As part of a world-class yachting center that also acts as the headquarters of many of the U.S. Navy's operations, meeting venues in Newport are similarly upscale and ship-shape. However, a stroll along Cliff Walk, the sea to one side, opulent mansions of the Astors, Vanderbilts, Wideners (disingenuously referred to as "cottages") on the other side, may be the perfect introduction to this beautiful, historic and elegant place.
The closest international airport is Theodore Francis Green State Airport (PVD), in Warwick; often called, for simplicity sake, Providence International Airport, it is Warwick is 30 miles northwest of Newport, which is reached by driving south and crossing the Jamestown Bridge going east. The airport has good service to the larger cities of the Eastern Seaboard, as well as to Chicago and Detroit.
While there are no large dedicated convention venues in Newport, the 319-room Marriott Newport has 19 meeting rooms and 22,800 square feet of meeting space, and the 257-room Hyatt Regency Newport has 27,000 square feet of meeting space in a grand ballroom and 16 meeting rooms. Other hotels in Newport able to host meetings include the 209-room Hotel Viking, which has 14,000 square feet of meeting space, the133-room Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina, which has 3,986 square feet of meeting space, and the elegant 20-room Chanler at Cliff Walk, which has 1,556 square feet of meeting space.
Newport's mansions, yachting infrastructure and cobbled, Old World streets are perfect for unique events. Choose between the Newport Yachting Center (on America's Cup Ave.), which has space for up to 10,000 persons; Rough Point, Doris Duke's grand "cottage," which has amazing decor, furniture and appurtenances and dramatic lawns sweeping down to the sea; the Newport Playhouse, which can accommodate groups of up to 165 persons and has a restaurant, too, and Newport Storm Brewery, which between 5 and 8:30 PM can host private events. Another choice is to get onto one of those grand yachts with Classic Cruises, which runs three yachts, Madeleine, Rum Runner II and Arabella, which can look after up to 149 persons.
Dining venues in Newport center on lobster, crab and other seafood, and many of the "cottages" here can cater to and host banquets. Ideas for restaurants include the Barking Crab, which has space for 110 persons; Forty 1° North, which has two restaurants and a private dining space; Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar, which has space for 120 persons; Sardella's, an Italian restaurant with five rooms hosting between 20 and 60 persons each; and White Horse Tavern, which was built in 1652 and today has three private dining areas for between four and 15 persons.
