A Meeting Planner's Guide to the Most Prominent Hotels and Event Venues in South Carolina

 

South Carolina is a state that is built around the tourism and hospitality industries. Each year, the hospitality industry contributes $29 billion to the state’s economy, and one in 10 people in South Carolina work in the hospitality sector, supporting over 200,000 jobs, according to WLTX News 19.

With a state that has as much to offer as South Carolina, it can be difficult for meeting and event planners to determine which hotel or venue is the right place to host their next meeting or event. To help you parse through it all, we’ve compiled the most prominent and well-known hotels, resorts, meeting and event venues in the Palmetto State for your next meeting.

Charleston

Charleston Area Convention Center

With Charleston being the most populous city in the state, it also has numerous meetings and event spaces for meeting planners to choose from. For large gatherings, don’t miss the Charleston Area Convention Center, which is part of a campus that also features the North Charleston Performing Arts Center and the North Charleston Coliseum. The convention center is also located across the street from the Embassy Suites Hotel and is just under two miles from Charleston International Airport.
The convention center features 77,000 square feet of exhibit space that is divisible into three separate exhibit areas with access to prefunction space. The exhibition halls have a total booth capacity of 425, nine loading docks with two loading ramps that are accessible to the exhibit halls, complimentary public Wi-Fi in the prefunction area and built-in concession fronts for each divided exhibit hall area.

The Charleston Place

Located in the historic center of Charleston, The Charleston Place is one of the most well-known hotels (and is the largest hotel) in the state with 434 guest rooms. The hotel features 15 types of rooms and suites ranging between 400 and 1,000 square feet each including deluxe rooms, premier double rooms, premier king rooms, premier king balcony, junior suites, one-bedroom suites, presidential suites, two-bedroom suites and more. 

The hotel also features 40,000 square feet of event space including venues such as grand ballrooms, meeting rooms and an Art Deco theater. The largest ballroom is the Grand Hall, with 4,100 square feet of event space able to accommodate up to 350 attendees. 

The Charleston Place also recently underwent a $150 million renovation of the hotel, including upgrades to all of its meeting and event space and the addition of two new meeting rooms, a second set of restrooms and extended prefunction space.

Read more about The Charleston Place renovations

Hotel Bennett

Hotel Bennett is another luxury hotel property in downtown Charleston, and while it has the atmosphere of an 18th-century property, it actually only opened in early 2019, taking design references from many of Charleston’s historic homes. The property also features 12,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space.

Spread across multiple floors of the hotel, Hotel Bennett features nine main meeting and event venues, the largest of which is the Crown Ballroom, featuring nearly 7,000 square feet of event space with 30-foot-tall ceilings and arched windows overlooking downtown’s Marion Square. The Crown Ballroom can accommodate up to 500 attendees. Other notable event spaces include the rooftop venue The Observatory, able to accommodate up to 65, and the terraced Piazza, able to accommodate groups of up to 50. 

Hotel Bennett also offers exclusive low rates during the months of July, August and September for meeting and event planners. These seasonal offers include a 2% master account credit, complimentary meeting room rental with achieved food and beverage minimum, 20% off audiovisual, one complimentary room per 40 rooms booked and 85% attrition.

Lowcountry Conference Center

Located just 24 miles from downtown Charleston in Summerville, South Carolina, the Lowcountry Conference Center has over 15,000 square feet of exhibit space and is also home to the Hilton Garden Inn Summerville and Homewood Suites by Hilton dual-brand hotel property with 255 guest rooms. 

Other services at the conference center and hotel include a full-service catering department, audiovisual equipment, an outdoor resort-style pool and a full-service restaurant and lounge. 

The conference center has four main event spaces spread across two floors that can be separated into smaller venues. The Azalea Ballroom is 7,086 square feet and can accommodate up to 800, the Magnolia Ballroom is 3,162 square feet and can accommodate up to 300, the Dogwood Ballroom is 2,139 square feet and can accommodate up to 150 and the Cypress Multipurpose Room is 750 square feet and can accommodate up to 16 attendees.

Columbia

Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

The capital city of South Carolina also has a variety of popular meeting and event venues to choose from. One of the most prominent event venues is the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, having hosted over 8,000 events and 3.9 million visitors since it first opened in 2004.

Centrally located downtown in the heart of the historic Vista entertainment district and close to Columbia’s revitalized main street and riverwalk trails, the convention center is within one mile of  over 2,000 hotel rooms. Other features of the convention center include interactive digital signage, locally sourced custom menus and complimentary charging stations and Wi-Fi. 

The convention center offers 142,500 square feet of meeting and event space spread across two levels and has multiple meeting and event venues to choose from. The exhibit hall is the largest venue in the convention center and features 23,700 square feet of space with recently installed all-new flooring and can accommodate up to 2,370 attendees. 

The next largest venue is the Ballroom, with 16,704 square feet of space and a capacity of up to 1,670 attendees in its largest configuration. There are also multiple meeting rooms and prefunction areas, able to accommodate between 80 and 200 attendees each. The convention center also offers discounts on room rentals for non-profit organizations.

[Related: Don’t Sleep on Columbia, South Carolina, for Meetings and Events]

Marriott Columbia

Located on Main Street in downtown Columbia, the Marriott Columbia has 300 recently renovated guest rooms across 14 floors. The hotel is also located close to popular Columbia landmarks such as the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, Williams Brice Stadium and Township Auditorium. 

The property has 17,896 square feet of meeting space spread across 17 event venues. The largest of these spaces is the 6,550-square-foot Capital Ballroom, able to accommodate up to 850 attendees in its largest configuration. The property also has two other ballrooms, the 6,360-sqaure-foot Carolina Ballroom and the 1,860-square-foot Palmetto Ballroom, able to accommodate up to 800 and 200 attendees, respectively. The hotel also has more intimate meeting rooms and a private lounge. 

The Marriott Columbia provides a number of services that can assist planners hosting events at the property. This includes providing AV equipment such as an overhead projector, PA system, cameras and audio setups and an AV technician. The property also has event services such as photographers, security guards, translators, electricians and catering services. 

Central Energy

One of the newer event venues in the area is Central Energy, located in the historic BullStreet district in downtown Columbia. Opening in January 2019, the venue is named after the building’s former life as the energy facility for the former state hospital campus. The venue features over 8,000 square feet of event space with a minimal open floor plan that can accommodate any type of event, along with an outdoor courtyard and green space.  

South Carolina State Fairgrounds

The site of events such as Columbia Fashion Week, Columbia International Festival and the South Carolina State Fair, the South Carolina State Fairgrounds can provide a diverse selection of indoor and outdoor event spaces ranging from 2,000 to 40,000 square feet.

The fairgrounds are made up of six main buildings, including the 40,000-square-foot Cantey Building, 35,000-square-foot Goodman Building, 19,000-square-foot Moore Building, 16,072-square-foot Ellison Building, 15,000-square-foot Ruff Building and the 12,114-square-foot Nutt Cattle Arena. Notable event venues onsite include the Rosewoods Ballroom and Rosewoods Salons, as well as nine acres of outdoor fairground space.

Myrtle Beach

Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel

The Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel is a 400-guest room, AAA Three-Diamond hotel located in downtown Myrtle Beach, just two blocks from the Boardwalk and ocean. Directly connected to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, the hotel also features an indoor heated pool, fitness center and onsite restaurant and coffee shop. 

The property offers over 130,000 square feet of meeting and event space spread across 21 event rooms. The largest of these spaces is the 100,800-square-foot Exhibit Hall that can accommodate up to 10,000 attendees and can be divided into smaller exhibit halls. The other large event space is the Grand Ballroom, featuring over 16,000 square feet of event space that can accommodate up to 1,672 attendees while also being divisible into smaller ballrooms if needed. Other notable venues include a variety of smaller meeting rooms, each able to accommodate between 30 and 150 attendees.  

[Related: Fun Offsite Activities for Groups in Myrtle Beach]

The Ellie Beach Resort Myrtle Beach, Tapestry Collection by Hilton and DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Myrtle Beach Oceanfront

Located steps away from the ocean and less than 10 minutes from Myrtle Beach International Airport, the dual properties known as The Ellie Beach Resort Myrtle Beach, Tapestry Collection by Hilton and DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Myrtle Beach Oceanfront, create one of the largest hotel complexes in the Myrtle Beach area and can accommodate a large range of group sizes. 

With two hotels totaling 452 guest rooms, this new oceanfront property opened in July 2024 and provides larger and enhanced amenities compared to a standalone property. The dual-property resort has two onsite restaurants, the Ocean Blue Restaurant and Southern Tide Bar & Grille, as well as recreational amenities such as six pools, a mini golf course, sport courts and a 24-hour fitness center.   

The Ellie Beach Resort Myrtle Beach, Tapestry Collection by Hilton and DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Myrtle Beach Oceanfront together feature 38,000 square feet of meeting and event space spread across 22 event venues. The largest of these event spaces are the 8,736-square-foot Exhibit Hall, able to accommodate up to 500 attendees in a banquet setup, and the 8,532-square-foot Carolina Ballroom, able to accommodate up to 750 attendees in its largest configuration. Other venues include the outdoor Ocean Blue Lawn, the Atlantic Ballroom and the Dunes Boardroom.

Hilton Myrtle Beach and Embassy Suites by Hilton Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort

Hilton Myrtle Beach, which is a part of the Kingston Resorts property and located on the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach, offers 255 two-room suites and a variety of amenities. These include multiple onsite restaurants and bars, a spa, fitness center, golf simulator, indoor pool, pickleball and tennis courts. 

The Hilton Myrtle Beach also features over 30,000 square feet of event space including over a dozen meeting rooms and two outdoor lawns. The largest of the indoor spaces is the Palisades Ballroom, featuring 14,400 square feet of space able to accommodate up to 1,900. The largest outdoor space is the North Lawn, able to accommodate up to 400 attendees. Other notable venues include the 3,000-sqaure-foot Dunes Ballroom, 2,340-square-foot Plaza and the 988-square-foot Arcadian Room. 

Also a part of the Kingston Resorts property on the Grand Strand is the Embassy Suites by Hilton Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort. Attendees will have access to the Hilton Myrtle Beach’s fitness center, 78Fitness, and  Spa33 as well as 34,000 square feet of additional event space. Notable meeting venues at this sister property include the 14,520-square-foot Kensington Ballroom, able to accommodate up to 2,000 attendees, and the 4,560-square-foot Black Drum Brewing—the resort’s newest indoor-outdoor meeting space made up of the open-air Seaside Vista ballroom and the Currents Lawn, able to accommodate up to 250 attendees.

Read more meeting and event news from South Carolina