Crisscrossed by several interstates and parkways and offering three major airports and additional regional facilities, Kentucky is convenient to reach by air or car. Known for bluegrass—both the music and the turf—Thoroughbreds, and bourbon, the state offers planners options in big cities and smaller towns. The Bluegrass State’s borders touch two major rivers (the Mississippi and the Ohio), and its natural settings include 45 major lakes and the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Central Kentucky
Bardstown
VisitBardstown.com; @VisitBardstown
Bardstown was founded as a stagecoach stop in 1780 and has more than 300 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s home to several locally-owned restaurants and shops and 11 distilleries, bolstering the city’s claim as the “Bourbon Capital of the World.”
The Museum of Bourbon History (formerly the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History) is in historic Spalding Hall. The hall can seat 80 guests for dinners with additional indoor and outdoor space at The Rickhouse, a fine-dining restaurant.
Additional event space includes Bardstown Event Center, which can accommodate 200 people, and Kreso’s and Café Mozart, which can each seat 300, while Historic Old Talbott Tavern can seat 100 for events. Several distilleries have different-sized event spaces, including Bardstown Bourbon Company and The Bar at Willett Distillery. About 20 minutes south of Bardstown in Gethsemane, the 300-acre Dant Crossing, anchored by Log Still Distillery, has an inn and cottage lodging, a 2,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, and an 18,000-square-foot event center with a variety of spaces.
The 48-room Best Western Bardstown General Nelson Hotel and 105-room Hampton by Hilton both have small event spaces.
Bowling Green
About halfway between Nashville and Louisville, Bowling Green gives planners their “bang for the buck,” says Marissa Butler, hospitality services director for Visit Bowling Green.
“With Kentucky’s low sales tax, no local restaurant taxes, and community partners willing to work with planners on discounts or other incentives, we’re comparable to smaller destinations but with high-quality amenities and variety often only found in larger cities,” Butler says. “As the home of Corvette, we welcome thousands of visitors multiple times throughout the year for national automotive shows, so we are no stranger to rolling out the red carpet for events. Plus, we offer unique teambuilding experiences and memorable excursions at the National Corvette Museum and NCM Motorsports Park.”
The National Corvette Museum recently renovated its Skydome and Skywall, a nearly 360-degree wall of video screens. Groups can customize the Skywall during private events to showcase sponsors, display videos, or enhance announcements. The museum also has an 8,232-square-foot conference center seating 500 for dinners plus additional reception and event spaces.
A new 195-room Embassy Suites has nearly 5,000 square feet of event space, while the Sloan Convention Center has 35,000 square feet of meeting space and a 19,500-square-foot ballroom seating 1,000.
The city recently established Fountain Row, a new downtown entertainment district running several blocks and multiple venues downtown. “We’re promoting this to planners for offsite excursions and progressive dining experiences,” Butler says.
Additional hotels and event facilities include Holiday Inn University Plaza, with 218 guest rooms and 5,000 square feet of meeting space; Martens Alumni Center, which seats 250 for dinners; and Knicely Conference Center, with 31,748 square feet of meeting space and a 9,620-square-foot ballroom.
Frankfort
VisitFrankfort.com; @VisitFrankfortKY
The state capital is within a day’s drive of 75 percent of the U.S. population, says Robin Antenucci, executive director of Visit Frankfort.
“Frankfort is an affordable, authentic small town with a lovely historic district, beautiful natural surroundings, [and] lots to do for any interest area,” Antenucci says. There are event spaces at local distilleries Whiskey Thief, Castle & Key, and Buffalo Trace, which can each host events for 300.
Downtown features local shops, museums, and historic sites, including the original state capitol and governor’s mansion. Opened this summer, the Bourbon Belle is a 49-passenger riverboat offering river tours, tastings, and special event trips.
Hotels with event space include the 163-room Capital Plaza Hotel, with 10,000 square feet of function space for 450 guests; Best Western Parkside Inn, with meeting space for 90 guests; and Fairfield Inn and Suites, with meeting space for 60 people. According to Antenucci, The Saint Clair, a new 11-room boutique hotel, will open this fall, along with two other boutique properties set to open next year.
Additional venues include classroom and auditorium space at Kentucky State University; The Foundry on Broadway, a 4,500-square-foot event center; and the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, with event space for 200 guests.
Lexington
VisitLEX.com; @VisitLEX
Kentucky’s second-largest city and the so-called “horse capital of the world,” Lexington is a great place to hold any meeting, says Marci Krueger-Sidebottom, vice president, sales and service for VisitLEX.
“Our easy-to-get-to location, first-class facilities, and unique attractions make Lexington an appealing option for conventions and meetings of all sizes and types,” Krueger-Sidebottom says.
Surrounded by more than 30,000 acres of protected bluegrass and 450 Thoroughbred horse farms, Lexington will soon welcome even more green space.
“Town Branch Commons just broke ground to turn a parking lot behind Rupp Arena and the Central Bank Center into an inclusive, dynamic, and beautiful green space that reflects the spirit of Lexington,” Krueger-Sidebottom says. “The 22-mile winding park and trail system will connect downtown to our rural landscape with bike and walking paths and a lush green band through town.”
The 20,500-seat Rupp Arena connects to the Central Bank Center, which has 100,000 square feet of exhibit space in four halls, 29,000 square feet of meeting rooms, 24,300 square feet of ballroom space, and 55,000 square feet of flexible club space. The facility is within a few blocks of more than 1,200 hotel rooms, including the newly opened 125-room Manchester Hotel, with a lobby bar, lounge, and rooftop venue.
Top meeting hotels include two connected to the Central Bank Center: the 369-room Hilton Lexington Downtown, which can seat 600 theater style, and the 366-room Hyatt Regency, with a capacity of 900 guests. Lexington Marriott City Center has 219 guest rooms and a reception capacity of 350, while 21c Museum Hotel has 88 guest rooms and 7,000 square feet of gallery and event space.
Lexington has many ways event attendees can find fun for the whole family or incorporate local flavor into an event.
“You can arrange a personal tour of one of our world-famous Thoroughbred farms, visit tasting rooms and learn how to enjoy bourbon like a professional, tour historic homes and neighborhoods, or enjoy exhibits at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky,” Krueger-Sidebottom says. “Lexington’s Horse Park is great for all ages, with interactive exhibits, a twice-daily parade of breeds, and holiday light shows.”
Keeneland, a horse auction house, has educational exhibits, hosts world-class racing, and offers a unique venue with 10 spaces to be used separately or combined to host 600 guests.
Louisville
GoToLouisville.com; @GoToLouisville
Louisville is experiencing a great deal of development, most of which is centered on horses, history, the Ohio River, and bourbon.
Legendary Churchill Downs Racetrack is completing a major renovation to add interior premium hospitality space, set to be completed in May in time for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby. Later this year, Churchill Downs, Inc., plans to open Derby City Gaming Downtown, a 43,000-square-foot gaming and entertainment venue.
Three new bourbon experiences are now open downtown. Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience features a 75-gallon Vendome pot still that produces up to seven barrels of bourbon or rye per week and offers whiskey classes and tastings led by experts. Number 15 is a social hall with live music, multiple entertainment spaces, and two event rooms. Bardstown Bourbon Company offers a full-service bar, lounge, classroom space, and tastings.
“In Louisville, planners can capitalize on our centralized location, friendliness, authenticity, and walkability,” says Sonia Fong, senior vice president of convention development for Louisville Tourism. “We welcome visitors to experience our unique brand of Southern hospitality, a vibrant culinary scene, and a taste of our Urban Bourbon Trail.”
Several new hotels have opened or will soon, according to Louisville Tourism. Hotel Genevieve is a 122-room boutique hotel with four culinary spaces, and Hotel Myriad, a reimagined disco-ball factory in the Highlands neighborhood, has 65 guest rooms and event space for 30 guests. The 130-room Tempo by Hilton will open later this year, and Canopy Derby City Hotel will open in 2024 with 168 guest rooms.
A major $550 million project is underway at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The project includes geothermal energy improvements, upgraded jet bridges and walkways, redesigned ticket counters and baggage claim areas, and additional security lines.
Louisville Zoo is adding the 20-acre Kentucky Trails project with a new restaurant and event space. It also includes an interactive experience providing close encounters with bison, elk, black bears, bobcats, eagles, and other native animals. At the Waterfront Botanical Gardens in the historic Butchertown neighborhood, the Graeser Family Education Center includes a 6,000-square-foot classroom.
Next year, AHOY Children’s Museum will open with interactive exhibits on the city’s history, art, and nature. Opening in 2025, The Dot Experience, named after the written language of Braille, will have 28,000 square feet of exhibits showcasing history and artifacts from famous figures with visual impairments, including Helen Keller, Stevie Wonder, and José Feliciano.
Downtown’s Kentucky International Convention Center has more than 200,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, 52 meeting rooms, and a 165-seat theater. It connects to the 620-room Louisville Marriott, with 50,000 square feet of event space, and the 393-room Hyatt Regency, with 26,000 square feet of function space.
The Kentucky Exposition Center has two arenas, 56 meeting rooms, and more than 1.2 million square feet of event space.
There are approximately 22,000 guest rooms in the city. Larger hotels with event space include The Galt House, with 1,290 guest rooms and 124,000 square feet of function space; Omni Louisville, with 612 guest rooms and 70,000 square feet of meeting and event space; Hyatt Regency, with 393 guest rooms and 20,600 square feet of event space; and Embassy Suites, with 304 guest rooms and 15,000 square feet of meeting space. Two historic properties in downtown are the Brown Hotel, with 294 guest rooms and meeting space for groups of 600, and the Seelbach Hilton, with 321 guest rooms and space to seat 400 for dinners.
Shelbyville and Shelby County
VisitShelby.com; @VisitShelbyKY
Located about an hour from both Louisville and Lexington, Shelbyville and Shelby County, along with Simpsonville, are collectively known as a “bourbon destination.”
Home to two distilleries, Jeptha Creed Distillery and Bulleit Distillery, the region is also close to several others on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
The Shelbyville Conference Center contains more than 16,000 square feet of space, with a capacity of 400 banquet style and 600 theatre style. The center features three rooms for rent, and add-ons include a stage, dance floor, exhibit booth, and portable bar.
Area hotels include Best Western Shelbyville Lodge, Comfort Inn & Suites Shelbyville/Louisville East, and Hampton Inn Simpsonville.
Local attractions include the Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass, the Shelbyville History Museum, and of course, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Shepherdsville and Bullitt County
TravelBullitt.org
About 20 minutes south of Louisville and 20 minutes west of Bardstown, Bullitt County is the official trailhead of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and home to James Beam Distillery, Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling, four award-winning wineries, and a brewery. According to Travel Bullitt, local flavors include old-style diners and a newly opened restaurant, The Kitchen Table at James Beam, which sits 110 for events. Just across the road from James Beam, the 16,000-acre Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest has landscaped gardens, miles of wooded trails, giant sculptures, a visitor’s center, and a cafe. Special group programs and tours are available.
The Paroquet Springs Conference Centre in Shepherdsville features a 12,000-square-foot expo hall and room for 1,000 people.
Eastern Kentucky
Ashland
VisitAKY.com; @VisitAshlandKY
Ashland is part of a tri-state metro area, including Ohio and West Virginia, home to around 300,000 people. According to Visit Ashland, the riverfront town has a revitalized downtown with public art, locally owned shops and restaurants, the 1,400-seat Paramount Arts Center, and a recently opened Delta Hotel by Marriott, with 152 guest rooms and event space for 350 guests.
The newly opened C.B. Nuckolls Community Center & Black History Museum features exhibits, educational programs, art, genealogy research facilities, and limited event space. There are multiple reception areas at Union on Carter, and Highlands Museum & Discovery Center can seat 350 for dinners or 600 theater style.
Morehead
MoreheadTourism.com
Home to Morehead State University, this town of about 7,000 people has more than 100 miles of hiking and biking trails in the Daniel Boone National Forest and ample opportunities for boating and fishing at nearby Cave Run Lake. The university’s Kentucky Folk Art Center has a permanent collection of more than 1,400 pieces, with rotating exhibits showing folk art, fine art, photography, and textiles. The university has a variety of classroom and auditorium spaces for events and the recently updated Star Theater, a 90-seat digital planetarium that regularly hosts special events.
According to Morehead/Rowan County Tourism, Morehead Conference Center is the biggest event space in town, with 18,000 total square feet of exhibit and meeting space. The Rowan County Arts Center hosts a monthly maker’s market, classes, and rotating art exhibits, with indoor and outdoor event spaces.
Mount Sterling and Montgomery County
MTSterlingTourism.com
Formerly a major stagecoach route, Mount Sterling welcomes groups to enjoy its history, including Court Days, which began as an annual trading day in the 1800s and is now a four-day festival every October that draws thousands to historic downtown. Another historic local attraction, the 100-year-old Ruth Hunt Candy Company, still uses many of the founder’s recipes and offers tours, tastings, and a retail shop.
The Clay Community Center can accommodate 600 guests, Gateway Regional Arts Center can seat 175 theater style, Sterling Meadows has an auditorium seating 300, and the 4,320-square-foot Montgomery County Extension Center can seat 300 for presentations. A 70-room Ramada Limited is adjacent to the Old Silo Golf Course and can seat 125 people for meetings.
North-Central Kentucky
Carrollton
VisitCarrolltonKY.com; @TourCarrollton
Home to nearly 11,000 people, Carrollton is located on the Ohio River, about halfway between Louisville and Cincinnati. This small town is known for its annual festivals, local shops and restaurants, historic sites, and outdoor recreational opportunities, according to the Carrollton-Carroll County Tourism and Convention Commission.
The county is home to General Butler State Resort Park, featuring a conference center with space to seat 400 for dinners or 750 theater style. The park’s 53-room Butler Lodge has 23 cottages, a 176-seat dining hall, two private dining rooms, and outdoor space.
Maysville
VisitMaysvilleKY.com; @VisitMaysvilleKY
Situated on the Ohio River, about an hour from Cincinnati and Lexington, Maysville was named USA Today’s “Best Southern Small Town” for 2023. Visitors can explore its outdoor activities, history, sightseeing, shopping, and art scene. Downtown’s historic Cox Building dates to the late 1800s and is the city’s main event facility with a top-floor ballroom seating 200 for dinners, plus additional space for meetings and receptions.
The city is home to Old Pogue Distillery, now owned by the sixth generation of the Pogue family, which offers tours and tastings. Downtown’s Landing at Limestone, formerly a bourbon production site, is now an entertainment district with restaurants, pubs, and attractions. These include the Kentucky Gateway Museum and the Old Pogue Experience, which offers tastings and welcomes small groups.
Additional venues include the 500-seat Washington Opera House and the historic 700-seat Russell Theatre, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. A 93-room Hampton Inn and the 61-room French Quarter Inn at the Landing at Limestone have limited event spaces.
Northern Kentucky (Covington, Florence, and Newport)
MeetNKY.com; @Meet_NKY
The cities of Covington, Florence, and Newport are known collectively as Northern Kentucky—or simply NKY.
“We’re an extraordinarily unique destination where Cincinnati’s Midwestern, urban vibrancy meets Northern Kentucky’s Southern charm and funky flavors,” says Stefanie Wyckoff, director of convention sales for MeetNKY. “Our cultures collide: creating experiences that are wildly different, yet easily accessible, around every corner, over every hill, and back and forth across the Ohio River.”
NKY offers planners more than 7,000 guest rooms and 110,000 square feet of meeting and event space “Event attendees will love exploring our bourbon culture across The B-Line [craft bourbon tour], and they will enjoy being able to walk to our downtown restaurants and attractions with easy access to Cincinnati across the river,” Wyckoff says.
Area family-friendly attractions include Cincinnati Reds baseball, the Cincinnati Zoo, the Ark Encounter, Newport Aquarium, and BB Riverboats. The area features museums such as the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Museum Center, American Sign Museum, and Behringer Crawford Museum.
Food tours are popular with groups, Wyckoff says. “Our culinary scene is unique because of the mash-up of cultures in our region. Our world-famous Cincinnati chili originated with Greek and Macedonian immigrants to the region, and we highly advise a taste of this local delicacy,” she explains. “We also pay homage to our German immigrant roots in
our beloved, a pudding of ground meats, pin oats, and spices that we cut and fry into a delicious experience.”
Newly opened, North by Hotel Covington is located next to the 114-room Hotel Covington and adds 53 luxury suites plus a ballroom seating 500 people. Also new is a 123-room Hilton Garden Inn with a small meeting room and Turfway Park Racing and Gaming, which features a 17,000-square-foot ballroom overlooking the track.
The Northern Kentucky Convention Center has a 17,500-square-foot ballroom, 10 breakout rooms, and a 46,200-square-foot event hall. The center connects by a covered walkway to the Marriott RiverCenter with 321 guest rooms and 10 meeting rooms. The center and the hotel have 94,894 total square feet of event space combined. Adjacent to the center, Embassy Suites RiverCenter has 227 guest rooms and more than 8,000 square feet of flexible space. The 220-room Radisson Riverfront seats 600 people theater style.
Other event facilities include Newport Aquarium, which can host 1,500 people for a reception, and Hofbrauhaus Newport, with indoor seating for 300 guests plus an additional space in the outdoor Biergarten.
Western Kentucky
Hopkinsville
VisitHopkinsville.com; @VstHopkinsville
A city known for its agricultural output, more than two million pounds of flour is produced in Hopkinsville daily. The self-professed “Batter Capital of the World” is also home to Fort Campbell and the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, with many businesses and organizations offering military discounts, according to Hopkinsville-Christian County CVB.
The city’s biggest event space is the 40,000-square-foot Bruce Convention Center, with indoor space that has 16 different configurations, plus a terrace and patio. The center is adjacent to the 104-room Holiday Inn and the 54,000-square-foot Hopkinsville Sportsplex with indoor soccer fields, basketball courts, batting cages, archery space, and a 70-person capacity meeting room.
Additional offsite event spaces include Burdoc Farms, a 700-acre family farm with corporate event space and teambuilding options; Casey Jones Distillery, with event space, tours, tastings, and bourbon-bottling experiences; Forbes Event Center, with performance and event space for 400 guests; and Silo Event Center, with reception or meeting space for 400. Nearby, Pennyrile Forest State Park has a 24-room lodge, 13 cottages, a 200-seat restaurant, and meeting space for 120 guests. The Hopkinsville campus of Murray State University has a variety of classrooms, an auditorium, and event spaces.
Owensboro
VisitOwensboro.com; @VisitOwensboro
Home to 60,000 people, Owensboro is an “authentic small town with big-city amenities,” says Dave Kirk, destination management for Visit Owensboro. “We’re known for bluegrass, bourbon, and barbecue. In fact, we’re the ‘Bluegrass Music Capital of the World’ and home to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and ROMP, a massive bluegrass music festival held every June,” he adds.
The Owensboro Convention Center has 100,000 square feet of event space, including a 44,000-square-foot exhibition hall and 48,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space.
Two hotels are adjacent to the center, the 123-room Holiday Inn Owensboro Riverfront, and the 150-suite Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown/Waterfront, with 2,231 total square feet of meeting space. A third downtown hotel is under construction, according to Kirk. “Park at your downtown riverfront hotel, and everything is super-walkable with restaurants, bars, breweries, boutique shopping, museums, and public art and murals,” he says.
Event space at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where event attendees can take introductory music lessons, includes a 4,000-square-foot event room and 447-seat theater, with outdoor space for 1,500 guests.
Additional event space is at Western Kentucky Botanical Garden, with space for 125 guests; The Hines Center, with banquet seating for 1,000; and RiverPark Center, with a 1,500-seat auditorium and additional reception, concert, meeting, and banquet spaces to seat 300 people. Kentucky Wesleyan College has classroom and banquet space for 500 people, and Brescia University can accommodate 160 people for meetings. The 5,000-seat Owensboro Sportscenter is suitable for concerts, trade shows, meetings, and receptions.
Paducah
Paducah.Travel; @PaducahCreativeCity
Paducah is a river town where art and culture are beyond something to appreciate, representing “a way of life,” according to Liz Hammonds, director of marketing and communications for the Paducah CVB.
“This year, we celebrate 10 years as a UNESCO Creative City, as a destination for those who crave rich, authentic cultural experiences,” Hammonds adds. “Our National Quilt Museum; River Discovery Center; historic sites like Lloyd Tilghman House & Civil War Museum; and Hotel Metropolitan that was once part of the famed ‘Chitlin’ Circuit,’ where blues performers played and stayed, all set Paducah apart, along with our emphasis on hospitality to remain inviting to visitors and returning tourists.”
There is plenty in the city to be enjoyed by families while meeting attendees are at work, Hammond says. “There are boutiques, shops, and restaurants to discover, and the riverfront is an excellent spot to wind down after a long day,” she says. “There are also plenty of attractions for children, including Atomic City Family Fun Center, Vertical Jump Trampoline Park, and River Discovery Center. There is always something going on in Paducah at night, including live music, workshops, and creativity camps.”
With more than 600 pieces of fiber art by artists worldwide, the National Quilt Museum offers adult workshops, small classroom spaces, and group programs with a gallery tour and demonstrations where participants can create their own quilt block.
The Paducah McCracken County Convention Center offers the largest event space in the city, with a 40,000-square-foot exhibit hall and 18 breakout rooms. The 123-room Holiday Inn Riverfront is next door and can seat 132 theater style.
Other venues include the 472-seat Clemens Fine Arts Center and 234-seat Market House Theatre, both of which have additional meeting space; River Discovery Center, which seats 50 for banquets or 146 theater style; and the Emerging Technology Center at West Kentucky Community and Technical College seats 225 theater style.
