When Dan Tunnell, president of the Broadband Cable Association of Pennsylvania, was considering a new place for his board meetings, he found just what he was looking for in the Omni Bedford Springs Resort in Bedford, Pa.
“It’s set in a remote part of Pennsylvania but has fine dining, great golf and other outdoor activities like horseback riding, hiking and trout fishing,” he says. “It’s self-contained, and you don’t crave an urban setting. There’s enough to do for several days. We’ve had three board meetings there, and I’d go back for every meeting if I could. It’s a great place.”
Bedford Springs is the type of hideaway haven many planners seek for their meetings—a place that gives groups a chance to really get away. Properties like these are scattered around the U.S., and many of them have been around for a very long time. The following are a few examples.
Omni Bedford Springs Resort
www.omnihotels.com
The Omni Bedford Springs Resort is a perfect example of a property steeped in history.
Although the eight springs on the 2,200-acre grounds were known for centuries to Native Americans for their curative powers, the hotel’s first building opened in 1806. It played host to 10 presidents, including James Buchanan, who made it his summer White House.
The hotel changed hands several times over the years and sat empty for 20 years. After $120 million in renovations, it reopened in 2007 with 216 guest rooms and 20,000 square feet of meeting space.
“Our meetings market is a combination of corporate trainings, corporate retreats, board meetings and national and state associations,” says Tim Bugas, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. “The typical meeting size is 50 to 75 rooms, but they go down as low as 10.”
Many of the meeting rooms are named after the presidents who stayed there and are decorated with historic photos and documents. Facilities include a spa and one of the nation’s first golf courses, laid out in 1895.
Mohonk Mountain House
www.mohonk.com
Hugging a lake high on Shawangunk Ridge in the Hudson Valley, Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, N.Y., dates to 1869. The 266-room resort, built to resemble a Victorian Castle, remains family owned and operated on a 2,200-acre site in an area The Nature Conservancy named one of the Earth’s “last great places.”
Most of the meetings at the resort range from 25 to 40 attendees, but it can handle up to 300 and can host as few as five or 10, says Eric Domitrovits, the hotel’s acting director of sales. Groups include corporate and pharmaceutical companies.
“It’s such a special place because once the meeting is over, there are so many activities for the group,” he says. “There’s boating, fishing, a beach where guests can swim in the lake in the summer and an indoor pool open year round, as well as a nine-hole golf course, a spa, clay and hard surface tennis courts and 85 miles of hiking trails.”
In winter, the resort offers cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, along with a full-sized outdoor skating rink.
The Balsams
www.thebalsams.com
Originally opened just after the Civil War, The Balsams has a unique place in American electoral history.
The residents of Dixville Notch go to the polls, located in the so-called Ballot Room at The Balsams, at midnight on the day of the New Hampshire primary to be the first in the nation to report the election results. The Ballot Room, decorated in historic photos of elections that have taken place there since 1960, is also used as a meeting space.
Nestled in a unique lakeside setting with craggy cliffs, The Balsams sits on an 8,000-acre site which straddles the U.S.-Canadian border.
“The nickname for this resort is the Switzerland of America,” says Rick McCarten, the hotel’s director of operations. “Most of the property includes trails for hiking.”
The 200-room resort includes 20,000 square feet of meeting space and its own culinary school and ski area.
Judy Jacobs has been writing for travel industry publications for over 20 years.
