CLEVELAND'S REVITALIZATION is no more evident than in its rise as a vibrant center for medical research and development. One of its crown jewels is the sprawling Cleveland Clinic campus — 37 buildings on 140 acres — which includes the clinic's Heart Center, ranked No. 1 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Attached to the campus via skywalk is the recently opened Cleveland InterContinental Hotel and Conference Center. Its stunning interior design is matched only by the bells and whistles of its 500-seat amphitheater. It includes surround sound, push-to-talk microphones at each seat, a real-time voting system, and a robotic camera that can zoom in on any audience member. Events in the amphitheater can be broadcast to any room in the hotel (as can meetings in the hotel's boardroom).

The hotel has 300 guest rooms, 29 suites, and 35,000 square feet of event space, which includes the 8,800-square-foot Founders Ballroom and eight meeting rooms.

And Cleveland's location is within 500 miles of more than half the U.S. population. No wonder they call Ohio “The Heart of It All.”