Last week I visited Dallas, Texas, for the first time. Even though it was for 24 hours — don’t most business trips seem to be like that? — I was able to see the hospitality and culture that I heard so much about.

My accommodations at the Omni Dallas Hotel connected to the downtown convention center and were just a few miles from Dallas Love Field Airport. Although the hotel is connected to the spacious convention center, it still seems to provide a welcoming and familiar atmosphere.

To name a few things that stick out to make this property so easy and enjoyable was the in-house dining options and the huge state-of-the-art gym to help you work off your meal. For dinner

I went to Spice, the Omni’s more casual dining space that offers local Dallas-area produce. We tried Southern staples like shrimp & grits, chicken fried steak and fresh cookies for dessert — it was outstanding!

A perfect place for a nightcap is The Owner’s Box, an upscale bar that is inviting, roomy and comfortable, somewhere I can go on my own as a woman solo business traveler.

Dallas has plenty of outdoor space in the heart of the city for public art, which was fun to see on my way around town for meetings. In Pioneer Plaza there are 49 longhorn cattle statues winding their way over a small rolling hill, and just outside the Omni is the fully restored Mobil Oil Pegasus neon sign which lights up the area.

My time in Dallas was too short, and I hope to be back soon.

— Carly Allen, executive vice president, associate publisher