Virginia may have much of America’s four centuries of history, but that’s just one appealing piece of the Commonwealth’s profile. Natural beauty in every corner of the state—from the seashore to the piedmont to the mountains—also attracts groups looking for inspiring business backdrops and relaxing retreats.
Some of Virginia’s most majestic scenery and venues for meetings and events are in the central and western regions of the state. Mountain peaks, fresh air and clear lakes are enticing accents in these areas, which also provide sophisticated facilities for business, along with a formidable array of historic sites.
Central Virginia
Richmond is Virginia’s capital and anchor for the central region. Inside its urban topography are several alluring outdoor and scenic group venues for functions.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has stunning venues on its campus and is home to over 20,000 works of art.
“We have recently added about 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event spaces in our new wing,” says Sara Holloway, VMFA special events coordinator. “One is a meeting room for private dining on our third floor that overlooks the Robins Sculpture Garden. What we now offer is a combination of traditionally appointed spaces, such as a parlor with antiques, and contemporary spaces that are modern and sleek.”
Maymont is a Victorian era, 100-acre mansion and estate near downtown, where casual picnics and elegant receptions are equally at home. The grounds have high bluffs, rock outcroppings, streams and ravines. The lawns are accented with gazeboes, statuary, gardens and meandering walkways. The Italian and Japanese gardens and the arboretum date to the estate’s original period. Garden Hall is one estate facility that has rooms and a courtyard suitable for receptions or small seated dinners. The nature and visitor center includes a reception room and tented terrace with views of the pleasant surroundings.
Richmond’s premier meeting facility is the Greater Richmond Convention Center and its two adjacent hotels with over 600 guest rooms: the Richmond Marriott and the Hilton Garden Inn Richmond Downtown. The Jefferson Hotel is a downtown showcase of architectural detail such as faux marble columns, stained glass skylights and a grand staircase. The Richmond Hilton Conference Center & Spa at Short Pump on the vibrant west side of the city is one of the capital’s newest facilities.
Thomas Jefferson’s beloved Charlottesville area lies in gentle mountain terrain about an hour west of Richmond. It is home to the University of Virginia (UVA), and the UVA Foundation’s Boar’s Head Inn, with 22,000 square feet of meeting space. The inn is undergoing $9 million in renovations and upgrades that are scheduled for completion in early 2012.
Nearby is Wintergreen Resort, one of the state’s leading “green” four-seasons lodging properties in the mountains. It has 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space, as well as a good menu of recreation and team-building options, including golf and skiing amid the peaks.
Virginia’s extensive wine industry pays homage to Jefferson’s celebrated interest in viticulture, and several wineries are set in the scenic rolling hills of Charlottesville. Barboursville Winery near Jefferson’s Monticello estate has a restaurant that serves Italian and American cuisine and features grand views of the vineyard, the Blue Ridge Mountains and romantic ruins of James Barbour’s mansion, which dates to Jefferson’s day.
Blue Mountain Brewery near Charlottesville is now booking private events in its new restaurant and tasting room, featuring a bar, stone fireplace and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Venue choices at the brewery include the Beer Hall for 60 guests and the Front Patio for 60, or a combination for up to 130 guests. The Mountain View Deck is also available.
Beckie Nix, director of the Lynchburg Regional CVB, says her destination is one of the best meetings locations central Virginia offers.
“We are a day’s drive for half of the U.S. population, and once you’re here, you have great Blue Ridge Mountain scenery, history and internationally known attractions to explore,” Nix explains. “We are right on the James River, and many business groups like to go kayaking and canoeing for enjoyment and team building while they are here.”
Nix says Lynchburg has Snowflex, the nation’s only year-round outdoor snow sports slope, which adds to the active possibilities and enables visitors to kayak and ski in the same day. The Snowflex lodge has function space with expansive window views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Mountain views are also part of the scene at Lynchburg’s new Williams Stadium, with 15,000 square feet of divisible space and contemporary technologies for sports events and other occasions.
Liberty Mountain Conference Center is Lynchburg’s newest meeting facility at the base of Liberty Mountain. Its main room hosts up to 300, and six smaller rooms serve breakout sessions. Contemporary technologies and local catering are among the amenities.
Attractions near Lynchburg include Thomas Jefferson’s retreat home, Poplar Forest; the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford; the renowned Blue Ridge Parkway; and Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park, where Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Ulysses S. Grant ended the Civil War.
Within a 30-minute drive of Lynchburg is Smith Mountain Lake, a 22,000-acre lake where Mariner’s Landing Resort and Conference Center has 7,500 square feet of meeting space and recreational amenities that include boating, a spa and 18 holes of golf.
Auto racing, fishing and state parks lure groups to the Danville and Martinsville areas. Virginia International Raceway (VIR) has indoor and outdoor meeting and event spaces that share billing with the site’s 5/8-mile track, which can also be a group team-building platform. Nearby Berry Hill Resort and Conference Center is set on 650 acres and has 5,000 square feet of gathering space. The historic house and cemetery evoke another era amid stone ruins and modern diversions like golf, a spa, tennis and fishing.
Danville’s IACC-approved Institute Conference Center is the area’s premier meetings facility, with 20,000 square feet of high-tech space. A lakefront location is a highlight at The Club at Lake Gaston Resort’s 22,000-square-foot clubhouse.
Western Virginia
Meeting facilities and recreational diversions with mountain vistas are just about everywhere on Virginia’s western side.
The fertile Shenandoah Valley accents this side of the state, where generations of Virginians have farmed the land. Once America’s frontier, the area was a launch point for pioneers who pushed west in the mid-19th century and a strategic Civil War staging ground.
Along the 200-mile valley between Winchester in the north to Roanoke in the south, there are valley towns that hold history and group-friendly sites and services, along with a lot of natural beauty. Several historic lodgings with contemporary updates and amenities continue the valley’s nearly three centuries of gracious and elegant hospitality in the mountains.
One of the largest is The Homestead in Hot Springs, with 72,000 square feet of meeting space in several ballrooms, boardrooms and conference rooms.
The Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton has nearly 8,500 square feet of meeting space, including two ballrooms that host up to 500 guests. The hotel shares a roof with the world-famous Blackfriars Theatre, a Shakespearean-era replica site that stages performances throughout the year.
History and unique outdoor venues abound at Staunton’s living history site, Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia. Visitors tour historic farm and residential buildings that were moved from Europe, along with farming methods used by America’s earlier immigrants.
“We offer group tours of the museum and about a half-dozen sites for rental, such as an outdoor pavilion that seats up to 400,” says museum staffer Cookie Toms. “Our original octagonal barn has climate-controlled classrooms on its lower level, and the dairy barn seats up to 150 people for dinners and other events.”
Rockbridge County’s historic Natural Bridge Hotel & Conference Center near Lexington features 155 guest rooms and 9,000 square feet of meeting space, as well as a new attraction for groups. “Butterflies at the Bridge,” an 1,800-square-foot indoor butterfly garden that opened this year, joins the site’s other venues that showcase the natural world. Exotic and native species are part of the mix. A waterfall, reflecting pond and tropical plants line the garden walkways. Thomas Jefferson would likely be pleased. He began the bridge’s tourism history in 1804 when he built the bridge’s first accommodation, a two-room cabin for himself and his guests.
“The butterfly garden can be used from March through November,” says MaryAnn Puglisi, spokesperson for the Natural Bridge. “We also regularly use the Summerhouse creekside cafe patio for groups, and the hotel veranda, which gives expansive views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Picnic areas are plentiful along the Cedar Creek Trail and on a hillside by the Caverns.”
Roanoke’s leading downtown meetings facility, Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center, commands mountain views from most of its 332 guest rooms and 63,000 square feet of meeting space, which includes an inviting outdoor courtyard for events. Nearby, the contemporary Taubman Museum of Art offers a dramatic three-story atrium of soaring glass, views of the Blue Ridge and lots of natural lighting for up to 700 guests.
Mountain vistas, waterfalls and lakes continue through the Blue Ridge Highlands of Virginia, home to the Virginia Tech campus and The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, with 23,700 square feet of function space. Blacksburg’s status as a small college town will rise considerably when the $94 million Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech opens in 2013. With nearly 1,300 seats in its main performance hall, it’s expected to catapult the area into being a significant arts and culture destination.
Folk and performance art continue to be an important part of Virginia’s culture as they have been for generations, and the new Heartwood center in Abingdon celebrates the crafts, music, food and local heritage. Groups may enjoy the surrounding peaks scenery and art in Heartwood’s event center and restaurant, which caters private events.
