Where can you host a workshop or class on the Grand Strand?
7 min read
Photo: Myrtle Beach Convention Center (ncpcm.org)
You can host a workshop or class on the Grand Strand at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for big groups, Brookgreen Gardens for a scenic session, The Conference Center in North Myrtle Beach for mid-size groups, conference hotels like Embassy Suites for stay-and-meet events, or hands-on studios like The Dojo Flavor Academy for cooking classes. The Strand has a real tier for every group size — from 12-person boardrooms to 600-person events.
The Grand Strand runs on groups. Between the convention business, the golf industry, and a year-round calendar of conferences, the meeting infrastructure here is far deeper than most people expect from a beach town. Whether you're running a corporate training day, a creative workshop, or a cooking class series, here's where each kind of session actually belongs.
What's the biggest workshop space on the Grand Strand?
The Myrtle Beach Convention Center. This is the venue for the workshop that has outgrown hotel ballrooms — trade-show-scale exhibit halls plus a 30,000-square-foot outdoor Events Plaza for receptions and open-air sessions. If your workshop comes with vendors, booths, or a few hundred attendees, this is where it goes. It's centrally located with most of the major hotels within a short ride.
Where can attendees stay and meet in one place?
The conference hotels — and Myrtle Beach has some of the best-priced ones on the East Coast. Embassy Suites at Kingston Resorts has 255 two-room suites and more than 50,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, with over 100,000 square feet available across the Kingston Resorts campus. The Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort & Spa at Grand Dunes offers 45,000 square feet of meeting space with 405 guest rooms. DoubleTree brings 35,000 square feet with three 8,500-square-foot ballrooms, and the Hilton Myrtle Beach adds another 41,000 square feet.
The two-room-suite setup matters more than you'd think for workshops: attendees get a separate sitting area for small-group breakouts or evening prep without booking extra rooms.
Is there a workshop venue that doesn't feel like a conference room?
Brookgreen Gardens (1931 Brookgreen Drive, Murrells Inlet) rents 4 meeting rooms and hosts events up to 600 people — on 9,100 acres of sculpture gardens under centuries-old live oaks draped in Spanish moss. This is the venue for the creative retreat, the leadership workshop, the wellness class, or anything where the setting is part of the curriculum. Attendees walk out of a session into formal gardens and reflecting pools instead of a parking lot.
Fair warning: book early. A venue this distinctive doesn't stay available, and your workshop competes with weddings for the same dates.
Where do you book a mid-size workshop of 10 to 50 people?
This is the most common workshop size, and the Grand Strand has several purpose-built options:
- The Conference Center (2250 Premier Resort Blvd, North Myrtle Beach, (843) 491-4322) — breakout rooms for 10–50 guests, an executive boardroom that seats 12 with projector access, and a grand ballroom that scales to 500 for the big day.
- Grand Strand Campus conference center at Horry-Georgetown Technical College (950 Crabtree Ln, Myrtle Beach, (843) 477-2042) — a campus-based venue with professional event space, a natural fit for training, certification classes, and educational workshops.
- DaVinci Meeting Rooms (2423 Hwy 17 S, North Myrtle Beach) — rent-by-the-hour professional meeting rooms, ideal for the recurring class or the one-day workshop that doesn't need a whole ballroom.
Where can you host a hands-on cooking class?
The Dojo Flavor Academy (3926 Wesley St #802, Myrtle Beach, (843) 457-3477) blends culinary education and event space — kids' cooking camps, private classes, advanced workshops, and tasting events. It's the right call when the class IS the event: a team-building cooking session, a private group workshop, or a class series. The cooking-class format also solves catering — everyone eats what they make.
For craft workshops rather than culinary ones: Wine & Design (1620 Farrow Pkwy, Suite A4) runs private group painting sessions, and Board & Brush in North Myrtle Beach runs DIY woodworking workshops — both built for group bookings.
What should you ask before booking a workshop venue?
- AV: is the projector, mics, and Wi-Fi included — or line-itemed? Conference hotels usually bundle; standalone venues sometimes don't.
- Layout: can the room do classroom, U-shape, and rounds? Workshops need reconfigurable space, not fixed theater seating.
- Food: is there an in-house caterer, or can you bring your own? Full-day workshops live and die on the lunch break.
- Parking: where do 40 attendees park, and is it free? Beach-town parking is a real planning variable in season.
- Off-season rates: November through March, the same rooms cost meaningfully less. If your workshop doesn't need the beach, schedule it when the beach is empty.
Quick answers
The Myrtle Beach Convention Center, with exhibit halls and a 30,000-square-foot outdoor Events Plaza — the choice for workshops with hundreds of attendees or vendor booths.
Yes. Embassy Suites at Kingston Resorts (50,000+ sq ft of meeting space), the Marriott at Grand Dunes (45,000 sq ft), DoubleTree (35,000 sq ft), and the Hilton Myrtle Beach (41,000 sq ft) all combine lodging and meeting space.
The Conference Center in North Myrtle Beach has breakout rooms for 10–50 and a 12-seat boardroom; DaVinci Meeting Rooms rents professional rooms by the hour.
Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet rents 4 meeting rooms and hosts events up to 600 amid 9,100 acres of sculpture gardens.
The Dojo Flavor Academy in Myrtle Beach (3926 Wesley St) runs private classes, workshops, and tasting events.
Booking a workshop?
Tell us your group size, what kind of session you're running, and whether you need lodging — we'll match you with Grand Strand spaces built for it.