Upcountry South Carolina

Heading inland from the South Carolina shore, coastal glamour and sprawling golf courses are replaced by saltwater reeds and grasses that give way to cash crops such as cotton, soybeans and peaches. One quickly reaches the center of South Carolina: Columbia, where state government and the University of South Carolina are headquartered, and where Upcountry begins.

The economic and political heart of the state, Upcountry South Carolina encompasses the capital of Columbia and thriving smaller communities such as Spartanburg, Greenville and Rock Hill.

Spartanburg has reinvented itself as a manufacturing center (for BMWs, no less), and Greenville touts its business climate and cultural venues, while nearby Clemson hosts one of the South's top universities. Farther north, the inviting center of fast-growing York County is Rock Hill.

For groups, Upcountry South Carolina brims with trademark Southern hospitality and a variety of options that provide a welcome alternative to the hectic bustle of larger cities.

Columbia

Sandi Owen, marketing manager of the Columbia Metropolitan CVB, says that although the area boasts a wealth of history—bronze stars still mark the spot where Union gunfire hit the State Capitol—Columbia is a progressive city with plenty of interesting diversions.

"We have these neat little districts where you can shop and eat. It's a very artsy town," Owen says. "They're building up the riverfront and just completed the Riverwalk that goes along the river—it has places to hike, bike and put canoes in."

Columbia also features the popular Riverbank Zoo and Botanical Garden, and its cultural institutions include the Columbia Museum of Art, which has meeting space for up to 1,000 people, and EdVenture Children's Museum, an interactive learning facility that opened in November.

Barely 10 miles from downtown is Hopkins, the gateway to Congaree National Park. Three hundred years ago there were an estimated 1 million-plus acres of old-growth natural floodplain forest in the region, but today just 13,000 acres remain, most of which are within the park.

Columbia boasts six convention hotels, including the 237-room Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, which has meeting facilities for up to 1,800 attendees, and the 214-room Embassy Suites Hotel. The recently built, stand-alone Columbia Conference Center also has 40,000 square feet of meeting space.

Meanwhile, the new Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center is scheduled to open in September. While the new facility will be able to host up to 2,000 delegates, the average group size for Columbia is 300 to 500 people, although a citywide convention of from 5,000 to 6,000 delegates is possible.

Spartanburg

Spartanburg is named for the Spartanburg Rifles militia, which helped defeat British forces during the Revolutionary War. Since called the "Hub City" for its prominence in linking rail lines, Spartanburg changed nearly overnight after it was chosen in 1992 as the site for BMW's only U.S. manufacturing plant.

Today, BMW manufactures its prestigious Z-4 roadster and X-5 sedan here, and who could resist a factory tour?  Planners may also visit and convene at BMW's Zentrum Museum, featuring automotive-themed exhibits, a 250-seat auditorium, a 60-seat conference room, and a cafe.

Spartanburg's renaissance and new manufacturing jobs have mixed large and small and old and new here, according to Lauren Ponder, the Spartanburg CVB's events coordinator.

"It's got a very quaint feel to it, a very small-town feel. Everybody knows everybody," Ponder says. "But we also have 253,000 people in the county, and we are very large geographically."

Other companies headquarter here as well, including Extended Stay America and Milliken & Co., which has a campus featuring 600 acres of public walking trails, ponds and fountains.

Most major chain hotels have Spartanburg properties as well. For example, Marriott's four flagship brands—Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, and Marriott—are sprinkled throughout the city, and Spartanburg's new Renaissance Park, a mixed-use office and residential development, is anchored by the 247-room Spartanburg Marriott Conference Hotel at Renaissance Park.

Holiday Inn, Radisson and Ramada also have properties with meeting facilities in Spartanburg, while the Hampton Inn & Suites in nearby Duncan has 133 guest rooms and 33 suites, plus banquet space for 80 guests and two boardrooms for 10 people. But small is beautiful here, too: Spartanburg's Inn on Main is a six-room bed and breakfast in a renovated, circa-1904 house, which can be rented out for meetings of up to 30 people.

Also downtown, the 3,300-capacity Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium recently added the SMA Cafe, a smaller show venue catering to students from Spartanburg's six colleges.

Groups can also meet in Barnet Park's amphitheater or within the 10-acre Hatcher Garden & Woodland Preserve.

Greenville

Greenville has become South Carolina's economic powerhouse. From a textile-industry past, the city now abounds with manufacturing jobs and youthful energy, as evidenced by the Governor's School of the Arts, which picks the most talented high school students statewide to live and create art for nine months in downtown Greenville.

Rowena Buffett Timms, vice president of sales at the Greenville CVB, calls downtown Greenville, with its 100 or so restaurants and eight performing arts centers, an absolute gem.

"Two small lanes run through the center of Main Street, and there are tree-lined, walking sidewalks, boutique-type stores—no Gap, nothing you see everywhere today," Buffett Timms says.

And while every CVB talks up its main street, Greenville has the accolades to prove its appeal. The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded Greenville its American Main Street Award—so, technically, it is one of the best main streets in the entire country.

Most major chain hotels have a presence in Greenville, including the Hyatt Regency Greenville, featuring 24,000 square feet of meeting space; Westin Poinsett Greenville, with 12,000 square feet of function space; Hilton Greenville, offering 12,000 square feet of meeting space; and Marriott Greenville, with 10,300 square feet of function space.

Additionally, the Bi-Lo Center accommodates groups of from 5,000 to 16,000 people for events and concert performances.

Nominally a suburb of Greenville, Clemson is dominated by Clemson University, and the paw prints of its football team's mascot are everywhere around town. The town is serious about football; Clemson Memorial Stadium can hold more than 80,000 fans, and empty seats at game time are pretty much unheard-of.

Augmenting the university's peaceful academic setting is the IACC-approved Clemson University Conference Center & Inn, a woodsy 250-acre facility anchored with 17,000 square feet of meeting space and 18 holes of golf.

Rock Hill/York County

Farther north, Rock Hill lies at the center of York County just 20 minutes by car south of Charlotte—close, but not too close, says Margaret Young, director of sales at the Rock Hill/York County CVB.

"We can have a small-town feel but benefit from having a large city 20 or 30 minutes away," Young says. "We're in the rolling hills of the Piedmont [with] lots of open space, and we have new hotels, stores and restaurants. It's just a treasure, and once people come here to visit, they move here."

Flanked by the Catawba and Broad rivers, Rock Hill abounds with canoeing and kayaking opportunities. Its downtown is fairly spread out but developing more retail and residential space as it rebounds from the textile industry's long decline.

"Textiles were just a major employer for us for many years, and there is a cotton mill here that is in the process of being refurbished," Young says. "It's going to be a mixed-use area with commercial, residential and artisans' galleries."

The city works well for groups of up to 300 people, and hotels with function space include the 127-room Holiday Inn Rock Hill, which accommodates meetings of up to 300 people, and the Hilton Garden Inn Rock Hill, offering 127 guest rooms and four meeting spaces totaling 3,500 square feet. The slightly smaller Wingate Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Hampton Inn also offer meeting facilities.

Beyond the hotels, Rock Hill's other meeting venues include the 40,000-square-foot Baxter Hood Center and Winthrop University's 6,000-seat coliseum, which also has breakout rooms.