Boston South Shore may seem self-explanatory, but more accurately connotes the region ending both at Boston proper and Cape Cod to the south. Its towns include notable places such as Plymouth, Quincy and Weymouth. Plymouth, of course, is the spot where supposedly the Pilgrim Fathers came to shore in 1620, which is marked by the small, unimpressive (if not in its significant, in its physical nature) Plymouth Rock. While Boston South Shore meeting venues may not be as venerable as the Rock, many are well established and accommodating.
The area can be reached from two airports. First and foremost is Logan International (BOS) in Boston, to the north of the area and connected to a myriad of national and international destinations, while to the southeast, and farther away, is Theodore Francis Green Memorial State Airport (also known as T.F. Green and Providence/T.F. Green International (PVD), in Warwick, R.I., which has service to destinations the whole length of the Eastern Seaboard.
With no convention center in the immediate area (the nearest being in Boston or Providence), hotel venues in Boston South Shore take up the slack. These include the 464-room Boston Marriott Quincy, which has 15,000 square feet of meeting space; the 175-room Radisson Plymouth Harbor, which also has 15,000 square feet of meeting space; and the 127-room Holiday Inn Rockland, in Rockland, which has function space for up to 300 persons. Lodgings with fewer rooms include the 105-room Nantasket Beach Resort, in Hull, which has 10,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 55-room Cohasset Harbor Resort, in Cohasset, which has rooms for up to 600 persons to meet.
The area has a rich history of pioneers and maritime folk. Places to have that special event include the U.S. Naval Shipbuilding Museum, in Quincy, which even allows overnights (to somewhat lower your accommodations budget) on the U.S.S. Salem that come with dinner, breakfast, a personalized orientation and a roster of naval chores. Grand Army Hall (part of the Scituate Historical Society's series of historic buildings), which is Scituate's oldest building, can host banquets for up to 100 persons; and South Shore Natural Science Center can host receptions for 90 persons and banquets for 64. Last but not least are Jones River Trading, in Plymouth, which has a river with a weir, high-ceiling rooms for up to 225 persons and a history dating back to the Civil War; and the Duxbury Performing Arts Center, in Duxbury, which more than 300 seats in an attractive theater.
Dining venues in the Boston South Shore area take full advantage of the coastline's seafood. Choose in Quincy between Alba - which has a surf'n'turf spot with two private rooms for 60 and 16 persons, respectively - and Four's Restaurant & Sports Bar, which is an attractive sports bar and restaurant with private rooms that do not have sports events blaring out of them. In Plymouth there is the informal, seafood Cabbyshack, which claims to have the largest lobster rolls in the area; and East Bay Grille, another surf'n'turf joint, with space for groups of 60 indoors, 200 outdoors on a pretty lawn. One other good choice is John Brewer's Tavern, in Waltham, which can host groups of up to 100 persons inside and 40 on a patio.
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