Destination Spotlight: Pacific Northwest

For sheer beauty, few regions in North America gather as many gasps as the Pacific Northwest. Whether it’s the lush city parks of Portland, the vibrant sea life of Seattle’s Puget Sound, or the North Shore Mountains cradling Vancouver’s skyline, the Pacific Northwest’s scenic bounty has the power to transform even the most run-of-the-mill gathering into a memorable experience. Here’s what to know about the PacNW’s three major cities: Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, British Columbia.

The City of Roses: Portland

With a compact, walkable city center and nationally renowned public transit, Portland is a haven for meeting planners. The Oregon Convention Center—the largest gathering space in the region—is centrally located, as are other convention hubs such as Moda Center, Portland Expo Center, and Providence Park.

As with other cities in the Pacific Northwest, Portland is neatly situated between the coastline and the mountains, making it a solid base for group excursions. Not that you have to leave the city to experience the natural splendor of the area: Portland boasts more than 12,000 acres of public parklands and open space, including Forest Park’s 80-plus miles of trails.

All this comes with a hidden bonus: no food and beverage tax. This allows your attendees to experience Portland’s dining and breweries at a lower cost—and lets you get a built-in discount on your catering bill. That can begin at Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, with its views of Mount Hood, proximity to the Willamette River waterfront, and 44,000-plus square feet of event space.

The Emerald City: Seattle

Think of Seattle as a tech hub, thanks to birthing Amazon and Microsoft? Correct. Think of it as a paradise of the outdoors, thanks to its proximity to Mount Rainier, Puget Sound, and other stunning features of the Pacific Northwest? Correct again. It’s also a hub of diversity (1 out of 5 residents is foreign-born), sports fandom (it holds the Guinness World Records title for highest decibels at a sports game), and world-renowned seafood (group oyster-shucking event? Why not?).

All of that makes out-of-session experiences memorable, but in-session time can be relaxed as well, thanks to the 434,080 square feet of event space at Washington State Convention Center. One thing you won’t find there? Plastic utensils, which the city banned in 2018. In fact, anywhere you go in Seattle, you’ll be contributing to one of the most environmentally friendly cities in America.

The Sheraton Grand Seattle hews to this guideline. Its event staff has an average tenure of more than 15 years of service, smoothing the path for you to pull off a seamless event in its 77,000-plus square feet of event space.

Hollywood North: Vancouver

With a population of less than a million, Vancouver might not seem like the Big Apple, Boston, Chicago, or Shanghai—but try telling that to moviegoers who have seen Vancouver transformed into all of these cities on film. Movie producers choose “Hollywood North” not just for its urban sensibility that can pass for cities 10 times its size, but also for its temperate climate and stunning setting. Hey, if it’s good enough for A-listers, your attendees might appreciate it too.

As will you: With more than 80 venues and a robust event development staff at the Vancouver visitors bureau, the city offers sustainable meetings in the world’s first double LEED Platinum-certified convention center (the Vancouver Convention Centre).

Not that you necessarily need to go off-site to stay green—the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver features LEED Gold standard rooms and more than 60,000 square feet of event space. Need a shade more room? The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver offers 71,000 square feet of event space.