The Places

New and recently renovated hotels are cleared for takeoff.

Have you ever wanted to tell an attendee to get lost? Well, now you can do so while maintaining your professional integrity. In conjunction with the Illinois Bicentennial celebrations happening this year, the Illinois Office of Tourism has partnered with 17 farms and orchards around the state to debut Bicentennial-themed corn and apple tree mazes for the public to enjoy.

Defying industry norms by opening earlier than originally planned, the first-ever tri-branded Hilton development joined The Collection at McCormick Square this month.

Winning a golf tournament constitutes a pretty fantastic way to end a weekend, as my husband and I learned first hand yesterday. Together with professional golfer Heather Angell and two other great local amateurs, we took home the trophy for the 2018 Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open Pro-Am, held at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville.

The 36-room Atticus Hotel in McMinnville, Oregon, opened for business this past spring. The hotel features an on-site restaurant and bar, private dining in the Atticus Hotel Drawing Room, a boardroom for meetings of up to 16 people, a business center and a fitness room. Additional amenities include Dutch-style bicycles, electric-car charging stations, rooms with fireplaces and original artwork from local artists.  

Hyatt's Happy Hyatt HQ

After falling under disrepair for years, Theater on the Lake has emerged from renovations as a brand-new indoor-outdoor venue just in time for summer events.

Sponsored by Mystic Lake Casino Hotel

Introducing Mystic Laker Center—giving success a new perspective. With 70,000 square feet of sophisticated space, an abundance of natural light, and stunning golf course views, Mystic Lake Center is perfect for meetings, corporate events, galas and more. It joins Mystic Lake Casino Hotel to form the only full-service resort in the Twin Cities, including 766 hotel rooms and suites, making it one of the largest hotels in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

Sponsored by Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau

St. Charles, Illinois is a meetings destination with unique venues and experiences. St. Charles wants you to spend your free time sight-do-ing. So don’t sit back, don’t relax, but do enjoy all that St. Charles has to offer from to high-tech meeting and event spaces, to a close proximity to O’Hare International Airport, to wide open places for seeing, doing and living.

Meet.

Centrally located in Illinois, about a two and half hour drive from Chicago, the city of Peoria has many exciting developments happening this year. Here are three to put on your radar.

1. The rustic-themed Bearded Owl Brewing opened in January with a variety of unfiltered beers ranging from stouts to India pale ales to sours, using locally grown ingredients wherever possible. While it doesn’t have designated event space, the brewery makes for a good post-meeting gathering spot for a round of beers and various homemade soft pretzels.