Prevue September-October 2013 - (Page 14)

fresh meets Omni Opens New Nashville Hotel Combine brand new meeting space and traditional Southern themes The 800-room Omni Nashville Hotel opens on September 30 between the new 2.1-millionsf Music City Center convention facility and the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. “Groups are able to walk right from our lobby into the museum,” says Tod Roadarmel, director of sales/marketing. On the second level, where the 25,000-sf Broadway Ballroom and 15,000-sf Legends Ballroom are located, attendees can walk from meetings directly into the museum’s 800-seat theater. From the hotel’s rooftop pool, groups directly access the museum’s 5,400-sf outdoor rooftop terrace. The new Omni hotel includes 54 suites, a signature Mokara Spa and live entertainment venue. There’s also extensive retail featuring Tennessee companies such as Bongo Java coffee, Bang Candy Company, Colonel Littleton fine leathers, and organic chocolates from Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Company. Country music and other Southern themes play a heavy role in the hotel’s decor. About 4,000 pieces of local Tennessee art will adorn the public areas, including over 80,000 sf of meeting and event space. Planners will be able to organize art tours with an onsite art curator. Groups can also participate in Southern cooking classes at Kitchen Notes restaurant. Don’t miss tasting oven-fresh biscuits served every 15 minutes on Kitchen Notes’ exhibit cooking bar. For fine-dining events, Bob’s Steak & Chophouse is a nationally renowned steak house specializing in the finest cornfed, Midwestern prime beef. Theme parties include a Taste of Nashville featuring Nashville sushi made with grits or Tennessee bass. Or, there’s Moonshine Parties serving classic moonshine in mason jars, apple pie and cotton candy moonshine. “We tell people to dress their best Southern,” says Roadarmel. “It’s fun to see what that means to them, from large hats to cowboy boots to a piece of straw hanging from someone’s mouth.” And this sounds fun. A Singer-Songwriter event divides attendees into teams up to 20 and pairs them with a pro Nashville songwriter. Each subgroup creates a song and then performs it before the entire group. “That is our best unique-to-Nashville program, especially when starring Brett James,” says Roadarmel. James introduces himself with a story about a night that was so stormy he had to pull off the side of the road with his 3-year-old daughter. He eventually wrote a song about that night. “Then he starts singing Jesus, Take The Wheel, made famous by Carrie Underwood,” says Roadarmel. “There’s not a dry eye in the house.” With just under 60 hotels under one owner, Roadarmel says planners can expect great value and consistency. Omni Hotels offers planners multi-year deals as an incentive, whether they’re staying at one hotel or rotating among the group. Roadarmel explains, “Most of our hotels are 4-star and 4-diamond, so groups always receive the personalized luxury service and accommodations that they expect.” Two blocks from Omni Nashville, the 2,362-seat Ryman Auditorium hosted the Grand Ole Opry for 31 years until 1974. It’s open for tours and private rental. Also popular with groups, Broadway Street is home to over 20 honkytonks offering outstanding country music and a casual, fun environment for unwinding after the meetings are over.—Karen Kuzsel omnihotels.com; visitmusiccity.com “We tell people to dress their best Southern.” 14 | prevue magazine 14-15_Fresh.indd 14 9/4/13 3:59 PM http://www.omnihotels.com http://www.visitmusiccity.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue September-October 2013

Planner's Pick: Orlando
Fresh Meets: Omni Nashville
Bureau Buzz: Puerto Rico
Good Business: Prevue Visionary Awards
Sea Shores: Crystal Cruises
Innovation & Inspiration
On Location: GMIC 2013, Chicago
Special Section: The West USA
Green Luxury
On Location: Club Med Rio Das Pedras
On Location: La Playa, Naples, FL
Stockholm
Korea
On Location: US Virgin Islands
On Location: Starwood New Orleans
Torchbearers 2013
On Location: Westin Snowmass/Aspen
On Location: Paradisus, Dominican Republic
Check Out: Christchurch, New Zealand

Prevue September-October 2013