text: I have seen more than a few convention centers and expo halls in my travels and who knew the coolest one was in my own backyard nThis is dorky but I know you will totally get me if you have ever trekked across countless useless square feet in heels lugging countless brochures and promos you have been given if you have trampled over mounds of used paper towels in a depressingly lit dingy bathroom if you have ever had to sit in a hard plastic chair for an hour and listen to a rumplesuited guy drone on and on about synergy and sales figures if you have ever been subjected to ugly corporate art OK I will stop there but I LOVED the Phoenix Convention CenternnWith a swell new renovation its gorgeous in contemporary rust and sand and other deswet appropriate colors god I am glad Arizona finally got away from the sunset color scheme of pink purple orange blech and fancy tile entryway It is clean modern and has TONS of windows and open space When you enter the West Building from Second St the entrance by Starbucks you are sort of swept up up up to the sky and it really makes a statement the entire entrywayfirst floor is open all the way to the topnnThe seminar rooms have all the hitech gadgets needed for presentations and the AVTech guys were professional and prompt if there was a problem and might I add some of the most welldressed techies I have ever encountered No band Tshirts visible tattoos or bears here man it was all longsleeved buttondown shirts and dress pants impressivennMy favorite part Wickedcomfy chairs in the rooms No hard plastic and metal legs no cumbersome heavy officegray uncomfortable torture devices The chairs were super sleek those meshback rolling officedesk chairs you always see in design studios and architecture offices By the way did I mention the backs recline I am totally serious I am a super antsy chair sitter I sit up I slide down I cross recross pull my legs up Indianstyle under me I turn doubly insulting to speakers if the chairs are squeaky I can never sit still in an office chair but these bad boys made me feel like a grown up finally as I could sit quietly for a full hournnBathrooms were incredibly nice largetiled floors that were actually clean smalltiled sink backsplash in contemporary colors soap AND paper towels in full supply AND the automatic water faucets ACTUALLY all worked It is a convention center miracle A fulllength mirror for making sure your conference appropriate attire looks as nice as you thought it did at this morning Nice floor to ceiling allglass frosted doors with the long bar brushed steel handle what can I say I am a sucker for a cool bathroom just read any of my reviewsnnWhat else it is right off the light rail of course I found the entrance easily no wandering around an entire city block looking for the right door Up on the third floor the windows provide a great view of the city streets ps what is with the towering TMobile ad painted right on the Bank of America building Oh yes super hitech looking TV screens outside each room that display in color the current and upcoming sessions helpful because it never fails that someone moves or changes the signs and you are left wondering if you are in the right place nnAlso I liked that the convention center chose to work with a caterer who uses compostable plastic cups made from cornsay what And they have recycle cans alongside regular trash cans for all those empty water bottlesnnOK the one thing this place does have in common with other convention centers is that it is FREEZING Of course that is to be expected no matter where you travelnnThis is actually supposed to be beards but for the record there were no bears either