Bellevue

Welcome to Cvent's Meeting and Event Planning Guide to Bellevue, Washington a city guide for meeting professionals. A vibrant, modern Pacific Northwest city bursting with natural beauty, arts and culture, world-class shopping, and a thriving business environment, Bellevue is more than just a Seattle suburb – it's a destination all its own. Regarded as the gateway to the Puget Sound region, Bellevue boasts a compact, safe and walkable one-square-mile downtown that serves as an ideal setting for conventions of up to 3,000 attendees and the home of the recently renovated Meydenbauer Center. Consistently ranked a walk-friendly (downtown Bellevue's walk score is over 90) and safe city, Bellevue conveniently sits in the middle of the Puget Sound region, just three miles from Kirkland, five miles from Redmond, 10 miles from Seattle and 12 miles from Woodinville. Delegates can easily walk to a variety of shops, restaurants, entertainment venues, and cultural attractions from the city's many hotels, as well as take day trips to Seattle's museums, Kirkland's waterfront parks and galleries, and Woodinville's wineries, among many other adventures. Situated just off of I-405, I-90 and State Route 520, Bellevue sits just 17 miles from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Known as Sea-Tac, the airport serves as the gateway to the Pacific Northwest, serving more than 31 million passengers a year and 91 nonstop destinations. Passengers can easily get to Bellevue via the airport's King County Metro Transit station, and ride directly into downtown Seattle aboard Link Light Rail service, courtesy of the SeaTac Airport station connected to the airport garage. The King Country Metro Transit system provides regular bus service to and from the airport and throughout downtown Bellevue, including service to the Bellevue Transit Center, while the Sound Transit system operates regional express bus and light rail service. The Bellevue Transit Center sits 0.2 miles from the modern, light-filled Meydenbauer Center, which serves as the city's major convention and event venue. Situated in the heart of downtown Bellevue and fresh off a $12-million renovation completed in 2015, Meydenbauer Center spans 54,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space. Perfectly outfitted for conventions, meetings, events and banquets, Meydenbauer Center features the 36,000-square-foot column-free Center Hall, a warm modern space that accommodates up to 3,600 guests and serves as the largest carpeted, column-free space in the city, as well as 12,000 square feet of configurable meeting space with up to nine meeting rooms, the 2,500-square-foot Executive Conference Suite for eight to 60 guests and the 410-seat, sloped-floor Theatre at Meydenbauer. Bellevue features more than 2,800 downtown hotel rooms within an easy walk of the convention center, as well as a variety of shopping, dining, and entertainment venues perfect for post-meeting unwind sessions. With Meydenbauer Center and Bellevue's downtown hotels, the city's total meeting and event space comes in at more than 250,000 square feet.
In addition to Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue is home to a variety of unique venues that enable groups to experience some of the city's best attractions while holding private events. The downtown Bellevue Arts Museum holds a unique focus on art, craft, and design, and welcomes groups to gather in its three-story, 36,000-square-foot glass, aluminum and textured concrete structure. Event spaces include the 450-person, artwork-outfitted Forum, 100-person Auditorium and 150-person outdoor Court of Light veranda. Considered one of the region's premier public golf and event destinations, The Golf Club at Newcastle spans 350 hilltop acres with views of Lake Washington, Seattle and the Olympic mountains, 36 holes of championship golf, a 44,000-square-foot clubhouse and 8,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. Event spaces range from the elegant 5,200-square-foot St. Andrews Ballroom, complete with 18-foot ceilings and an adjoining stone terrace, to the 80-person Wooly Toad, which features a private balcony, private bar, leather sofas and pool and poker tables. Groups looking for some daytime or nighttime fun can gather at the Parlor Live Comedy Club, which features the largest dance floor on the Eastside of Seattle and welcomes national headlining comedians weekly. Active groups can also engage in thrilling teambuilding sessions courtesy of the Bellevue Zip Tour and High Ropes Adventure Course in Eastgate Park, as well as a session at the Stone Gardens Climbing Gym, which offers a variety of classes, private lessons and group gathering space.