I just returned from Atlanta where I attended the NAMS Workshop, which is an event I attend & teach at twice a year. It’s an easy road trip from where I live in Tennessee – just a 3 1/2 hour drive.
We usually meet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near the Atlanta airport, but this time the event was hosted at the Atlanta Marriott Century Center instead.
The only major drawback was that there is only one restaurant in the hotel, and no stores or restaurants within easy walking distance. Considering most of us stayed for 5 days/5 nights, that got a little old. It was pricey as well. I do think that the Atlanta Marriott Century Center could have given a price break for a large group like ours, considering we were “hostage” to their restaurant 3x a day for such an extended amount of time. 😉
Fortunately there was also a coffee shop where you could get bagels, muffins, salads & sandwiches. And also a lobby store open 24 hours a day with snacks, salads, etc.
That was helpful when the restaurant was overly busy, or you wanted something less expensive to grab on the go.
That aside, the venue was great for our event. The indoor lobby area and the outdoor fire pit & pool area were both great for socializing after hours.
The conference rooms were especially nice. Very comfortable lighting & seating, which was great for long conference days. And the entire staff was friendly and accommodating- from the front desk to the restaurant.
Our rooms were very comfortable as well (heavenly bed!!) and they did have coffee pots and refrigerators in-room. That was helpful for those on special diets, which included several of us who were low carb or gluten free eaters and needed our own quick snacks to get through the long work days.
Speaking of food, which is ALWAYS on my mind 😀 (I love food -lol), the restaurant was fabulous even if it was a bit pricey. Of course I was eating Low Carb on the trip, and fortunately had no problem with that – even with the limited food choices there:
Like I said, I did get tired of Salmon & Salad after 5 straight days. When you eat in ANY restaurant for every meal for that long… everything starts tasting the same. 😛 But I can’t say the food wasn’t great, because it really was – even the coffee shop salads were crisp & fresh every single time. Not to mention huge!
As you can see, I had no problem eating Low Carb while I was there. It was rare I had to special order anything, even. But when I did, the wait staff was very friendly and happy to bring out anything requested.
And I came home weighing the same as I did when I left 5 days earlier. Big plus. 😀
We’ll be returning to the Atlanta Marriott Century Center in February for our next NAMS Workshop. I’m looking forward to it, and hoping the weather is nice enough in February to enjoy the patio and fire pit areas again…
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