"Think Green" with Destination Hotels & Resorts

Famed former Vogue editor Diana Vreeland might have inspired the famous “Think Pink” quote, but Destination Hotels & Resorts says, “Think Green” for your next meeting.

“A green meeting will now be standard throughout all group, meeting and conference center properties in the Destination collection,” says Mark Hickey, senior vp of operations. “Basic principles of waste reduction, water conservation, as well as sustainable food and beverage practices are among the customary meeting offerings.”

Some key components include:

• recycling stations and bins in all meeting rooms
• white boards instead of flip charts (when flip charts are used, only post-consumer recycled content paper will be available)
• donating or reusing leftover conference supplies such as pens and papers
• meals with regional ingredients from sustainable suppliers
• digital thermostats to control meeting room temperatures

Destination Hotels works with NASA’s Destination Earth to create a baseline standard of sustainable practices for the company’s hotels while encouraging individual properties to be innovative in their operations.

And Hickey emphasizes that Destination Hotels—with over 30 upscale properties in the US, including Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston above—will offer deeper shades of green for meetings when “a planner wants to employ even more aggressive sustainability practices.”
—Paloma Villaverde de Rico

The Signature at MGM Grand (partner content)

In the heart of the action of MGM Grand beats the pulse of an exclusive retreat—The Signature at MGM Grand. Although designed as a quiet enclave, The Signature is right in the middle of the excitement, offering the perfect balance of energy and escape. The Signature’s three beautiful and distinctive towers each feature 576 suites designed around comfort and personalized service, making it the ideal location for business travelers.

From the moment your team arrives, we take care of the details so you can focus on your event. It starts with our 24-hour concierge, and continues to our spacious suites, with pillow-top beds, lavish bathrooms, upscale linens, and gourmet in-suite dining around the clock. The Signature is a non-smoking, non-gaming property and has convenient access to McCarran International Airport, as well as the Las Vegas Monorail station at MGM Grand.

Tower 2 and Tower 3 of The Signature feature three unique meeting spaces. Tower 2 has nearly 2,000 sf of space with two meeting rooms and a state-of-the-art boardroom. Tower 3 has close to 2,500 sf of meeting space, including pre-function space, one boardroom and two meeting rooms. All meeting rooms are on the first level and provide access to outdoor terraces, perfect for breaks between sessions.

Only steps away from the serenity of The Signature is complete access to the excitement of MGM Grand’s maximum VegasSM experience. Explore the trendy shops and bustling casino floor, or take a swim in the Grand Pool Complex or newly unveiled Wet Republic Ultra Pool. Unwind with a treatment at the celebrated Grand Spa, or update your look at Cristophe Salon. When you’re ready to indulge your taste buds, MGM Grand offers cuisine from gourmet restaurants like Craftsteak and FiAMMA and celebrity chefs like Joël Robuchon and Michael Mina.

At MGM Grand, you will experience world-class entertainment that is second to none. Check out a show at the Grand Garden Arena, hosting performances by Madonna, the Rolling Stones, championship boxing and nationally televised awards shows. Not to be missed is Cirque du Soleil’s renowned production of KÀ, a theatrical show combining acrobatics, martial arts and pyrotechnics. For something a bit more sultry, Crazy Horse Paris celebrates the artistry of the nude with beautiful women and breathtaking choreography. And for exhilarating nightlife, your clients can feel the pulse of Studio 54, Tabú Ultra Lounge and the red-hot Rouge.

French designer. Italian furniture. Aruba Hyatt

Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort & Casino wrapped up a $20 million renovation with four new specialty suites, ranging from 1,150 to 2,500 sf. The new look is thoroughly contemporary with authentic Italian furnishings, leather woven rugs, Mitchell Gold sofas, McGuire lounge chairs and soaking tubs by French designer Phillipe Starck. The rest of the 360 guestrooms and suites share a similar design mission incorporating streamlined European-style furnishings, orange and chartreuse colors, and designer bathrooms. All feature balconies, with views of the beach, gardens or pool.

Hyatt Aruba has always been known for a function-friendly layout that marries the thick landscape studded with brightly bursting flora, the lagoon and tiered pools, waterfront restaurants and the physical property itself, beginning with the long open-air lobby. With this renovation, it has secured its place as Aruba’s most luxurious group hotel. During a walkthrough in October (‘09), and two times previous, one gets the sense that the staff knows how special this property is and aims to keep it that way. The property is spotless and the service, for the price point, is seamless.

Total meeting space is 9,200 sf indoors/10,800 outdoors, and the hotel is one of the few with its own private dock and group watersports center. Planners can request beach parties with large screen theaters in the ocean and TVs set up around the beach.

Tallahassee finds its glam groove

With more than a few Seminoles here at Prevue, we can say with no uncertainty that Tallahassee is home to Florida’s most beautiful college campus and bucketloads of Southern charm. Designer digs for groups? Not so much.

That changed with last month’s opening of the fully refurbished Hotel Duval in downtown Tallahassee, within the shell of a landmark hotel originally built in 1951. The aesthetic is chic and wholly contemporary, but (thankfully) no design decisions were made without comfort and convenience being top priorities. And with over 500 revelers swarming the opening night “Vegas Meets South Beach” theme party, there’s no doubt the hotel sees itself as much as a happening hot spot for gala events as well as a business hotel just steps from the Capitol Building. 

The 117-room boutique features a rooftop lounge with both indoor and outdoor party space, along with 7,000 sf of function space. And guests can customize the palette of color options in their room depending on their mood.

Dining options start with Florida’s highly regarded Shula Restaurant group. We like the wild mushroom ravioli with red wine-braised Black Angus boneless short ribs at Shula’s 347 Grill. After dinner, Tallahassee’s previously ignored trendsetters make their way to Level 8 lounge on the rooftop for sophisticated nightlife. Unless the Seminoles are playing University of Florida, of course. We can't be held responsible for your group on that one night of the year.