2014 Best of the Corridor
Best Event Venue/Best Hotel for Clients and Guests: DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Complex
By Angela Holmes
CEDAR RAPIDS—Since opening a little more than a year ago, the DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Complex has benefitted from its own all-in-one design, as well as the continued development downtown.
“It’s a very exciting time for Cedar Rapids,” said Marilee Fowler, president and CEO of the Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “When you can be under one roof, especially in winter, it’s attractive. It makes us competitive, not just in Iowa, but in the Midwest and nationally.”
The complex along First Avenue includes a convention center with more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, the 267-room DoubleTree by Hilton hotel and the 9,600-seat U.S. Cellular Arena.
The two-year $144-million renovation project led by Frew Development gutted the former Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel and outdated arena and restored the buildings. Although the Crowne Plaza offered meeting space and banquet rooms, Cedar Rapids did not have its own convention facility.
The new convention center, the second largest in the state behind the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, has 81,779 square feet of exhibit space, 12,359 square feet of ballroom space and 19,383 square feet of meeting rooms. And while the Des Moines center is the largest, it doesn’t have a hotel attached to it.
“We see it as one – hotel, arena, complex,” said Matt Felling, general manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Complex. “It’s a Cinderella story of what it was to what it has become. We took it down to bare walls and floors.”
Mr. Felling, who has been with Hilton for more than 30 years with positions in such places at St. Louis and Indianapolis, researched the local market for about a year before the complex opened.
As well as incorporating modern designs and upscale furnishings, Mr. Felling also made sure to hire top-notch staff, including Chef Nazim Khan, who previously served as executive chef at Virginia Tech and sous chef at The Ritz Carlton in New York.
“We were very fortunate to hire Chef Nazim,” Mr. Felling said
Mr. Khan is a big supporter of local foods and regularly conducts presentations and tastings at the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market. He also hosts a cooking segment, “Chop Chop,” on KGAN-TV.
The chef trains the kitchen staff and designs the menus of the top-floor restaurant, 350 First, as well as coordinates the catering for special events such as banquets and weddings.
Wedding season has already been busy this year, Mr. Felling said. By the end of June, the complex had already hosted 17 wedding receptions in 2014, including five on a single Saturday in June.
Company events, such as the Rockwell Collins annual sales meeting, and office holiday parties have also been popular.
“We can do anything for five people to 1,200 people,” Mr. Felling said. “We have had lunches for 950.”
In June, the complex was the site of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry’s conference, attracting more than 725 attendees. It marked the first time the group has held its conference in Cedar Rapids.
“We worked with them for three years,” Ms. Fowler said. “They booked the convention site unseen.”
Other conferences held at the complex have included the School Nutrition Association of Iowa Annual Conference and the Missouri Valley Division of the IAFC Fire Chiefs Conference and Convention.
The Girls State Volleyball Tournament returned to the U.S. Cellular Center last November after being held at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena in 2011 and 2012 during the center’s renovation. The tournament attracted nearly 28,000 people in 2013, providing business for the hotel, restaurant and other downtown businesses.
In December, the complex hosted the NCAA Division II volleyball championships, providing the teams with a place to practice, compete, eat and sleep.
Having everything under one roof “eliminates logistics” for large groups like these, Mr. Felling noted.
It also helps attract big-name entertainment troupes. Last year when Cirque du Soleil performed four dates at the U.S. Cellular Center, its crew of 140 people stayed six nights at the hotel and used the banquet rooms for meals.
Other area amenities, such as added direct flights at the Eastern Iowa Airport and more entertainment options downtown, also draw conventions and tourists to the complex.
The average stay at the hotel is two to three nights, Mr. Felling said. Patrons usually eat at the hotel’s restaurant at least once and then venture out to downtown places such as Zins, White Star Ale House and Cobble Hill.
“You can walk out the front door and everything is there,” Mr. Felling said.
TIMES ON LIST:
1 Best Event Venue (new category)
1 Best Hotel for Guests/Clients (new category)
