5 Reasons Meeting Profs Love Washington

Seattle’s waterfront redevelopment project has transformed the city’s downtown waterfront. In place of the 60-foot-tall Alaskan Way Viaduct double-decker freeway is now the 20-acre waterfront park. With traffic now redirected through a new tunnel beneath downtown, getting from must-see attractions, like Pike Place Market, to the waterfront is easier (and more scenic) than ever.

Read More: Northwest Events Show Shines Light on Growing Seattle Meetings Infrastructure 

Seattle Aquarium, with its location right on the Elliott Bay Waterfront at Pier 59—moments from Pike Place Market—plus ample education and famous residents such as Queso the giant Pacific octopus and Flaherty the northern fur seal, couldn’t seem to get better—until it did, with the newly debuted Ocean Pavilion, just across the landscaped promenade, featuring a 500,000-gallon coral reef ecosystem.

The Bellevue Collection is Bellevue’s sprawling, dynamic shopping center; calling it a “mall” is an understatement, with its abundance of shops from familiar favorites to local, can’t-get-it-anywhere-else outlets, plus dining options from upscale to grab-and-go, and entertainment like Topgolf Swing Suites at Forum Social House and virtual reality games at mirra.

Riverfront Park is the jewel of Spokane, with abundant walking paths that take you along the Spokane River to visit the historic Looff Carrousel, the Spokane Pavilion (a graceful monument built for the 1974 International Exhibition on the Environment) and the Numerica Skyride for unbeatable views of the river and city.

Woodinville Wine Country is western Washington’s top-notch wine country. Only a 30-minute drive from downtown Seattle, visitors enjoy a delightful small town and over 100 wineries, including Chateau Ste. Michelle, the first winery in the state.

 

5 Places to Meet and Stay

The Davenport Collection is a group of five hotels throughout Spokane, suited for every style meeting, whether you seek a stylish historic vibe, a sprawling convention hotel, a sleek boutique stay or a no less chic budget-friendly option.

129,636 sq. ft. meeting space and 1,787 guest rooms across the five hotels.

Seattle Convention Center is made up of two buildings, the original Arch, which crosses Pike Street via a skybridge, and the 2023-built, LEED Platinum certified Summit, both steps from world-class dining, hotels and entertainment.

1.5 million total sq. ft., with 432,988 sq. ft. at Arch and 573,770 sq. ft. at Summit, including a 14,000-square-foot garden terrace.

Read More: Refract Seattle: The Power of Connecting Events to Local Community

The Westin Seattle is less than a 10-minute walk from the convention center and offers luxurious accommodations in two eye-catching towers; it’s also where President Biden chose to stay in 2022!

70,000 sq. ft. meeting space; 891 guest rooms.

Hyatt Regency Bellevue is one of Bellevue’s premier group business hotels, only about a 10-minute walk to and from Meydenbauer Center, and features a skybridge connection to The Bellevue Collection.

70,000 sq. ft. meeting space; 732 guest rooms.

Meydenbauer Center is Bellevue’s Convention Center. Its central location enables easy access for some downtime exploration and makes it walking distance from nearly 4,000 hotel rooms.

53,390 total sq. ft., with a 36,000-square-foot carpeted, column-free space, 2,080 sq. ft. outdoor space and 11 meeting rooms.