Houston Preview: The Ultimate Planning Guide for PCMA Attendees
January 6, 2025
Are you attending PCMA Convening Leaders, the annual convention industry conference scheduled for Jan. 12-15 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston?
Last year’s PCMA Convening Leaders drew a record attendance of more than 4,200 industry professionals to San Diego in January 2024, with another 700 who participated online, according to PCMA President and CEO Sherrif Karamat.
Where are the best places to eat, drink, shop, sightsee, run and more near the convention center and headquarters hotels? TSNN has got the inside scoop. We asked the team at Visit Houston for recommendations, and here’s what Houston First Corp.’s CMO Holly Clapham and PR Director Jennie Bui-McCoy shared.
Where to dine: From casual Tex-Mex fare to MICHELIN-star dining, downtown Houston offers a wide array of restaurant options for convention attendees and exhibitors. Here are several nearby restaurants to consider:
- Nancy’s Hustle is a 2024 MICHELIN recognized restaurant with a cool, casual vibe inside.
- Street to Kitchen is a 2023 James Beard winner for Best Chef: Texas and also 2024 Michelin recognized restaurant.
- Tiny Champions offers pizza and pasta dishes.
- HUYNH is a long-time staple of Houston and reflects the strong Vietnamese community that resides in the city. In fact, Houston has the largest Vietnamese population outside of California, Bui-McCoy said.
- There are several Mexican and Tex-Mex options, including Irma’s, El Tiempo, or Ninfa’s on Navigation.
Where to enjoy a cocktail: Besides the lobby bars at the headquarters hotels, where are the best places to grab a drink? Here are seven options:
- JULEP is a short Uber ride and not far from the POST Houston development. Mixologist Alba Huerta was named by James Beard for “Best Bar Program.”
- Xochi is located inside the Marriott Marquis hotel on the convention campus.
- If you are in the mood for wine, there’s ROOTS, a self-serve wine bar, or Neighbors, also a wine bar.
- RESERVE 101 features the state’s largest selection of whiskeys with more than 1,000 varieties, Bui-McCoy said.
- At the Four Seasons Hotel, there’s a speakeasy called BANDISTA, or the lobby bar, known as BAYOU AND BOTTLE, which has a fantastic cocktail and bourbon selection.
What to do: A short Uber ride will take you to the Buffalo Bayou Cistern, which features sound baths and a rotating art program within its chambers. Twenty-minute guided tours are available Wednesdays through Sundays. A visit to the cistern will make you think you’re in Turkey, as it is an underground water system that’s been repurposed, Bui-McCoy said.
Grab some of the best aerial views of downtown Houston as you stroll the state’s largest urban rooftop urban park and garden at POST HOUSTON, Bui-McCoy recommended. Located in the former Barbara Jordan Post Office Building, the venue offers a global food hall, and visitors can experience one of the most intricate black box museums within its Art Club HTX.
Check out Meow Wolf, one of only five immersive art installations in the U.S. The venue is located down the street from the state’s oldest craft brewery, Saint Arnold Brewing Company, which also offers great food, craft beer, and some of the best views of downtown Houston. The biergarten offers covered seating and/or indoor seating options.
Where to run: Right across the street from the Hilton Americas on the east edge of downtown is Discovery Green, which has a jogging trail. Located on the west edge of downtown, Buffalo Bayou Park offers gorgeous views of the city skyline and bayou. The Memorial Park features the Eastern Glades or the Memorial Park running complex. Looking for more? Read 14 Beautiful Places to Go Running in Houston.
Where to shop: Just a short Uber ride from the convention area, attendees can find multiple shopping options, including Rice Village that has been open since 1938 and offers a variety of local and popular retailers and cafes; The Houston Galleria, the largest indoor shopping mall in the state, and River Oaks District, a luxury mixed-use development featuring brands such as Dior, Versace, and Hermes, along with a number of fine-dining options.
How to get around: In addition to taxis and ride-sharing apps, "visitors now have an additional way to get around Downtown Houston and EaDo, short for East Downtown,” according to a post on X by Houston First. METRO Houston and Evolve Houston partnered to bring this free on-demand shuttle ride service to downtown and nearby neighborhoods. Try this all-electric microtransit shuttle that is available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visitors can easily track shuttles, view service maps and check operating hours through the Ride Circuit app, advised Clapham.
Want to know more? Visit Houston compiled this online resource for PCMA 2025 attendees.
Main image: View of Houston's skyline from Allen's Landing Snow Glow on the Bayou in December 2024. Credit: Houston First Corporation
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