet
Multipurpose venue; park setting; separate
meeting rooms combinable into one space
Benedict’s plantation
benedictsplantation.net
1 meeting room and courtyard
10,000 square feet
Space to accommodate up to 350 guests;
up-scale venue; trained chef on-site
Fleur de lis event center
fleurdeliseventcenter.com
2 meeting rooms, 2 courtyards
13,500 square feet
Opened in 2009; exposed brick and gas lanterns
give a New Orleans feel
5 meeting rooms and main hall
45,000 square feet
Completed in 2005; space to accommodate
2,500; Wi-Fi in pre-function and lobby area;
data ports in all exhibit areas
the Gallery, slidell
celebrateatthegallery.com
2 meeting rooms
8,000 square feet
Space to accommodate 300; fixed digital
projectors with drop-down screens; highspeed Internet access
taNGipaHOa parisH
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
171 rooms
7,538 square feet
Near Southeastern Louisiana University
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
300 rooms
20,000 square feet
Four private concierge level floors
cOvinGtOn
HOtels
OtHer Facilities
4,900 square feet
Free Wi-Fi; business center
Kenner
the rivers retreat center
theriversretreat.com
MaDiSOnville
HOtels
crowne plaza Hotel New Orleans-airport
ichotelsgroup.com
292 rooms
12,000 square feet
AV equipment; catering
Doubletree by Hilton New Orleans airport
doubletree.hilton.com
244 rooms
12,000 square feet
n/a
Four points by sheraton New Orleans airport Hotel
starwoodhotels.com
220 rooms
3,276 square feet
n/a
Hilton New Orleans airport
hilton.com
317 rooms
21,564 square feet
Across the street from Armstrong International
Airport
30,000 square feet
n/a
OtHer Facilities
lake pontchartrain Basin maritime museum
lpbmm.org
ManDeville
cONveNtiON aND cONFereNce ceNters
pontchartrain center
pontchartraincenter.com
st. tammaNy parisH/lOuisiaNa’s NOrtHsHOre
Metairie
HOtels
Best western landmark Hotel
bestwestern.com
156 rooms
10,000 square feet
n/a
Brent House Hotel
brenthouse.com
143 rooms
5,878 square feet
Six-story atrium
Holiday inn metairie N.O. airport Hotel
holidayinn.com
220 rooms
12,000 square feet
n/a
New Orleans marriott metairie at lakeway
marriott.com
187 rooms
6,500 square feet
Wi-Fi in meeting rooms; teleconferencing and
videoconferencing support
sheraton metairie
sheraton.com/metairie
182 rooms
5,000 square feet
n/a
castine center
pelicanpark.com/castine2.asp
OtHer Facilities
SliDell
Northshore Harbor center
northshoreharborcenter.com
OtHer Facilities
WeStWeGO
alario event center
alariocenter.com
30,240 square feet
Part of the Bayou Segnette
Sports complex
st. BerNarD parisH
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
haMMOnD
HOtels
chalMette
Quality inn
qualityinn.com
HOtels
plaNtatiON cOuNtry
marina motel
marinamotelchalmette.com
108 rooms
11,800 square feet
Marina Pavilion overlooks
Bayou Bienvenue
HOtels
sigur center
sigurcenter.com
BatON rOuGe
52,000 square feet
n/a
Baton rouge marriott
marriott.com/btrmc
43
Belle of Baton rouge casino and Hotel
belleofbatonrouge.com
300 rooms
42,000 square feet
Nine different meeting facilities; 14,000-sq.-ft.
atrium
cook Hotel and conference center
thecookhotel.com
128 rooms
14,000 square feet
Includes the Lod Cook Alumni Center
crowne plaza Baton rouge
crownebaton.com
294 rooms
32,000 square feet
State-of-the-art sound and lighting
embassy suites Baton rouge
embassysuites.hilton.com
223 rooms
6,749 square feet
Business center; complimentary breakfast
and cocktails
vacherie
Hilton Baton rouge capitol center
hilton.com
290 rooms
20,000 square feet
Two river-view ballrooms; executive floor with
private executive lounge and concierge
Holiday inn Baton rouge south
hibatonrougesouth.com
345 rooms
12,000 square feet
radisson Hotel Baton rouge
radisson.com
renaissance Baton rouge Hotel
renaissancebatonrouge.com
Garyville
san Francisco plantation House
sanfranciscoplantation.org
6,000 square feet
n/a
8 rooms
9,800 square feet
Amphitheater; AV equipment; on-site catering;
museum; concert stage
laura: a creole plantation
lauraplantation.com
24,000 square feet
12 buildings on the National Register of
Historic Places; Louisiana Office of Tourism’s
top travel attraction
Two executive floors; complimentary Wi-Fi
throughout hotel; business center
Oak alley plantation, restaurant and inn
oakalleyplantation.com
3,200 square feet
Guides in antebellum costumes give tours.
132 rooms
5,111 square feet
On-site catering
st. Joseph plantation
stjosephplantation.com
12,000 square feet
n/a
256 rooms
10,000 square feet
Opening August 2011
White caStle
10,628 square feet
Shuttle service to airports, other hotels and
off-site activities; wireless internet throughout
facilities; business center; on-site restaurant
Baton rouge river center
brrivercenter.com
200,000 square feet
Performing arts theater; arena; exhibition hall
west Baton rouge conference center
westbatonrouge.net/conference-center
8,871 square feet
n/a
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
St. FranciSville
Hemingbough
hemingbough.com
Nottoway plantation and resort
nottoway.com
caJuN cOuNtry
HOuma
OtHer Facilities
OtHer Facilities
36 suites
5,000 square feet
n/a
Houma municipal auditorium
tpcg.org
11,400 square feet
the cottage at the Bluffs country club
thebluffs.com
Will reopen after renovations in January 2012.
Jerusalem shrine center
jerusalemshriners.com
7,875 square feet
n/a
Houma-terrebonne civic center
houmaciviccenter.com
1,815 rooms
Five flexible meeting rooms adjacent to main
arena
the louisiana state museum—Baton rouge
lsm.crt.state.la.us
10,000 square feet
n/a
plantation inn
plantationinn.net
104 rooms
5,234 square feet
Restaurant and lounge; six meeting spaces;
business center
laFayette
lsu museum of art
lsumoa.com
15,000 square feet
Part of the Shaw Center for the Arts; overlooks
the Mississippi River
HOtels
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
martin l. Harvey auditorium
visitbatonrouge.com/meetingsgroups
14,000 square feet
Includes the Southern University Museum of Art
crowne plaza
crowneplaza.com
290 rooms
14,500 square feet
Second largest hotel ballroom in Lafayette
river plaNtatiONs
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
Hilton lafayette
hilton.com
335 rooms
22,000 square feet
Newly renovated guest rooms; largest hotel
ballroom in Lafayette
37,500 square feet
On-site restaurant
Holiday inn
hilafayette.com
242 rooms
14,000 square feet
Wi-Fi; business center
100,000 square feet
In-house catering; complex sound and lighting;
Wi-Fi
cajundome
cajundome.com
40,000 square feet
Multi-purpose facility shares site with
Cajundome Convention Center
the lafayette Natural History museum
and planetarium
lafayettesciencemuseum.org
5,410 square feet
n/a
DarrOW
Houmas House plantation
houmashouse.com
DeStrehan
Destrehan plantation
destrehanplantation.org
4,585 square feet
Costumed guides that give tours of the main
house and give period craft demonstrations
Ormond plantation
plantation.com
5 rooms
B&B and special event venue spread over
17 acres
eDGarD
evergreen plantation
evergreenplantation.org
5,712 square feet
37 buildings on the National Register of Historic
Places; guided tours
cajundome convention center
cajundome.com
OtHer Facilities
45
MOrGan city
patterson area civic center
pattersonareaciviccenter.com 7,000 square feet
the cash and carry Building
empireoftheseed.com
9,600 square feet
Restored 1930s-era warehouse
the charleston
pujostreet.com
10,000 square feet
Banquet seating for 200
n/a
prien lake park/Harbor’s edge pavilion
cppj.net
2,744 square feet
Two separate meeting rooms and outdoor
pavilion
morgan city auditorium
cajuncoast.com
14,800 square feet
Theater; ballroom; two 2,400-sq.-ft.
concourses
reeve’s uptown catering
reevesuptown.com
5,270 square feet
Three conference rooms and a ballroom
st. mary recreation center
stmaryparishdevelopment.com
7,400 square feet
n/a
treasures of marilyn
marilynscatering.com
6,720 square feet
Ballroom for up to 500 guests
west calcasieu arena
westcalarena.com
130,000
Permanent seating for 1,800
st. laNDry parisH
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
Opelousas civic center
cityofopelousas.com/civic-center
7,400 square feet
Main room accommodates up to 750
OtHer Facilities
evangeline Downs event center
evangelinedowns.com
11,000 square feet
n/a
tHiBODaux
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
OtHer Facilities
Harang auditorium
ci.thibodaux.la.us
10,000 square feet
n/a
mONrOe-west mONrOe
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
HOtels
clarion inn and suites conference center
monroe-westmonroe.org
209 rooms
21,000 square feet
11 function rooms; on-site catering; AV
Hilton Garden inn
www.westmonroe.hgi.com
134 hotel rooms
3,439 square feet
full service catering, a/v
OtHer Facilities
St. Martin PariSh
OtHer Facilities
cade community center
stmartinparish-la.org/news.html
13,000 square feet
Three conference rooms; stage; two dressing
rooms; ticket booth
verMiliOn
OtHer Facilities
magdalen place
magdalenplace.com
12,000 square feet
Ballroom; parlor; courtyard; remote recording
truck; recording engineers, producers and
video production available
wolff Ballroom and reception Hall (washington)
grandcoteauhouse.com
6,000 square feet
On National Registry of Historic Places
iBeria parisH
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
HOtels
Hampton inn and suites
hamptoninn.com
102 rooms
3,950 square feet
Business center
ramada conference center
ramada.com/newiberia
172 rooms
7,500 square feet
Business center; garden courtyard
spOrtsmaN’s paraDise
laKe cHarles/sOutHwest lOuisiaNa
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
HOtels
Delta Downs racetrack casino & Hotel
deltadowns.com
203 rooms
10,912 square feet
Delta Events Center can seat 887 theater-style
the atrium Hotel and conference center
theatrium.biz
190 rooms
8,500 square feet
Full-service catering; AV
isle Of capri casino Hotel
lake-charles.isleofcapricasinos.com
493 rooms
14,500 square feet
AV services; Wi-Fi; full catering services
l’auberge du lac casino resort
ldlcasino.com
1,000 rooms
26,000 square feet
Championship golf course; marina; eight
restaurants
monroe civic center complex
ci.monroe.la.us/monroe-civic-center.php
22,000 square feet
Convention center; arena; conference hall;
theater; equestrian pavilion on 31 acres
west monroe convention center
9,500 square feet
Three conference halls; in-house catering
lake charles civic center
cityoflakecharles.com
72,010 square feet
Lakefront promenade; main coliseum; Rosa
Hart Theatre
liNcOlN parisH
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
OtHer Facilities
14,000 square feet
Located on downtown Lake Charles
lincoln parish library events center
experienceruston.com
12,000 square feet
the Brick House
brickhousecateringandevents.com
Three breakout rooms; small and large
exhibition space
sHrevepOrt/BOssier city
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
Burton coliseum
visitlakecharles.org/conventions
242,000 square feet
Coliseum Agricultural Arena; covered livestock
and exhibit space
the calcasieu marine National Bank
empireoftheseed.com
3,960 square feet
On National Register of Historic Places
267 rooms
14,000 square feet
Business center; free high-speed Internet;
multiple catering options
OtHer Facilities
HOtels
clarion Hotel shreveport
clarionhotel.com
47
DiamondJacks casino and resort,
Bossier city
diamondjacks.com/bossiercity.aspx
559 rooms
22,000 square feet
1,200-seat showroom
coughlin-sanders performing arts center
letusentertain.com
3,850 square feet
615-seat theater
eldorado resort casino shreveport
eldoradoshreveport.com
6,000 square feet
n/a
the learning center for
rapides parish
thelcrp.net
40,000 square feet
Hilton shreveport convention center Hotel
hilton.com
313 rooms
350,000 square feet
Connected to convention center; business
center; restaurants; complimentary Internet
Eight standard meeting rooms; 10 smart
meeting rooms with integrated technology;
computer and science labs; largest room seats
120 and has interactive presentation software
227 rooms
6,000 square feet
Located by Shreveport Regional Airport;
24-hour business center
rapides parish coliseum
therapidesparishcoliseum.com
85,000 square feet
Holiday inn shreveport west
holidayinn.com
Arena; exhibit hall; parking; RV hookups;
banquet facilities; helicopter pad; meeting
rooms; all on 40 acres
Holiday inn Downtown
holidayinn-shreveport.com
190 rooms
5,410 square feet
n/a
NatcHitOcHes
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
sam’s town Hotel and casino
samstownshreveport.com
21,000 square feet
Largest and most flexible meeting space in the
area; state-of-the-art AV
Natchitoches events center
natchitocheseventscenter.com
40,000 square feet
Exhibit hall; three meeting rooms; executive
boardroom
saBiNe parisH
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
Bossier civic center complex bossiercity.org/civic-center
24,000 square feet
n/a
HOtels
shreveport convention center
shreveportcenter.com
350,000 square feet
Walking distance to downtown
cypress Bend Golf resort spa
and conference Hotel
cypressbend.com
67 rooms
11,000 square feet
Ballroom; two boardrooms; learning center
with amphitheater-style seating and integrated
technology
OtHer Facilities
270,000 square feet
14,000-seat arena
100 rooms
7,404 square feet
Convention center; activity center
centurytel center, Bossier city
centurytelcenter.com
emerald Hills Golf resort
emeraldhillsgolfresort.com
municipal auditorium
shreveportmunicipalauditorium.com
6,300 square feet
Seats 3,000
wildwood resort
wildwood-resort.com
63 rooms
16,600 square feet
Lakeside cottages; cabins and lodges;
on-site catering
viDalia
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
37,000 square feet
n/a
crOssrOaDs
OtHer Facilities
Bryant O. Hammett, Jr. vidalia conference
and convention center
vidaliaconventioncenter.com
alexaNDria/piNeville area
rOOms/meetiNG space
Details
HOtels
alexander Fulton Hotel and convention center
alexanderfulton.net
140 rooms
11,088 square feet
Connected to Alexandria Riverfront Center;
riverfront ballroom
Best western inn and suites and convention center
bestwestern.com
190 rooms
12,000 square feet
In-room high-speed Internet access
sai convention center and Hotel/
Baymont inn and suites
saiconventioncenterandhotel.com
171 rooms
33,500 square feet
Exhibit and meeting space divisible into 16
sections; covered walkway connects hotel and
conference center
parc england Boutique Hotel/Bistro on the Bayou
parcenglandhotel.com
48 rooms
7,300 square feet
Conference seating up to 500
alexandria/pineville
theheartoflouisiana.com
Kenner
kennercvb.com
Natchitoches
natchitoches.net
st. landry parish
cajuntravel.com
pineville convention center/country inn and suites
countryinns.com/pinevillela
100 rooms
6,665 square feet
n/a
Baton rouge
visitbatonrouge.com
lafayette
lafayette.travel
New Orleans
neworleanscvb.com
st. martin parish
cajuncountry.org
Bayou lafourche area/
thibodaux
visitlafourche.com
lake charles
visitlakecharles.org
ruston/lincoln parish
rustonlincoln.com
st. tammany parish/
louisiana’s Northshore
louisiananorthshore.com
Granberry convention center at louisiana college
lacollege.edu
6,048 square feet
Eight meeting rooms
louisiana tourism
louisianatravel.com
sabine parish
toledobendlakecountry.com
alexandria riverfront center
alexandriariverfrontcenter.com
32,000 square feet
12,500 square feet outdoors
Ballroom can be divided into six
meeting rooms
Houma
houmatravel.com
tangipahoa parish
tangi-cvb.org
iberia parish
iberiatravel.com
monroe-west monroe
shreveport-Bossier
shreveport-bossier.org
vidalia
seevidalia.com
12,000 square feet
1,000-seat auditorium; walking distance to
Alexandria Riverfront Center
Jefferson parish
experiencejefferson.com
morgan city
cajuncoast.com
st. Bernard parish
visitstbernard.com
vermilion parish
vermilion.org
OtHer Facilities
convention Hall
cityofalexandriala.com/public-facilities-rental
cvB Directory
49
© Misty Leigh McElroy/Nicholls State University; Lake Charles CVB; neworleansonline.com
The atmosphere, venues and activities in Louisiana’s cities and parishes add up to great excitement and roi. Here’s just a sampling, clockwise from
the top: indian mounds on Lsu campus; Tabasco bottles at the avery island factory; and fireworks over the mississippi in Baton rouge.
© Jim Zietz LSU Public Affairs; Iberia Parish CVB; Baton Rouge CVB
Last Look
art, history and antique shopping are among the activities that satisfy attendees’ desire for new and special experiences when traveling to meetings.
on this page, clockwise from top: chauvin sculpture garden; new orleans’ magazine street; and Lake charles’ charpentier Historic district.
51
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While meeting on the Northshore,
Wildlife and ecotours are popular with most groups. clockwise from top: slim the giraffe at Global Wildlife center in Folsom; Grand isle Butterfly
Dome; and getting friendly with a native inhabitant on a swamp tour with Louisiana Tour company.
louisiananorthshore.com; experiencejefferson.com
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Transcription

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