Reflecting its 17th century Dutch origins and prominence in the Revolutionary War, Westchester County, New York City’s rail-, road- and air-connected neighbor to the north, has its own gilded history. According to the National Park Service’s most recent listing, Westchester, bordered by the Hudson River and the Long Island Sound, counts 220 properties and districts listed on the National Register, including 19 National Historic Landmarks.
This bounty includes several tour-accessible former estates run by Historic Hudson Valley, such as Kykuit, home to four generations of Rockefellers, and Sunnyside, home of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” author Washington Irving.
Ideally equipped for exclusive meetings and events is the 31-room Castle Hotel & Spa in Tarrytown. Formerly Castle on the Hudson, this internationally celebrated Medieval hilltop jewel, built between 1897 and 1910, reopened this May following a comprehensive, property-wide $12 million refurbishment—including the first THANN Sanctuary Spa, a highly regarded Asian concept, in the U.S.
“Based on customer feedback, and clear to our owners, is that a high-end spa would bring the castle full circle,” says General Manager Gilbert Baeriswil of the $9 million, 8,000 square-foot spa.
Another historic hilltop sanctuary is the IACC-certified, 52-room Edith Macy Conference Center in Briarcliff Manor. Founded in 1926 as a Girl Scouts of the USA teaching facility, the property offers 14,000-plus square feet of space on 405 acres.
Rounding out Westchester’s conference collection are the IACC-certified IBM Learning Center in Armonk; Doral Arrowwood Conference Resort in Rye Brook; and near White Plains, the Tarrytown House Estate & Conference Center, created from two conjoined century-old mansions.
In March, the first Legoland Discovery Center in the Northeast opened at the Ridge Hill mall in Yonkers, offering space for parties and other events.
