Louisville, Kentucky is located on the Ohio River across from Indiana. It is well known for being the home of Muhammad Ali, the Kentucky Derby, Louisville Slugger bats, and of course, Kentucky Bourbon. It’s location in the heart of the US, the meeting place between the South and the Midwest, means it’s a good place to have an event.
We were in Louisville, Kentucky in August of 2019 for the annual Connect event, so we got to see some things around town. We also checked out various spaces for meetings and events. There are a good deal of interesting Louisville Kentucky event locations.
We stayed at the Omni Louisville, right in the heart of town. This modern hotel offers 612 guest rooms and suites. They also are a good place to have an event, as they have 33 meeting rooms with a total of 70,000 sq ft of space. (Their largest room is 20,361 sq ft.) We loved the on-site amenities, including Falls City Market. This marketplace was a good place to pick up sundries and food. (We loved the pizza at Iron Quarter!)
Next door to the Omni is the Louisville Marriott Downtown.This hotel features xx rooms and is also a great place for a meeting. They have 37 event rooms with 45,025 square feet of total space. The largest room is 20,000 square feet and can hold up to 2,400 people. The Marriott features a multitude of on-site amenities, including a bourbon tasting room and Porch Restaurant, which features Southern cooking.
Both hotels are close to the Kentucky International Convention Center. This freshly-renovated, LEED Certified facility features 300,000 square feet of total space and 52 rooms.
We can’t forget to mention Louisville’s most unique event venue: Churchill Downs. While this horse racetrack is world-renowned for the annual Kentucky Derby, the Downs provide a multitude of venues for all sorts of meetings, from 15 to 1500 people! And yes, a wedding can be held under the iconic Twin Spires.
And we would be remiss if we didn’t mention some of the fun activities we had in Louisville, like sampling all the fine bourbons produced locally, going on a bike ride with the local Louvelo bikeshare, and checking out the Big Four Bridge! This old railroad bridge spanning the Ohio River into Indiana has been transformed into a magical place for pedestrians and cyclists. And for a fee, the lighting on the bridge can be customized for your charitable cause or special event.
Hope this gives you some ideas of Louisville Kentucky event locations for your next meeting!