Raleigh, North Carolina, celebrated the ribbon cutting of its new convention headquarters hotel, the Omni Raleigh Hotel, April 21.
Located between the Raleigh Convention Center and Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, the 29-story hotel is scheduled to open in late 2028 and offer 600 guest rooms and 61,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 20,000-square-foot ballroom.
“The arrival of Omni Raleigh will mark a pivotal step forward in the evolution of downtown Raleigh and strengthens our city’s position as a premier destination for business and leisure travel," said Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell in a press release announcing the ribbon cutting. "Alongside the Convention Center expansion, and significant investments at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts Center and Red Hat Amphitheater, we look forward to welcoming many more residents and visitors to enjoy all that our vibrant city center has to offer."
According to Omni, highlights of the new hotel include the following:
- A rooftop pool and adjacent restaurant offering all-day dining and sweeping city views
- A sports bar featuring a golf simulator with large-format video walls, lounge seating and a covered outdoor patio
- A fitness center and resort-style wellness experience with hot and cold therapies, including hot tubs, steam rooms, saunas, cold plunges, red light recovery tables and compression pods
- North Carolina’s first Bob’s Steak & Chop House, blending the signature classic design of Omni’s standard-bearing restaurant with Raleigh-inspired artwork and private dining spaces
- A partnership with Omni to bring the first-ever coffee shop by Raleigh-based Peter Millar
Raleigh Convention Center Expansion
The hotel will serve as the headquarters for the convention center, which itself is undergoing a $387.5 million expansion also set for completion in 2028.
Highlights of the Raleigh Convention Center expansion include the addition of nearly 300,000 square feet of meeting space, bringing the venue’s total footprint to just shy of 800,000 square feet. The project will also introduce 50,000 square feet of divisible flex halls and an additional 13 meeting rooms and prefunction space.
"This new 600-room Omni hotel will put us in a position to not only attract larger conventions but also layer two conventions in the convention center simultaneously, which will generate additional economic impact for the county and add more vibrancy to the downtown area," said Dennis Edwards, president and CEO of Visit Raleigh. "Omni has established itself as one of the premier convention hotel brands in the country, and having its presence in the market will automatically elevate Raleigh as a more competitive convention destination on a national and international level.”
The project will also facilitate the relocation of the Red Hat Amphitheater, which has the capacity for 6,000 guests for concerts and other events, one block south of its current site.
