Far from the sensory overload of Times Square or the rush-hour stampede of Grand Central Station lies another New York state of mind. Upstate New York sets itself apart with the oxygen-rich greenery of the Adirondacks, the water-filled escapes of the 1000 Islands and Niagara Falls and the small-town appeal of Syracuse and Binghamton. Even its more populous enclaves of Buffalo and Rochester envelop their multifaced cultural attractions in a relaxed setting.
This large swath of the Empire State dangles the proverbial carrot for adventure seekers and leisure lovers alike, and also boasts a range of options well suited to groups, from bobsledding in Lake Placid to wine tasting in the Finger Lakes.
Albany/Saratoga
Albany, which holds the distinction of being the country’s second-oldest state capital, is starting to gear up for its 400th birthday fete in 2009. Plans are being drawn for Dutch heritage exhibits, historic home tours and events honoring Albany founder Henry Hudson, among other activities.
“We’ll be marketing this to history and preservation associations as well as architectural groups,” says Gina Mintzer, director of sales for the Albany County CVB.
Preparations are also under way for the $200 million Albany Convention Center, which is due to break ground in March 2008 and debut in 2010, according to Mintzer. Estimates call for an 85,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 25,000-square-foot ballroom and an adjacent hotel, all of which will expand the city’s options for large groups, which now utilize the Empire State Plaza Convention Center.
Preceding the center’s debut, several new hotels have been sprouting up. A 165-room Hampton Inn & Suites opened last year with 5,000 square feet of meeting space, while the boutique hotel 74 State debuted last December with 74 guest rooms and two meeting rooms.
“74 State opened a higher class of room for those who prefer a four-star hotel,” Mintzer says. “Now we have a variety of price points.”
Creative meeting space is available at the Albany Institute of History and Art, the State Room and the Empire State Plaza’s 42nd-floor Observation Deck in Corning Tower.
A half-hour drive from Albany, Saratoga Springs packs in arts, history and the famed Saratoga Race Track, in addition to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the Saratoga Springs History Museum and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
The Saratoga Springs City Center, the destination’s main group venue, is adjacent to the Saratoga Hotel and Conference Center, while another planner favorite is the Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa, housed in a Georgian Revival landmark building that sits in a lush park.
Lake Placid/Adirondacks
Two-time Winter Olympics host Lake Placid will break ground this September on its own new conference center, which will feature 81,000 square feet of function space.
Plans call for the Olympic Regional Development Authority to tear down the old Lussi Rink at the Olympic Center and replace it with a new practice ice rink, an exhibition hall, meeting rooms, new CVB offices, and a visitors center. A glass-enclosed prefunction lobby and an 18,000-square-foot multipurpose hall will be located on the upper level.
“We’ve always been a great destination, but with our convention center, now we’ll have it all,” says Arlene Day, convention sales manager at the Lake Placid/Essex County CVB, adding that the new venue will offer flexibility and the option for breakout space, which the Olympic Center has been lacking.
Another new off-site option will be a downtown branch of the Adirondack Museum, slated to open in winter 2008. The project entails the construction of a $6 million, 8,280-square-foot building in the heart of the Olympic Village.
Meanwhile, the old Air Force base in Plattsburgh will become the Plattsburgh International Airport in July. Located just 50 miles from Lake Placid, the airport will boost the town’s accessibility.
“This puts us in the running for groups that are more pressed for time,” Day says.
Lake Placid properties catering to groups include The Whiteface Lodge, the Crowne Plaza Resort and Golf Club, the Hilton Lake Placid Resort, and the Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa. Several area properties can organize unique team-building events that take in the area’s Olympic heritage, including Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa, which offers the Gold Medal Games, with competitions in bobsled, luge, biathlon, and curling.
As much as Lake Placid screams adventure, the Adirondack Mountains region, encompassing 3,000 ponds and lakes and 2,000 miles of hiking trails, sets a tranquil backdrop for groups to unwind.
The scenic beauty of 32-mile Lake George in Warren County is an attraction in itself. Lake George Village serves as a base for groups, as does Glen Falls, which offers the largest capacity for trade shows in the region with its Glen Falls Civic Center.
Another venue is the new Six Flags Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark, which opened last year with 200 guest suites and meeting space for up to 300 people.
Other options include Fort William Henry Resort and Conference Center, located on an 18-acre estate overlooking Lake George, and the Sagamore Resort and Conference Center, set on a private island on Lake George.
Off-site venues in the area include Fort William Henry Battlefield Park, the Hyde Collection Art Museum and the Hudson River Railroad, which offers railcars for meetings.
Buffalo/Niagara Falls
With a perfect balance of green space, arts and culture, and accessibility, New York’s second-largest city lends itself to one-stop urban shopping. Downtown architecture boasts names like Frank Lloyd Wright and Frederic Law Olmsted, while the city also supports a lively arts scene, with more than 50 private and public art galleries, including the famed Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
The city’s main meetings venue, the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, offers 110,000 square feet of space, and meetings-friendly properties include the Adam’s Mark Buffalo–Niagara, the Hyatt Regency Buffalo and the Marriott Buffalo Niagara.
One newcomer on the property scene, the 187-room Hotel Indigo Buffalo-Amherst, formerly a Hampton Inn, brings in a higher-end room quality as well as 2,700 square feet of function space.
“We have groups looking for upscale accommodations and that will suit their needs,” says Mike Even, director of convention sales and services for the Buffalo Niagara CVB.
Another new venue, The Church, comes at the hands of singer Ani DiFranco, who helped convert a long-neglected Buffalo church that was slated for demolition into a combination performance venue and contemporary arts center that is available for group events.
For an outdoor experience, groups can host events at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park or on the water with Miss Buffalo Cruises.
The region’s most powerful selling point, Niagara Falls, is a quick drive from Buffalo and an even shorter walk from the city of Niagara Falls.
Groups can organize Maid of the Mist boat rides at the falls or Cave of the Winds tours that allow participants to get drenched from a series of wooden walkways leading to the base of Bridal Veil Falls.
Attendees can get down to business at the Conference Center Niagara Falls, with 116,000 square feet of function space. Adjacent to the center, the old Holiday Inn Select is in the final stages of a top-to-bottom, $20 million renovation, and the property will be rebranded as a Crowne Plaza.
In June, the luxury Barton Hill Hotel and Spa opened in Lewiston. The 72-room property features four meeting rooms and a grand ballroom hosting up to 200 people.
“It’s a wonderful property that looks directly out on the Niagara River. It’s great for small conferences,” says Kate Scaglione, director of marketing and communications at the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation. “Another huge draw for us now is the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel, the only four-star property in western New York.”
The Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel features 604 rooms and 30,000 square feet of meeting space.
Rochester
With 11 colleges and universities within striking distance, Rochester draws a steady stream of educational meetings and conventions.
Delegates will find plenty of interesting diversions, including boat rides on the Erie Canal or Lake Ontario, as well as biking, hiking, skating, and jogging along the Erie Canal Heritage Trail. Golf is another attraction, with 80 semi-private and public courses in the area, including the Oak Hill Country Club.
“Golf is big with attendees. The minute they can be on the golf course, they get out there,” says Patti Donoghue, director of public relations for the Greater Rochester Visitors Association.
Large groups can take advantage of the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, which offers 100,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, and the city features numerous meetings-ready hotels, including the Hyatt Regency Rochester, the Clarion Riverside and the Crowne Plaza Rochester. Just south of the city is the Lodge at Woodcliff, which features a conference center hosting up to 200 people. The property plans to renovate its guest rooms this summer.
One of the city’s unique off-site venues is the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film.
Meanwhile, the Strong National Museum of Play, featuring the world’s largest collection of dolls and toys, recently finished a $37 million expansion.
Syracuse
With Syracuse’s prime setting in the Finger Lakes region, groups can enjoy outdoor options such as fishing charters, waterskiing, wakeboarding, and dinner cruises on the Erie Canal.
That does not preclude its downtown offerings.
“We have a rural feel but are comfortable in welcoming urban assets like art, culture, performance venues, and restaurants,” says David Holder, president of the Syracuse CVB.
Groups can use the Erie Canal Museum, the Museum of Science and Technology, and the Everson Museum of Art for off-site events.
Scheduled to open in 2009 is a 350-room, meetings-friendly Westin hotel that will be connected to the Oncenter Complex, featuring a convention center with 99,000 square feet of function space. The new Westin will join existing meetings properties such as the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center, the Doubletree Hotel Syracuse and the Renaissance Syracuse Hotel (formerly the Marx Hotel and Conference Center).
Another project currently under way is the Connective Corridor linking Syracuse University with downtown Syracuse. The mission is to design pedestrian and bicycle pathways as well as a transit system that passes art studios, art galleries, public art spaces, and other cultural venues along the way.
East of Syracuse in the town of Verona is Turning Stone Resort, offering a variety of meeting facilities, as well as a casino, championship golf, a spa, and headline entertainment.
Finger Lakes/Ithaca
The Finger Lakes region struck gold last year with the opening of the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua.
“They expected 70,000 visitors the first year, but it reached over 100,000,” says Sue Schmidt, director of sales for the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection.
The center offers hands-on cooking classes for groups of up to 30, and the grounds also include a demonstration theater, a wine tasting room, dining facilities, and outdoor gardens.
Aside from the wine and culinary center, a number of Finger Lakes wineries are open to groups, including Arbor Hill Grapery, featuring a barn that can be transformed into meeting space, and Widmer Wine Cellars, offering a private meeting chalet.
Other top attractions include the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway and Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack.
Finger Lakes properties catering to groups include The Inn on the Lake, which remodeled its guest rooms and 7,400-square feet of meeting space last year; Geneva on the Lake Wine Country Villa and Resort; and Bristol Harbour Resort.
Wine and waterfalls are an integral part of the group appeal in nearby Ithaca, home to Cornell University and Ithaca College.
“There are 150 waterfalls within 10 miles of where I am sitting,” says Fred Bonn, director of the Ithaca/Tompkins County CVB.
More than 100 wineries are also easily accessible from Ithaca, and other options include soft adventure activities such as hiking and birding.
Ithaca is opening two new properties: a 94-room Homewood Suites, which at press time was scheduled to open by June 1, and a 56-room Country Inn and Suites that will offer two meeting rooms for 40 people.
The Holiday Inn Ithaca and the Hilton Garden Inn Ithaca are among the destination’s existing meetings properties, and Cornell University offers a variety of function space.
Tompkins Cortland Community College also introduced its Ithaca Extension Center, which offers space for classroom sessions and has six meeting rooms.
For team building, Cornell University is known for its Hoffman Challenge Course, the largest collegiate ropes course in the country.
Binghamton/Central Leatherstocking Region
Though affordability and central location are its perennial draws, shopping, world-class golf and an active arts scene are equally vital to Binghamton in attracting groups.
“We capitalize on everything a big city does, but on a smaller scale,” says Gina Kress, manager of convention sales for the Greater Binghamton CVB.
Binghamton’s primary facilities are the Events Center at Binghamton University and Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, and properties geared toward groups include the Binghamton Regency Hotel and Conference Center, the Holiday Inn Arena and Convention Center and Traditions at the Glen Resort and Conference Center, which recently opened a new spa.
For inspiring settings, the Phelps Mansion, an historic Victorian listed on the National Register of Historic Places, can host up to 200 people for receptions. Another option is the Bundy Museum, which accommodates up to 80 people.
One event that is catching on in popularity in Binghamton is the First Friday Art Walk, featuring wine and music at some 40 galleries and art studios the first Friday of each month.
Roughly 80 miles northeast of Binghamton, Cooperstown welcomes groups with properties such as the historic Otesaga Resort, set along the shores of Lake Otsego.
Cooperstown is also known for celebrated attractions such as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Glimmerglass Opera.
1000 Islands
Since the 1870s, the 1000 Islands region has lured travelers in search of a dramatic setting and plenty of outdoor recreation. Well over a century later, groups are drawn to the area for the same reasons.
“A lot of our attraction is the mix of outdoor recreational opportunities with very nice meeting space,” says Tillie Youngs, sales and services coordinator for the 1000 Islands International Tourism Council.
Groups will find even more luxury next year. The Edgewood Resort and Conference Center in Alexandria Bay will unveil four new executive suites by summer 2008, complementing its existing 107 guest rooms.
A 90-room Hampton Inn with meeting space for up to 50 people is also slated to open in Watertown in August. Another new property, Hotel St. Laurent, is in the works and will have its own marina.
Meanwhile, the Clayton Opera House recently renovated its 400-seat theater and will complete upgrades to its meeting space and ballroom by late summer.
Other options in the area include the Dulles State Office Building in Watertown, which offers 20,000 square feet of exhibit space, and Boldt Castle, featuring space for up to 300 people. Smaller groups can also organize events at the Boldt Castle Yacht House.
For More Info
Albany County CVB 518.434.1217
www.albany.org
Buffalo Niagara CVB 716.852.0511
www.buffalocvb.org
Cooperstown/Otsego County Tourism 607.643.0059
www.visitcooperstown.com
Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance 315.536.7488
www.fingerlakes.org
Finger Lakes Visitors Connection 585.394.3915
www.visitfingerlakes.com
Greater Binghamton CVB 607.772.8860
www.binghamtoncvb.com
Greater Rochester Visitors Association 585.546.3070
www.visitithaca.com
Lake George/Adirondack Regional CVB 518.743.8435
www.lakegeorge-adirondacks.com
Lake Placid/Essex County CVB 518.523.2445
www.lakeplacid.com
Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation 716.282.8992
www.niagara-usa.com
Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau 518.584.1531
www.discoversaratoga.org
Steuben County Conference and Visitors Bureau 607.936.6544
www.corningfingerlakes.com
Syracuse CVB 315.470.1910
www.visitsyracuse.org
Warren County Tourism Department (Lake George Area) 518.761.6468
www.visitlakegeorge.com
1000 Islands International Tourism Council 315.482.2520
www.meet1000.com
