Atlanta: Capital of the South

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By Kristi Casey Sanders
Published: May 3, 2012

Kristi Casey Sanders is the editorial director/chief storyteller of Plan Your Meetings. She frequently speaks at industry functions about how meeting professionals can prove their worth, meet responsibly, integrate technology into events, create innovative experiences and maybe even change the world. Follow her on Twitter @PYMLive or @KristiCasey. And check out her videos on PYM's YouTube channel.

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Downtown/Convention District

Want to meet green?

The World of Coca-Cola is a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold-certified facility; venues include the 160,000-sq. ft. Green Space, a tasting room, a banquet area and a theater. Theatrical Outfit’s Balzer Theater at Herren’s is a LEED Silver-certified building with a 199-seat theater, dressing and green rooms, prefunction space and a rehearsal hall available for rentals. The Georgia World Congress Center is working to reduce energy use by 20 percent and landfill waste by 80 percent in order to become LEED-certified. Eliminate paper use by streamlining your meeting management system and digitizing your registration process with SignUp4.

Want to meet near the green?

The Omni Hotel at CNN Center is across the street from Centennial Olympic Park, steps from the Georgia World Congress Center and a few blocks from AmericasMart, which not long ago added 220,000 square feet of conference and trade-show space. The Omni is connected to Philips Arena, is the nearest hotel to the Georgia Dome, the only four-diamond convention hotel in downtown Atlanta, and a member of the Convention Collection at Centennial Olympic Park. It offers 45 meeting rooms with more than 120,000 square feet of function space, including the 19,864 square foot Grand Ballroom.

Want creative venues?

Centennial Olympic Park has many special facilities within walking distance of the Georgia World Congress Center and AmericasMart. The Tabernacle was built in 1911 as a Baptist church and has been converted into a concert hall; it can accommodate up to 1,500 people for meetings, banquets or special events. CNN Center tours of the 24-hour news network’s headquarters are one of the top convention attractions; planners can create “Prime Time Events” in its Control Room Theater, atrium, terrace or 50-ft. globe. Centennial Olympic Park can host private outdoor events and concerts. Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta has interactive gallery space for receptions and private events.

Need audio/visual or hybrid event assistance?

Active Production and Design Inc. is the exclusive in-house A/V partner for the Georgia Aquarium and Atlanta Event Center at Opera, and it also is the go-to solution for many people who book space at the Atlanta History Center, Woodruff Arts Center, Puritan Mill, Fox Theatre, Georgia World Congress Center and Georgia International Convention Center. In addition to providing lights and sound, Active can videotape educational sessions and broadcast live, hybrid and virtual events.

Want to break out of the boardroom?

The Loft at Castleberry Hill is three blocks from the Georgia Dome and Georgia World Conference Center in the heart of Atlanta’s hip gallery district. The full-service venue has a dramatic and airy split-level layout, with the ground-floor space divisible by a futuristic airwall that zips up into the ceiling like a window shade. Five floor plans are available according to group size (25 to 400 guests). Amenities include on-site catering, three custom bars, a stage, a dance floor, lounge-style furnishings and a patio. The Oceans Ballroom at the Georgia Aquarium has two glass viewing stations where attendees can peer into tanks holding beluga whales and aquatic species from the world’s oceans. The entire ballroom seats up to 1,100 people or can accommodate up to 1,500 for a reception; it also can be partitioned for smaller events (the Arctic Room is the one with the view into the beluga whale habitat). For VIPs, think about scheduling a 2.5-hour “Journey With Gentle Giants” adventure, where they can swim or scuba dive with the sharks and fish in the Ocean Voyager tank. A $110-million Dolphin Center with stadium seating for 16,000 also is available.

Want group dining?

Several downtown restaurants have private dining facilities. No Más! Cantina has a stunning patio with fountains and lush greenery, and serves wicked margaritas and tasty upscale Mexican food in the middle of the historic Castleberry Hill district. McCormick and Schmick’s offers high-end seafood in a sophisticated, business-friendly environment; audio/visual equipment and event planning assistance is available. Ray’s in the City is an award-winning steak and seafood restaurant with private and semi-private dining spaces; Delta Sky Magazine named it one of the “World’s Best Seafood Restaurants.” The Hard Rock Café Atlanta has a living museum of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia, and three venues for music-themed meetings and events. The main café holds up to 800 guests reception-style, the Velvet Underground room has a 200-person capacity and the Atlanta Rythym Section room holds up to 75. Ruth’s Chris is a first-rate steakhouse at Centennial Park. Luckie Food Lounge, housed in a former auto parts warehouse, combines club chic with nouvelle American cuisine, and is within walking distance of the Rialto and Balzer theaters. Convention dining staples include Hsu’s and the “Gone With the Wind”-themed Pittypat’s Porch (considered to have the best mint juleps in town).

Want to shake up a meal function?

Every Tuesday and Thursday at noon from April through October, free concerts are performed in the Southern Company Amphitheater in Centennial Olympic Park, which is a short walk from CNN Center and downtown’s major convention hotels. Planners can arrange for box lunches to be delivered to the site, giving attendees a change of scenery for an hour before heading back into sessions. Turner Field, where the Atlanta Braves play, has a entire section devoted to “all-you- can-eat seats.” Planners can buy game tickets and attendees will have access to all the food and sodas they want. The Outfield Pavilion offers a traditional hot dog/veggie dog/hamburger menu; the Golden Moon Casino Pavilion offers a little more variety and access to Club Level amenities. Turner Field’s 755 Club offers year-round availability; meeting space for 75 to 500 and reception space for 75 to 3,000; audio/visual services; complimentary parking on non-game day; team-building activities; VIP tours of the ballpark; Matrix message boards; and more than 70 custom TV monitors. If you have a group of 1,500 to 5,000, consider booking the entire Georgia Aquarium for a progressive event with food and drink stations set up throughout the atrium, gallery, exhibit and ballroom spaces.

Want a room with a view?

Two penthouse-level hotel restaurants — Nikolai’s Roof and the Sundial — serve up stellar views of the city and world-class cuisine. Nikolai’s specializes in Russian-Continental dishes. The Sundial serves contemporary American in a revolving dining room. For a more casual, but no less elegant, experience the Peasant Bistro is a two-story restaurant overlooking Centennial Olympic Park that serves fresh, seasonal cuisine with French and Mediterranean influences. Other amenities include a private dining area, a hip bar/reception area and live jazz entertainment. Ventanas is a rooftop event space across the street from the Georgia World Congress Center that has more than 9,500 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting and event space for groups of up to 500 people.

Want catering and design services?

Tony Conway’s A Legendary Event was the recipient of a 2008 Catered Arts Through Innovative Excellence (CATIE) Award from the International Caterers Association; the company provides event design and florals as well as full-service catering services. EventScapes specializes in floral and event design for corporate and social events. Other recommended full-service caterers include Bold American Catering, which operates a special events facility at King Plow Arts Center, and Affairs to Remember, which has an impressive showroom on Defoor Hills Road. Need a trade show backdrop or runner? EZ Backdrops specializes in creating portable, lightweight display items.

Want to meet in a place with history?

Sweet Auburn was once the richest black neighborhood in the world; today, it is best known as the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who preached at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. The National Park Service, in partnership with the Ebenezer Baptist Church and the King Center, operate several facilities within the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, including the outdoor Peace Plaza, gallery space and Firestation No. 6. Much of the original city center of Atlanta was paved over and preserved as Underground Atlanta, now a collection of shops, nightclubs with event space and restaurants. The Event Loft at Underground Atlanta is an upscale venue with a dance floor, a balcony overlooking Underground’s Kenny’s Alley and an exterior veranda with a view of the downtown skyline.

Want artistic settings?

Monthly Castleberry Hill Art Strolls wind through Atlanta’s top avant-garde galleries; create a dine-around or progressive event through the neighborhood’s funky restaurants and alternative art spaces. Turner First Thursdays spotlight downtown galleries; many strolls end with cocktails in the Sun Dial’s stunning revolving bar. The Robert Ferst Center for the Arts, the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts and the Balzer Theater at Herren’s host world-class productions from local and international troupes, and are available for private functions. The 1,155-seat Ferst Center also has gallery venues for luncheons, receptions or meetings for groups of 150 or less.

Want sports-themed events?

Turner Field offers meeting and event space year-round in its spacious 755 Club, which has exhibit space, private banquet areas, VIP seating and a bar. It offers some of the best seats in the house on game days. Group tours of the Braves locker room and stadium, and access to the interactive Scout’s Alley and Braves Museum also are available. Burgess Amusements has an impressive inventory of virtual reality simulators ranging from alpine skiing to racing to golf, carnival games, inflatable team-building equipment and Brooks Lake, a facility for outdoor corporate events 25 miles east of Atlanta. Create a sports bar anywhere with PortaParty, a portable hospitality venue available for corporate shows and special events. If it’s group tickets you’re after, Empire Tickets gives planner access to the hottest seats at sporting events, theaters and concerts.

Want to meet somewhere wild?

Lions and tigers and panda bears, oh my! Zoo Atlanta encourages groups to go wild with meeting packages that include scavenger hunts, animal encounters and “zoofari” tours. Zoo Atlanta also offers team-building programs through Drum Café Atlanta and catering through Culinary Sol. Trader Vic’s can create Tongo Hiti parties featuring entertainment from the phenomenally talented crooner Mike Geier and Dames A’Flame burlesque dancers.

Want transportation?

A fun way attendees to see the city is by Segway. Atlanta Segway Tours offers day and evening tours of downtown Atlanta’s historic, cultural and haunted sites including the Sweet Auburn District, Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, the World of Coca-Cola and Underground Atlanta. Greene Classic Limousines is the largest transportation company in Atlanta, and is affiliated with transportation companies nationwide. Its fleet includes sedans, stretch limousines, SUVs, corporate vans, mini-buses and coaches.

Want fun take-away items?

Schott Chocolate Images can translate any idea or logo you have into a chocolate gift, whether it’s a chocolate business card or a gift basket. Photo booths that can instantly print edible images of attendees onto chocolate also are available for events.

Southside/Airport

What you should know:

The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world’s busiest passenger airport, and a 10-year, $5.4 billion development program to modernize and expand facilities is underway. Nearly 80 percent of the U.S. population can fly into Atlanta in two hours or less.

What will surprise you:

Airport hotels put attendees within eight miles of downtown Atlanta, and many are convenient to MARTA. The main convention center in the area is the Georgia International Convention Center, which has a 150,000-sq. ft. exhibit hall and is connected to two hotels.

Want to break out of the boardroom?

Bring your group to Dolce Atlanta-Peachtree‘s secluded 40-acre campus. Residential-style accommodations and meeting rooms with natural lighting are the tip of the iceberg. Other amenities include common areas for networking and team building, 90 miles of paved hiking/biking paths, Canongate Championship golf courses, evening entertainment and lakeside dining. Twenty-five miles south of the airport is The Inn at Serenbe. Part of an eco-friendly development built around a lake and a Main Street area, the inn and its conference center have a rustic, relaxed vibe. Meeting facilities are high-tech, but housed in historic buildings filled with quirky touches like beanbag chairs. Also south of the airport is the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center, a 100 percent non-smoking facility which uses state-of-art CleanAir purification technology in a portion of its 250 guestrooms and throughout its 26,000 square feet of IACC-approved meeting and event space.

Want Southern-themed events?

The Historic Green Manor in Union City is a plantation home with indoor banquet/reception space and outdoor event space surrounded by azaleas, magnolias, pecans, pansies and camellias.

Want to meet by the airport?

Airport convention hotels are minutes from downtown and the Georgia International Convention Center; many offer complimentary shuttle service from Hartsfield-Jackson. The Westin Atlanta Airport has a 10-story atrium lobby, 500 guest rooms and 23,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including 25 meeting rooms for groups of eight to 800 and an amphitheater with pre-function space. The 380-room Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Airport Hotel has 35,000 square feet of meeting space, including 28 breakout rooms and a 1,500-person ballroom. The 385-room, LEED-certified Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway is a two-minute ride from the airport via the free ATL Skytrain. Amenities include 20,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 1,100-person Grand Ballroom and quick access to the adjacent Georgia International Convention Center.

Want group dining?

The Pecan serves Southern fusion cuisine at its Main Street location and can cater off-site events. The restaurant is available for private dining on Mondays, Sunday nights and Saturday afternoons. The Feed Store offers group dining and catering for groups of up to 250. Spondivits serves seafood and steaks in a casual, family friendly atmosphere. Ted’s Montana Grill is the brainchild of local icon Ted Turner; menus feature blue-plate classics, and all-natural beef, bison and chicken. In Serenbe, restaurants include The Farmhouse, Blue Eyed Daisy Bakeshop and The Hil. Menus are seasonal and based on what is being grown at Serenbe Organic Farms.

Want to rev things up?

Rent out the track or road course at Atlanta Motor Speedway for a team-building adventure. Meeting and banquet rooms also are available.

Midtown

What you should know:

Atlanta’s cultural center is in Midtown, which is home to the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre, Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the breathtaking Fox Theatre and the world-renowned High Museum of Art. A flurry of development has added retail and dining districts in the form of Atlantic Station and the in-development Midtown Mile, a stretch of high-end designer shopping, comparable to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile or New York’s Madison Avenue, scheduled to open in 2012.

Want to put attendees in touch with nature?

Roll out the green carpet for attendees at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, which has several venues, including Day Hall (capacity: 500), Mershon Hall (capacity: 100) and the Georgia-Pacific Classroom (capacity: 50). Outdoor banquet space and eco-friendly catering options are available, and a recent “green” expansion added additional parking, event and garden space. Piedmont Park has a lakeside gazebo, spacious lawns, softball fields, jungle gyms and indoor/outdoor event space within walking distance to several hotels.

Want to pamper attendees?

The Four Seasons offers luxurious accommodations, meeting space and a spa. For an elegant dining experience, take groups to Veni Vidi Vici, which serves seasonal Italian dishes and hand-made pastas. The Loews Atlanta Hotel‘s 40,000+ square feet of flexible function space can accommodate groups of all sizes, whether it’s a board directors meeting for 15, a corporate retreat for 50 or a product launch for 1,000. The hotel’s largest space is the Ellington Ballroom, with 4,640 square feet. It can accommodate 1,229 theater-style, 1,107 reception-style and 921 banquet-style. The Mercer Ballroom, with 1,312 square feet, can accommodate 606 theater-style, 683 reception-style and 420 banquet-style. The facility also has 10 breakout rooms (480 to 1,260 square feet), 414 guest rooms (including 44 suites) and 11 restaurants. One nifty amenity: Loews provides free transportation in an Infiniti QX56 within a three-mile radius of the hotel. The Atlanta Event Center at Opera is one of the hottest special event facilities in town; the 1920s opera house-cum-dance club has a dramatic main lounge/dance floor area flanked by balconies, a patio and other gathering areas.

Want to roll out the red carpet?

The historic Georgian Terrace Hotel has seen the likes of Calvin Coolidge, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Clark Gable; amenities include grand ballrooms, banquet halls, patio dining and multi-bedroom suites. Across the street is Atlanta’s theatrical treasure, the Fox Theatre, an atmospheric theater with a private stairway to its Egyptian Ballroom and Grand Salon event spaces, and an expansive marble entryway to its 5,000-seat theater. Inside, the auditorium is designed to resemble a Moorish castle courtyard with twinkling stars and clouds that move across the ceiling’s “sky.” Tours are available.

Want to surround your group with culture?

The High Museum has dramatic galleries, lobby and atrium spaces, designed by Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, which are popular venues for banquets and receptions. Other venues include theater and classroom space. Exhibits range from retrospectives of famous artists, such as Salvador Dali, to innovative explorations of modern design in objects not typically considered art, like automobiles.

Want group dining?

Located within walking distance of the Fox Theatre and midtown hotels, Gordon Biersch is housed in an airy industrial-looking space that has a patio and a mezzanine party loft (capacity: 150) with a dedicated bar, an enclosed meeting room and several pool tables. The entire restaurant may be booked for gatherings of up to 450 people. Concentrics Restaurants, the group behind hot midtown restaurants ONE.midtown kitchen, TWO urban licks and Tap, have private dining areas at each location. Atlantic Station restaurants, such as Geisha House, Fox Sports Grill and Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, can accommodate large groups. Shout, by the Woodruff Arts Center, is a popular local hangout with a hopping patio. Also, check out the stretch of restaurants and clubs along Crescent Avenue (South City Kitchen, Sutra Lounge). For fine Asian cuisine, Nan offers elegant surroundings, excellent food and private group dining.

Westside

What you should know:

The neighborhood west of midtown is known as the “Westside.” Once an industrial park, it now is home to artist studios; boutique shops; outlet furniture, design and clothing stores; and restaurants like JCT and Bacchanalia, which have garnered national attention. Event spaces are a quick shuttle ride (5-7 minutes) from downtown and midtown hotels.

Want to break out of the boardroom?

The Defoor Centre has a café/bar, a book market, art exhibits, and multiple meeting and event venues (Forum, Gatsby Room, Rhombus Room and Executive Board Room). The Forum is an octagonal gallery space with 30-ft. ceilings and a stage; the Gatsby Room can be configured for seminars, meetings or receptions; the Rhombus Room has a dedicated bar and is configured for networking and breakout sessions; and the Executive Board Room has seating for 10. Atlanta Contemporary Art (also called The Contemporary) has gallery space, artist studios, a lobby reception area, classroom space, a 5,000-sq. ft. courtyard and a 3,500-sq. ft. courtyard.

Want to meet in a place with history?

The King Plow Arts Center is a renovated plow factory that now houses several special facilities, including The View, a tri-level, 5,000-sq. ft. space; The Event Gallery, an art gallery/banquet area operated by Bold American Catering; and Actor’s Express, the city’s premier cutting-edge theater. The Foundry at Puritan Mill used to be a storehouse for Puritan soap and cleaning products; today, it’s a multi-use facility accommodating up to 1,200 people reception-style and 800 people for a seated banquet.

Want spousal activities?

Create a shopping tour. Clothes boutiques include Demure Clothing, Sprout, Sid Mashburn and G. Gilbert, and Atlantic Station is nearby. This is a great area to explore home décor and antiques at shops such as 14th St. Antiques Market, The Big Chandelier, IKEA and Savvy Snoot. Art galleries include the Watson Gallery, O’Karma Gallery, The Contemporary and Abstein Gallery. Among the winding streets of the Chattahoochee Industrial District are cavernous warehouses devoted to imported goods, Oriental rugs, discount clothing and shoes, and other specialty items.

Want help with planning, marketing or ROI measurement?

Actio Marketing (formerly the WOW Factory) is a one-stop shop, offering planners and clients planning assistance for business-to-business meetings and marketing activities. Other services include event management, staging, execution, PR, advertising and design. Combined the team has over 30 years industry experience, and event and marketing ROI measurement is one of their specialties.

Buckhead

What you should know:

Buckhead is synonymous with luxury dining, shopping and four-star accommodations. The buc is a free shuttle connecting Buckhead’s malls, hotels and MARTA stations.

Want to shake up a meal function?

Get things shaking with dinner at the exotic Imperial Fez, which has nightly bellydancing shows.

Want to team-build?

300 Atlanta isn’t just a bowling alley, it’s also a special events facility with a full-service catering department. With its fully-stocked bars, chic clientele, upscale décor and sophisticated sound system, it has a nightclub feel. Private party areas with bowling lanes and a dedicated bar are available.

Want to meet in a place with history?

Built in 1904, Rhodes Hall is literally a castle on Peachtree Street. The first floor of the mansion can be set up for special events, receptions or meetings, and outdoor event space is available. The Atlanta History Center has multiple options for meeting space, including two historic homes, a grand ballroom, theaters, gallery space and classrooms.

Want spa packages?

Spa Sydell has gentlemen’s services, and can either arrange on-site corporate spa parties or bring a mobile spa to hotels and events. The Spa on Paces has been pampering Atlantans for more than 10 years.

Want a central meeting location?

The Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead has more than 30,000 square feet of meeting space, including two ballrooms with a shared 5,550-sq. ft. pre-function space, three outdoor terraces and 17 meeting rooms. Additional amenities include 438 guest rooms, the Cassis restaurant, Onyx at the Grand bar, and complimentary transportation within a two-mile radius.

Want group dining?

The Buckhead Life Restaurant Group is known for its excellent food and service; restaurants include dedicated special events facility 103 West (Continental), Bistro Niko (casual French), Buckhead Diner (American), Kyma (Greek), Bluepointe (Asian fusion/sushi), Atlanta Fish Market (seafood), Pricci (Italian), Chops (steaks) and Nava (Southwestern). Gordon Biersch‘s Buckhead location offers private and semi-private areas for groups of 10 to 500 people. Guided tours of the on-site brewery also are available. Fadó is an Irish pub and restaurant with several themed dining areas and a rooftop patio. Horseradish Grill is the oldest continuously operated restaurant in Atlanta. Located by Chastain Park, it serves regional, organic cuisine, some of which is harvested from its garden, and it has two private rooms and patio space. Other options include neighborhood favorite Restaurant Eugene.

Want spousal programs?

Buckhead is home to two of the best malls in the Southeast (Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza), which sit kitty-corner from each other; 40 percent of the malls’ shoppers travel more than 100 miles to get there. Bloomingdale’s and Neiman-Marcus anchor Lenox Square; shops include Louis Vuitton and Kate Spade. Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue anchor Phipps Plaza; stores include Versace and Armani. The free buc (Buckhead Uptown Connection) shuttle runs between the two malls regularly, and the surrounding area is home to several upscale boutiques like Sebastian’s Closet and Y3.

Little Five Points and Inman Park

What you should know:

These two, eclectic neighborhoods are slightly east of Atlanta. Little Five Points is home to funky boutiques, live music clubs, theaters and casual eateries. Inman Park is its grown-up, slightly more sophisticated sibling, with high-end restaurants and new residential and retail spaces. The area also is connected by the PATH bicycle trail to midtown and Stone Mountain, and has green space in the form of several parks.

Want to meet in a place with history?

Known for hosting leaders and speakers from around the world, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center and Museum has flexible indoor/outdoor meeting and event space in venues ranging from an executive boardroom and a theater to a Japanese garden. Jimmy Carter likes to attend events if he’s in town.

Want group dining?

Chef Kevin Rathbun operates three stellar restaurants in the renovated Stoveworks factory building on Krog Street. Rathbun’s Restaurant has a private dining/reception space in its Wine Room (capacity: 40 seated), patio (capacity: 65 seated) and lobby (capacity: 75 seated). The Krog Bar is known for its tapas and wine selections; groups may buy out the entire restaurant. Kevin Rathbun Steak has private dining in its Cookbook Library, a 100-year-old renovated wine cellar, and its banquet room (capacity: 20 seated). Wisteria serves Southern fusion cuisine and can accommodate groups of up to 120 people. More casual dining options are available at the Vortex Bar & Grill, Italian restaurants Sotto Sotto and Fritti, and the Flying Biscuit Café, famous for its all-day breakfast menu. Looking for something a little different? Il Localino brings a bit of Little Italy to Atlanta; diners are given hats to wear and treated to spontaneous opera singing, Italian dinner music and disco lights (the food’s good, too).

Want to team-build?

Dad’s Garage has a full roster of home shows ranging from puppet slams to B-movie musicals to improvised comedy and children’s shows. Its team of improvisers also travels to lead custom corporate shows, private classes and team-building workshops.

Want to break out of the boardroom?

Horizon Theatre produces high-quality work and can help planners create pre- or post-show receptions and post-show discussions with the artists. Variety Playhouse, a combination theater and nightclub, can be rented for a show, meeting or special event. 7 Stages, Atlanta’s premier international theater, has the Mainstage and Back Stage theaters available for private group functions.

Virginia-Highland

What you should know:

Seven districts make up this neighborhood named for the central intersection of Virginia and Highland avenues. Famed for its trendy boutiques, charming cafes, innovative restaurants and eclectic mix of specialty shops, Virginia-Highland is a $5 cab ride from downtown and down the street from Little Five Points.

Want group dining?

Private dining is available at Cafe di Sol and Food 101. Pura Vida, Surin of Thailand and Vine all offer customizable menus for private group functions.

Want to be surrounded by the arts?

One of the most photographed locations in Atlanta, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center is a Gothic-Tudor style mansion built in the 1920s. In addition to regular music and dance concerts, the mansion has indoor and outdoor event space, educational arts programs and classroom space.

Decatur/DeKalb County

What you should know:

Atlanta’s DeKalb County is Georgia’s third-largest county with more than 700,000 residents and is home to Georgia’s No. 1 attraction, Stone Mountain Park. DeKalb is the most ethnically diverse county in the Southeast with more than 64 spoken languages representing Asian, Hispanic, European and African cultures, to name a few. The county boasts a diverse selection of world-class museums, art centers, music venues, eclectic neighborhoods and unique shops. Decatur, the heart of DeKalb County, is 15 minutes from downtown but very much its own city, with an arty, intellectual vibe. Decatur is home to Emory University, the Columbia Theological Seminary and Agnes Scott College, and is therefore a center of research and a good source for educational speakers and seminar leaders. The highest concentration of shops and dining is clustered around the stunning Decatur Square, home to many outdoor events, but if you haven’t seen downtown Decatur lately, you probably haven’t seen it at all. New shops, restaurants and residential units seem to open daily, giving the county seat a cosmopolitan feel in a small-town setting.

Want to convene in green?

The 198-room Emory Conference Center Hotel is a Green Seal Environmentally Certified Hotel, the only one of its kind in the state. Eco-initiatives include waste minimization, recycling programs and conservation of water, energy and other natural resources. The Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired architecture fills meeting space and public areas with natural light and brings the building in harmony with its 20-acre wooded campus. Amenities include 23 meeting rooms for up to 700 people, a 240-person and a 70-person amphitheater, a full-service spa and a 5,376-sq. ft. ballroom (banquet capacity: 400). Two golf courses are nearby.

Want to enjoy the great outdoors?

Stone Mountain Park, near the village of Stone Mountain, covers 3,200 acres of woods, water, trails and attractions. What you’ll likely notice first is the large carving in the mountain itself, depicting three Confederate heroes of the Civil War: President Jefferson Davis, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Lt. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The carving is three acres in size, larger than a football field. It is 400 feet above the ground and measures 90 feet by 190 feet. Lee’s elbow represents the deepest point of the carving — 12 feet into the mountain. The Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort has 48 meeting rooms and 40,000 square feet of total meeting space. The largest space is the Evergreen Ballroom, with 9,450 square feet and a maximum seating capacity of 1,100. The facility has earned multiple resort environmental awards and certifications and has a 12-step plan for reducing its carbon footprint. The plan includes everything from a tree-replacement policy and pest management program, to recycling, irrigation, water conservation and energy efficiency standards. It also has a habitat enhancement programs that feature 87 nest boxes (in which fledglings hatch), seed and nectar feeders and more than two acres of habitat gardens. The 92-room Marriott Stone Mountain Inn offers hotel amenities with a bed-and-breakfast feel, perfect for executive meetings or events for smaller groups. 4 meeting rooms. It has 4,500 square feet of total meeting space; its largest meeting room is the Plantation Ballroom, which is 2,240 square feet and can seat 180. The park itself has plenty to do year-round for you, your family or your spouse — golf, the summertime laser light show, railroad rides and a show, Ride the Ducks, sky rides, a Sky Hike and more.

Want to meet in a place with history?

The historic 1898 Old Courthouse has space for private events in its Old Superior Courtroom, Harrison Room and lobby; pre- or post-function events can spill out onto the Decatur Square.

Want to break out of the boardroom?

The Fernbank Museum of Natural History has several venues, including a private banquet room, a patio, a dramatic atrium (complete with dinosaur skeleton), an IMAX theater and the Star Gallery, an oval room with a fiber-optic ceiling displaying the constellations. The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University has the largest collection of ancient art in the Southeast, including objects ranging from Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome to the Americas; meeting/event facilities include a reception hall, café space and a 30-person boardroom. The Doubletree Hotel Atlanta NE/Northlake is just inside I-285 and minutes from Fernbank and Emory University. In addition to having 185 guest rooms and more than 3,000+ square feet of meeting space, the hotel has Marlowe’s Tavern, a dark wood-walled American tavern that is a fun alternative venue for groups.

Want group dining?

Twain’s Billiards & Tap in downtown Decatur has two pool table areas, darts, shuffleboard and a menu of beers brewed on-site. Nearby, on the Decatur Square, the Brick Store Pub pours 100+ beers from the tap and the bottle. Groups of 25 or fewer can reserve the Belgian Bar for a spirited session or break. It’s available from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Brick Store has a pub menu and serves every beverage in the appropriate glassware. Wahoo! Grill, meanwhile, has a tented and climate-controlled patio that can accommodate up to 200 guests. By Emory, Floataway Café serves fresh, seasonal cuisine with French, Mediterranean and Italian accents.

For more information, contact the DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau.