[ON LOCATION] LISA SIMUNDSON
Like the most coveted property on the Monopoly board, the Boardwalk is the place to be. The Atlantic City landmark—updated, renovated and lined with new and refreshed casino resorts—is a natural landing place for groups, who can exit their hotels and stroll to shopping, dining and entertainment options ranging from the Boardwalk’s fabled Steel Pier (in season) to live performances at the vintage Warner Theatre.
Between a fluctuating economy and some bad weather days, Atlantic City has been through booms and busts through the years, but now sits squarely in the “boom” column. Nowhere is that more apparent than in its latest resort coup and Prevue’s host hotel—Nobu Hotel at Caesars Atlantic City—occupying three floors at the top of the Centurion Tower with 82 newly transformed rooms and suites overlooking the Boardwalk and beach.
Downstairs is a separate check-in desk for Nobu Hotel guests while steps away, Nobu Atlantic City—the restaurant’s first location in the greater Philadelphia region—features the cocktails and dishes of Chef Nobu Matsuhisa along with separate spaces for groups, including a private saki room.
Business may come before pleasure; but then again, maybe not, if it’s Atlantic City. To even get to your meeting room, you’re likely to cross a glittering landscape of activity—casinos, luxe shopping promenades, sumptuous spas and even an indoor water park.
But keep going to reach some of the most expansive and creative meeting space you’ve ever seen. Steps away from Caesars Atlantic City is the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall—one of the few surviving buildings from Atlantic City’s early heyday whose storied past includes the vintage Miss America pageants as well as a 1964 Beatles concert.
Today’s Boardwalk Hall is still available for groups of all sizes, who gather to hear speakers or enjoy private dinners in the cavernous, acoustically perfect main theater/ballroom space. Originally created for silent movies, the ballroom is equipped with a beautiful pipe organ, a massive instrument so intricate, it wasn’t even completely finished when it debuted in 1932.
Funding and restoration have been under way for years, “as we try to reverse 95 years of time, Mother Nature and damage,” says Scott Banks, Membership and Events Coordinator. “About 65 percent of the organ works right now, but we still need $10 million,” he says. “Our original deadline was 2023 and now it’s 2029, which will be the building’s centenary.”
Head the other way from Caesars and you’ll reach the Showboat Hotel, a non-gaming property whose onsite Island Waterpark and huge Lucky Snake Arcade are both available for private events and total buyouts. How big is the arcade? It houses a full-size go-kart track along with virtual reality games, a classic pinball machine room and glow mini golf. In short, a teambuilding nirvana. The entire space can host up to 2,400, with two small rooms for powwow sessions.
“Whatever planners can think or dream, we can make happen,” says Sal Spena, Showboat’s Director of F&B/Event Sales.
The ocean isn’t the only waterscape in Atlantic City. The nearby Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa overlooks wetlands and a wind farm while rooms and suites also take in the picturesque Marina District. The property recently completed a $55 million remodel of the former Water Club Tower, now the 757-room MGM Tower, where planners will find nine meeting rooms and four boardrooms accommodating between 20 and 200.
“The MGM Tower is a boutique group space, and some groups will buy the whole tower,” notes Anthony Caratozzolo, the Borgata’s VP of Hospitality, adding that the tower will soon have a helipad serving business travel from Manhattan. Meanwhile, the 2,000-room Borgata—boasting 106,000 sf of event space—is due for its own refresh, scheduled for completion by September 2025. “Right after the summer, we go into construction mode to get ready for the next year,” Caratozzolo says.
Set bayside near the Borgata, the newly renovated Harrah’s Atlantic City is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Waterfront Convention Center, which at 100,000 sf is “the largest between Boston and Baltimore,” says Jim Marota, Director of the Atlantic City Region for Caesars Entertainment Meetings and Events.
Heading up 45 floors, the expansive penthouse hospitality suite can be set up for VIPs to enjoy unmatched views and the innovatively healthy cuisine of Banquet Chef Louis Heckel, who served our group frittatas, petit filet mignon, avocado toast, fresh fruit and juice…and a vegan chocolate bomb with mirror icing. Delicious, but also part of Caesars Resorts’ rollout of new wellness menus for meetings
“I did some experimenting, and I wasn’t sure how these recipes would taste with healthier ingredients, but I think they’re pretty good,” Heckel says. We couldn’t have agreed more.
The chocolate bomb was not to be our only foray into chocolate. Following a seafood feast at Dock’s Oyster House one night, we trekked to Bar 32, a cozy after-dinner location specializing in hand-crafted chocolates and cocktails, all produced in house. Bar 32 has a special feature for groups—customized chocolate bars featuring the messaging of your choice on the wrapper. And while chocolate may not be considered “healthful” per se, the in-house creation and preparation did feel and taste better on the palate.
Everywhere we dined, we sampled delicious and locally sourced cuisine, including at Seven Stars Lounge, Caesars Atlantic City, where Chef George Galati noted, “we’re trying to get away from processed foods…New Jersey is the Garden State; everything we need is within 50 miles.”
Like the prime real estate on the Monopoly board, Atlantic City streets are primed for a resurgence, as shopping and dining enclaves have sprung up in once-neglected areas. Your group will get a local history lesson—and a great meal—at Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall, located steps from the Boardwalk and featuring over a hundred craft beers alongside an inventive menu.
visitatlanticcity.com; caesars.com/atlantic-city