What’s between New York City and Boston? Connecticut, mostly. From big resort casinos in the east to near-to-NYC Stamford in the west, and from Hartford up north to New Haven on the southern coast, the Constitution State has attractive offerings for every type of business event.
Eastern Connecticut Casino Resorts
Set in a huge, sparsely populated hardwood forest—but within one hour of both Hartford’s Bradley International Airport and Providence’s T.F. Green International Airport—are two large casino resorts designed to host sizable business events and regional incentive programs.
Mohegan Sun, owned by the federally recognized Mohegan Tribe, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as one of the largest casinos in the United States by gaming space, and one of the largest hotel-based convention facilities in the northeastern U.S.: more than 230,000 square feet of space to go along with more than 1,600 hotel rooms.
The resort is on a roll with meetings, conventions and tradeshows recently, boasting a 70% rate of repeat business, according to Kim Simone, vice president of sales and marketing.
“We are seeing a huge uptick in corporate and association national conventions,” she said. “We landed six consecutive groups whose planners came for a site visit in late 2025. We’re a different type of destination—away from the cities but easily accessible and with so many offerings on site.”
The latest group-focused development on site is a combined effort by the Summer Shack restaurant, Lansdowne Irish Pub and Avalon nightclub to host receptions of up to 1,600 people.
“They’re all under the same liquor license and are just steps from each other,” Simone said, so a group takeover allows for various F&B offerings and themed experiences, from a New England lobster and clam bake to pub sing-alongs to a disco party.
In addition, there are 15 private dining rooms across the dozen-plus full-service restaurants at Mohegan Sun, which include Todd English’s Tuscany, Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, Beauty & Essex, TAO Asian Bistro and Sol Toro.
The resort has two separate convention facilities: Earth Expo & Convention Center and Sky Convention Center. Earth offers a 20,000-square-foot divisible ballroom plus 15 breakout rooms, along with a 125,000-square-foot column-free expo hall that can be carpeted and dressed up—it hosted the Miss America Pageant in 2023.
Alternatively, Sky features a 38,000-square-foot ballroom that’s divisible by 10 as well as 20 breakout rooms.
There’s also Mohegan Sun Arena, a 10,000-seat multipurpose venue that attracts national concerts and hosts the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun between May and September for 22 games a year plus many practices.
Eight miles east of Mohegan Sun is Foxwoods Resort Casino, owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. It offers 1,948 guest rooms across two large towers and the adjacent Great Cedar Hotel.
Its meeting and event space comprises a 47,000-square-foot ballroom divisible by eight, a 15,000-square-foot ballroom divisible by 11, plus nearly two dozen dedicated breakout rooms. There’s also 13,000 square feet of adjacent terrace and lawn space. Other event venues include the 4,000-seat Premier Theater, the 1,400-seat Great Cedar Showroom and the High Rollers Luxury Lanes and Sports Lounge that can host receptions for up to 800.
Foxwoods has five fine-dining restaurants, including Cedars Steaks and Oysters, Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen and Momosan by Morimoto. The full-service Norwich Spa is on site, while one mile down the road is the resort’s Lake of Isles Golf Club featuring 36 holes of woodland golf plus a two-story lakeside clubhouse with a private pub and a glass-walled ballroom that can host 200 for a seated dinner prepared by the resort’s culinary team.
After meetings are over for the day, attendees can try their luck among 250 table games, 3,500 slot machines and a DraftKings Sportsbook lounge.
One other post-meeting option is Mystic Seaport District and Museum, highly regarded for showcasing Connecticut’s 300-year-old maritime history and culture. It’s just a 20-minute drive from both resorts.
[Related: F&B Experiences in Newport, R.I. that Groups Will Love]
Hartford
Among the oldest cities in the country, Hartford dates back to 1636 when Puritan colonists arrived at the Connecticut River shoreline from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Today, the “Insurance Capital of the World” also has a strong corporate presence among financial, aerospace, manufacturing and healthcare firms, while the educational sector is anchored by nearby University of Connecticut. And Hartford is within a 2.5-hour drive of about 24 million people.
In center city, the Connecticut Convention Center offers 230,000 square feet of usable space. There’s a 40,000-square-foot divisible ballroom, 14 breakout rooms and 140,000 square feet of expo space. The 409-room Hartford Marriott Downtown is connected to the center via skywalk, and the 120-room Residence Inn by Marriott is one block beyond that. The 121-room Hampton Inn & Suites East Hartford is a 12-minute walk to the center. The city’s Dash transportation service is a free shuttle that serves all these hotels and the convention center when groups are in town.
Right next to the Marriott is the Connecticut Science Center—a favorite reception venue for meeting groups. Across its nine floors are hands-on activations, live demonstrations and immersive STEM experiences as well as compelling nature presentations.
Another memorable reception venue a short walk away is The Wadsworth Museum of Art. Opened in 1842, the oldest public art museum in the United States houses Greek and Roman antiquities, European decorative arts, Baroque and Surrealist paintings, Hudson River School landscapes, Impressionist works and more. The building itself features an iconic castle-like exterior and can host 350 for a reception.
The Infinity Music Hall is a flex-seating theater that can accommodate 500 guests for a reception with musical entertainment. And less than a mile from the convention center is Peoples Bank Arena, a 16,000-seat venue that hosts the Hartford Wolfpack minor-league hockey team for 36 games between October and April, and is available to groups at other times.
Bradley International Airport is 15 minutes north of the city; the 237-room Sheraton Hartford with meeting space is connected to the main terminal.
[Related: Art and Cultural Venues in Boston That Inspire Groups]
New Haven
A significant hub for pharmaceutical and medical-device companies thanks to the massive Yale-New Haven Health system, New Haven also boasts Yale University, founded in 1701, and a deep repository of academic expertise that business events could tap into.
There are two true meetings hotels in the city. The 306-room Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale sits near the historic New Haven Green and less than two blocks from more than a dozen restaurants. It features 22,000 square feet of meeting space anchored by an 8,200-square-foot ballroom plus 16 breakout rooms.
The other is Hotel Marcel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, a unique 1970s building of Brutalist design. Two other standout elements of the property: its own solar grid on site that powers the entire facility and panoramic views of Long Island Sound. Hotel Marcel has 165 guest rooms, 9,000 square feet of meeting space and BLDG Restaurant & Bar. A waterside food-truck promenade is open daily and is a short walk away.
Two excellent special-event venues in town are the Yale Art Museum, featuring one of the world’s most encyclopedic collections chronicling world cultures and history, and the 1,600-seat, Broadway-style Schubert Theater.
The grassroots heart of New Haven, though, is Wooster Street. Three of the best coal-fired pizza restaurants in America—Frank Pepe’s, Modern Apizza and Sally’s Apizza—have operated just a few doors apart for more than 90 years. Midweek block parties are possible.
New Haven is 80 miles from New York City and 140 miles from Boston on frequently running Amtrak trains. Bradley Airport in Hartford is a 50-mile drive on Interstate 91.
Stamford
About 35 miles northeast of New York City, Stamford works for groups seeking access to the Big Apple without the relentless bustle and steep meeting costs. That’s also why many Fortune 1000 firms have a presence in and around Stamford.
To accommodate their meetings plus others, the 484-room Doubletree by Hilton Stamford has a stand-alone 13-room, 64,000-square-foot conference center that includes a 10,000-square-foot ballroom and 7,200-square-foot indoor garden pavilion. The Stamford Marriott has 508 rooms and 21,000 square feet of event space, anchored by a 9,000-square-foot ballroom. And the Stamford Hotel has 379 rooms and 11,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 4,500-square-foot ballroom.
There are at least a dozen highly regarded restaurants in Stamford, with strong options for Italian, French, New American, steaks and seafood. Memorable special-event venues include Bank Street Events, a former bank with 40-foot ceilings housing stained-glass domes; the 1,600-seat Broadway-style Palace Theater; and Whitby Castle, a luxurious, castle-like setting 13 miles out of town.
Driving from Stamford to NYC can take anywhere from 40 to 80 minutes, but the Metro North commuter rail gets to Grand Central Station in 50 minutes.
Connections
Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau
ctmeetings.org
Foxwoods Resort Casino
foxwoods.com/meetings
Mohegan Sun
meetings.mohegansun.com
