Hotels FAQ

Question:

>To organize a French Industrial Congress, I’m looking for an hotel with >500 rooms with independant restroom – outside the bathroom – , 80 small >congress rooms and a big centra one. >Near this hotel, I hope to  find some restaurants for 700 hungry people! >And also the flight time between this hotel and Paris (France) dont’exced >6 – 7 hours.

        You don’t say what price range you are looking for, but here are a few ideas:           The Anatole in Dallas, Texas (a member of the Wyndham hotel chain).  An enormous hotel (1620 rooms, including 145 suites on a 45-acre campus) that is nevertheless quite luxurious, the Anatole specializes in meetings and conventions, and is reputed to be excellent at it.  The quality and style of this hotel far exceed what you would find in a large hotel like a Marriott, Hyatt or Sheraton.  It’s Texas-sized in every way, with marble everywhere and cavernous public spaces and a plethora of meeting rooms of every size and type.  To give you a taste of the hotel’s size and capabilities, at a music-business convention there a few years ago, they had John Mellencamp, a major American rock act, give a concert in the gargantuan main ballroom.  The hotel is also high-quality enough in service and cuisine to host some of Texas’s most-prestigious charity balls.  Because it is host to many meetings and conventions, Dallas is a big restaurant town, with more high-quality restaurants per capita than New York.  I have no doubt that this hotel has the staff and facilities to make your meeting go smoothly.  The local newspapers and government would probably be interested/proud to be involved.  If you go to Dallas, you might inquire about renting Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, for a dinner event.  You will be *shocked* at how inexpensive it is to do so.  My firm has done this several times; they will actually set up dinner tables on the playing field, with china and crystal, and serve a high-quality meal.  It was practical for us to do with a group as small as 50 people, although folks usually bring more.  Most invitees have described it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience — after dinner, in our suits and ties, we tried kicking field goals and played around on the field for hours!  What fun!  Also try talking to the Dallas Convention and Visitor’s bureau.  Things in Dallas are much cheaper than, say, in New York: hotel rooms about half the price, meals about 65% of the price for comparable meal.  There is also direct air service from Paris.         The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida.  Recently refurbished, this majestic 567-room hotel is a gorgeous beachfront location in one of the most sophisticated, upscale areas of the U.S.  It is one of the true classic American resorts, like the Greenbrier in West Virginia.   We have had several meetings there, and found the service to be first-rate.  I think they may not have all the conference rooms you seem to need, but I would check it out.         Let me know if I can recommend any others.                         —Bill

Response:

To organize a French Industrial Congress, I’m looking for an hotel with 500 rooms with independant restroom – outside the bathroom – , 80 small congress rooms and a big centra one. Near this hotel, I hope to  find some restaurants for 700 hungry people! And also the flight time between this hotel and Paris (France) dont’exced 6 – 7 hours. This event will be on 96′ August. It is not a joke