Near the Atlantic Coast, tourism seems to have fully recovered from the events of September 11, 2001. New York, Washington, D.C., Atlantic City, and Philadelphia are putting up the kinds of meeting attendance and visitor numbers not seen since 1999 and 2000. Much of the success is due to herculean efforts by the CVBs; hotel, restaurant, and entertainment companies; and the hospitality industry.

The biggest news in New York City continues to be the on-again, off-again Javits Center expansion. Controversy over whether to continue with the Pataki administration's $1.8 billion expansion plan or to enlarge the project to fit present Gov. Eliot Spitzer's $3.2 billion plan has bogged down the work.

In Washington, D.C., groups may find traffic snarls but they'll also find new attractions. Two popular theaters more than doubled their seating capacities in 2007. Arlington's Signature Theatre moved into a new home in January, with two flexible black box spaces — one holding 299 seats and the other 99 seats. The Shakespeare Theatre Company expanded with the opening of the Harman Center for the Arts. Arts facilities in booming Penn Quarter comprise the new 776-seat Sidney Harman Hall and the existing 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre. All are excellent venues for a product launch, a large seminar, or a recognition ceremony.

The Fourth Estate opened its own monument in September with the Newseum. Groups can view Pennsylvania Avenue and the National Mall from a façade featuring a 57-by-78-foot “window on the world.” More than a dozen galleries detail the history of news reporting and how media have covered important events of the past century.

The biggest project on deck in Baltimore is the Hilton Convention Center Hotel. The $300 million-plus, 757-room project is set to open in August 2008 with the largest ballroom in town. In Washington, D.C., the new convention center is scoring nearly twice as many meetings as the old center, and its backers project that a new, scaled-back 1,150-room Convention Center Marriott, scheduled to open in 2011, will only raise the count.

In Atlantic City, the luxurious Borgata Casino Hotel set a high standard and generated an ongoing game of leapfrog in which The Tropicana has created The Quarter and expanded its offerings. Others have followed suit. Equally motivating: Other Mid-Atlantic states, like Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York, are adding casino gaming to their mix of activities, cutting the flow of day-trippers who have made Atlantic City famous.

Meanwhile, big conventions are returning to Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Convention Center now that union troubles are resolved and expanded space is in sight. The expansion, however, which was scheduled for completion in late 2009, is being held up by threats to withhold the state's $700 million contribution unless authority over decision-making for the center is restored to state government.

The District

The St. Regis Hotel reopened in July with 15 new luxury suites and a spa, reducing total guest rooms from 193 to 178. The ballroom, fitness center, and all 11 meeting rooms have been redone.

Construction of the long-awaited Marriott Convention Center Hotel is expected to be completed in 2011 and has been sized down to 1,150 rooms from the original 1,434 rooms.

The Omni Shoreham is updating its 834 guest rooms. The 17,130-square-foot Regency Ballroom is being redone in red and gold with the final touch, new crystal chandeliers, to be in place by January 1.

The 1,334-room Wardman Park is undergoing a $100 million renovation to a contemporary look.

The 765-room JW Marriott Hotel at Pennsylvania Avenue completed a $20 million renovation. The hotel has 22 meeting rooms, which received tech upgrades.

Delaware

The Doubletree Hotel Wilmington Downtown completed a $7 million renovation. Public spaces, 217 guest rooms, and 20,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 9,300-square-foot ballroom, were redone.

Maryland

In Prince George's County, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is racing toward an April 2008 opening. The 2,000-room Gaylord National will have 470,000 square feet of exhibition, event, and meeting space.

The 315-room Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center opened March 27 after renovation of all guest rooms. The hotel was previously a Doubletree. Also refreshed were the IACC-certified conference center and 20,000 square feet of meeting space.

The 337-room Sheraton Inner Harbor, connected to the Baltimore Convention Center, completed a $1.7 million makeover of its guest rooms.

The 707-room former Wyndham Inner Harbor is now the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel. In May it completed a $30 million renovation of its rooms, lobby, and 30,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

New Jersey

The Westin Jersey City at Washington Boulevard and 6th Street in the Newport mixed-use development is scheduled to open October 1, 2008, with 429 guest rooms, a conference center, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, and more.

New York

The Mondrian SoHo, Manhattan, is expected to open during the second half of 2009 with 270 rooms, a restaurant, bar, ballroom, meeting rooms, exercise facility, and a penthouse suite that can be used for events.

The Plaza Hotel has put off until 2008 its grand reopening as an elegant condo and hotel address, but has announced that Plaza Events, a consortium of two event management and F&B purveyors, has signed a 28-year lease to operate and manage the Plaza ballroom, pre-function space, and new meeting rooms starting in December. The meeting space will have seven rooms that can be reserved for 10 to 450 guests.

The Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers unveiled its renovation. The hotel has 1,750 guest rooms and 55,000 square feet of meeting space and ballrooms.

The landmark New York Palace Hotel in Manhattan completed the addition of its 13,000-square-foot Mansion Rooms in June as part of a $12 million public space renovation project.

The New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott has completed a $10 million renovation of its 438 guest rooms and upgraded technology in its 15,000 square feet of flexible ballroom and meeting space.

Pennsylvania

W Hotels will build a 250-room hotel with 95 adjacent condominium units in Center City Philadelphia at 12th and Arch streets, across from the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Anticipated to open in 2009, the hotel will include 11,000 square feet of meeting space.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide is building a 135-room aloft hotel near Philadelphia International Airport. The hotel is expected to open in mid-2008.

The 185-room Fairmont Pittsburgh is expected to open in 2009 at 3 PNC Plaza, a 23-story “green” office, hotel, residential, and retail complex rising in downtown.

The 581-room Loews Philadelphia Hotel is undergoing an $8.5 million renovation. The hotel has 42,000 square feet of function space.

Dolce International has taken the helm of a 346-room property, Dolce Valley Forge in King of Prussia. Plans are in motion for a $17 million makeover of the property, including 6,500 additional square feet of meeting space that will be completed in June 2008.

Harrisburg's Zoning Hearing Board has approved plans to place a $14 million luxury Barto Hotel downtown. The owner will gut and renovate the 103-year-old Barto Building, add two stories, and open an 88-room hotel there in 2008.

Construction of the 200,000-square-foot Lancaster County Convention Center is under way. Going up in tandem with the publicly owned center will be the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, a 300-room hotel.

Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co. debuted a $21 million Waterpark and Boardwalk, including East Coast Waterworks. Hershey Lodge, the resort's meeting facility, has 665 rooms and 100,000 square feet of meeting space.

In Scotrun, in the Pocono Mountains, Great Wolf Lodge offers 401 guest suites, 7,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 90,000-square-foot entertainment area with an extensive waterpark.

Virginia

Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria has opened. The 253-room property will undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation to guest rooms, restaurants, and 10,000 square feet of meeting space.

Now accepting reservations for January 1 and beyond, the new 236-room Westin Virginia Beach Town Center has 10,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, including an 8,800-square-foot ballroom.

The Westfields Marriott in Chantilly has renovated the Washingtonian and Grand Dominion ballrooms. Guest room renovations began in December and the hotel anticipates completion in March 2008.

Formerly a Doubletree Hotel, the Westin Tysons Corner opened in late February after a $21 million renovation of all 408 guest rooms and public areas. Upgrades include the hotel's 14,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

The Resort Collection of Colonial Williamsburg added 126 guest rooms and brought its meeting space to 67,000 square feet.

In Williamsburg, Great Wolf Lodge has 405 suites, 8,575 square feet of meeting space, and a 67,000-square-foot entertainment area with an indoor waterpark.

A convention hotel and a 2,000-seat theater are proposed additions to the site occupied by the 0 Roads Convention Center, an Embassy Suites Hotel, and the Hampton Coliseum. Permitting is under way; hotel name and completion dates have not been announced.

Trip Tips

• Planning a meeting at Gaylord National once it opens in Maryland next April? Attendees can catch the Metrobus BWI Shuttle (Route B30 Express) at Greenbelt Metro Station for a ride from Prince George's County to BWI Airport. A one-way trip is only $3. The Express takes you to the lower level of the terminal.

• The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum threw open their doors last October with year-round free admission for all. This is the first time in more than two decades that the museums will be free on an ongoing basis.

• Amish people are frequently encountered in Pennsylvania and Maryland. They are pleased to introduce visitors to their traditional foods, dress, and crafts in the shops where they sell these things, but not in informal meetings on the street.

Ask the CVB

The District

Washington Convention and Tourism Corp.
(202) 789-7023
www.washington.org

Maryland

Baltimore Area CVA
(800) 343-3468
www.baltimore.org

New Jersey

Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority
(888) 222-3683
www.meetinac.com

New York

NYC & Company
(212) 484-1218
www.nycvisit.com

Pennsylvania

Greater Pittsburgh CVB
(800) 359-0758
www.visitpittsburgh.com

Philadelphia CVB
(800) 225-5745
www.pcvb.org

Virginia

Alexandria CVA
(800) 388-9119
www.FunSide.com

Arlington Convention and Visitors Service
(800) 296-7996
www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com

Norfolk CVB
(800) 368-3097
www.norfolkcvb.com
Total Hotel Tax: 14% plus $1 bed tax per room, per night

Virginia Beach CVB
(757) 385-6652
www.vbfun.com/conventionCenter

Special Venues

In Delaware's Brandywine Valley, the Winterthur Estate was created in the early 20th century by the H.F. du Pont family and designed as an 18th-century European country home. It is one of the few surviving great American country mansions where groups can host events — in three period rooms, the Visitor Center, or the museum galleries. Tented events are welcome on the extensive grounds. (800) 448-3883; www.winterthur.org

Gadsby's Tavern in Old Town Alexandria, Va., is an Early American period restaurant and a museum of 18th-century antiques. It was named after Englishman John Gadsby, who operated the tavern from 1796 until 1808, when George and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams all had temporary quarters there. Gadsby's has private dining rooms, a courtyard, and a 100-seat ballroom available for functions and special events. (703) 548-1288

Let your group experience Amish food and hospitality at the Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant & Smorgasbord about 7 miles west of Lancaster, Pa. The smorgasbord features traditional dishes such as pork and sauerkraut, chicken pot pie, shepherd's pie, apple dumplings, and a myriad of other baked goods, as well as beef pot roast, baked ham, and roast turkey. The restaurant has private banquet and meeting rooms and can serve groups of 10 to 300 people. (717) 768-1111, (800) 665-8780; john.jim@bird-in-hand.com