Looking to Plan a North Carolina Meeting?
Learn everything you need to know about this popular locale at
Destination Southeast, Northstar’s premier event for meetings and incentive pros looking to book biz in the area.
Why N.C. for Your Next Meeting or Event?
Whether your group prefers water, mountains, big-city action or small-town charm, North Carolina has it all.
Recent Hotel & Venue News for Raleigh
Downtown, a mansion built before the Civil War has been revitalized as a boutique hotel. The nine-room Heights House Hotel opened in May 2021. The property, which is a National Historic Landmark, has indoor and outdoor space available for events of up to 120 people.
The AC Hotel Raleigh Downtown opened its doors in September 2021. The new property has 149 rooms, 2,800 square feet of event space, and a rooftop lounge serving tapas and cocktails with views of the city.
The stone-terraced Anderson Point Amphitheater is a gorgeous setting for outdoor events. Inside the sprawling Anderson Point Park, the venue can host more than 300 people.
The city is looking for developers for a full-service 500-room convention hotel on city-owned property downtown. The site is across from the Raleigh Convention Center and its 146,843 square feet of exhibit space, as well as the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
The 126-room Origin Raleigh in the city’s Warehouse District opened in 2020. Part of the Bloc(83) mixed-use development, the lifestyle hotel features the Good Day Good Night restaurant serving a plant-forward menu. Also on site are a lobby bar, a fitness center and an 800-square-foot meeting room.
Travel Essentials
TAXES: County tax, 8%; state tax, 4.75%; total tax on hotel rooms, 12.75%
CVB:Visit Raleigh
Transportation in and Around the Area
Raleigh-Durham International Airport, about 18 miles from the convention center. Transfer cost by Taxi, $43; Uber and Lyft starts around $23.
N.C. in Winter
Northstar's downloadable white paper, "The Off-Season Advantage", profiles 10 U.S. cities -- Winston-Salem, N.C. included -- and their off-season group offerings. Get all the insight on the benefit of planning a "slow-month" meeting by
accessing your copy here.
Meeting Hotels & Event Venues in Wilmington
A luxury hotel is coming to Wilmington International Airport. ILM Airport Hotel Partners plan to work with IHG Hotels & Resorts to build a 150-room Crowne Plaza with 5,000 square feet of meeting space, which is expected to open by spring 2024. The property will be the first to open on the airport's grounds.
What was once a private oasis is now a picturesque venue. Airlie Gardens welcomes events from March through October.
Group properties in town include the 272-room Hotel Ballast,
186-room Embassy Suites by Hilton Wilmington Riverfront Hotel and 127-room Holiday Inn Wilmington.
Lovely raw space with old brick walls and white rafters marks Bakery 105, which was built as part of the American Bakeries complex in the late 1930s. The former bread-loading dock
is now a 3,400-square-foot garden courtyard; along with the 4,500-square-foot main room, the facility can hold up to 225 people for a reception. (910) 399-1709
Thalian Hall, on the National Register for Historic Places, opened in 1858 to house the town government, the library and an opera house seating 1,000 people -- which was fully 10
percent of Wilmington's population at the time. The facility is comprised of the historic Thalian Hall Main Stage, whose technology and interior were recently upgraded, seating up to 546; the two-story-high City Council Chambers and Ballroom, with
arched windows, which holds up to 200 for a reception, and the Ruth and Bucky Stein Studio Theatre, which recently underwent a major upgrade and seats 60. (910) 632-2285
Travel Essentials
TAXES: Hotel tax, 6%; sales tax, 7%; total tax on rooms, 13%
CVB: Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau, (910) 341-4030 or (877) 406-2356
Transportation in & Around the Area
Wilmington International Airport, four miles from downtown. Transfer cost by taxi, $13; by Uber and Lyft, $8
10 Awesome Activities in the Tar Heel State
From historic to contemporary, nature and military, North Carolina offers a wealth of places to visit. Here are just a few to choose from.
- The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville
- Billy Graham Library, Charlotte
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh
- Battleship North Carolina, Wilmington
- Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Asheville
- International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Greensboro
- Mingo Falls, Cherokee
- Old Salem Museums & Gardens, Winston Salem
- Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Durham