Everything that makes Albany and Saratoga Springs splendid places to visit also makes them shining stars on the Northeast’s meetings map.
Both destinations draw leisure tourists and groups intrigued by everything from historic architecture and Thoroughbred horse racing to museums and performing arts centers.
Attracting planners interested in holding an event in the state’s capital city or its neighbor up the road is an even easier feat when exciting hotel and convention center news, fun group activities and fabulous off-site venues are thrown in.
Albany
“Albany is experiencing some exciting opportunities for meeting planners,” says Gina Mintzer, director of sales at the Albany County CVB.
She cites the Hilton Albany, which recently completed a $14 million renovation, a Renaissance by Marriott property coming online in 2015, and the Albany Capital Center, a two-story convention center that was given the green light at press time, will break ground this year and is scheduled to open in mid-2016.
The city’s impressive lineup of meetings players also includes Albany Marriott, Desmond Hotel and Empire State Plaza Convention Center.
According to Schuyler D. Bull, spokesman for the Albany County CVB, the city also sports some memorable off-site venues for group gatherings.
The New York State Museum is the largest and oldest state museum in the nation, Bull says, adding that it provides visitors with a visual overview of New York state, including its geological makeup and a moving 9-11 exhibit. The fourth floor offers views of the Empire State Plaza, and the museum’s seven meeting spaces can accommodate groups of up to 400 people for receptions, dinners and meetings.
The Albany Institute of History & Art, founded in 1791, offers several options for cocktail receptions or banquets for up to 300 people, including the Key Cultural Center and Atrium.
And built in the early 1900s as a National Savings Bank, 90 State Events showcases much of its original marble and bank vault, as well as 50-foot ceilings. More than 400 guests can be accommodated here for business functions and other special events.
Top among Albany’s best attractions, according to Bull, are the New York State Capitol, Empire State Plaza and Shaker Heritage Society, a 770-acre historic district that features nine remaining Shaker buildings, an apple orchard and Ann Lee Pond nature preserve.PageBreak
The site is significant, Bull adds, because the garden seed industry, flat broom and vacuum-sealed tin cans were invented by Watervliet Shakers.
Groups also enjoy visits to Albany Pine Bush Preserve, an inland Pine Barrens ecosystem that is one of only 20 in the world.
Formed by glacial deposits, this preserve is now home to the rare Karner Blue butterfly and many other rare species, Bull says, adding that a Discovery Center provides information about the ecosystem before they hike, bike or snowshoe the preserve’s trails.
And Dutch Apple Cruises is a narrated history/ecological tour of the Albany riverfront and Hudson River.
“Groups can learn of Henry Hudson’s voyage more than 400 years ago to discover the settlement of Beverwyck, which eventually grew to present-day Albany, while soaking in some sun and possibly viewing a bald eagle along the way,” Bull says.
Saratoga Springs
One of the best things about Saratoga Springs might just be its location.
Situated just a three- to four-hour drive from New York, Boston and Montreal, and 30 minutes from Albany, Saratoga continues to grow as a year-round global destination for meetings and conferences, according to Todd Garofano, president at the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau (SCTB).
“The emergence of the region as the global hub for semiconductor innovation and manufacturing has created a surge in tech-related conference business,” he says, adding that downtown is just steps from the Saratoga Springs City Center and the adjacent Saratoga Hilton. “And with new hotel inventory coming online in 2014 and more planned development beyond that to complement our already diverse selection of lodging stock, Saratoga is primed to serve groups of all sizes and needs.”
Opening this year are Pavilion Grand Hotel and Embassy Suites Saratoga Springs, which join a meetings portfolio also including Holiday Inn Saratoga Springs and Gideon Putnam Resort, as well as Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn properties.PageBreak
After the meeting, there is a variety of activities for attendees, according to Garofano, including excellent golf at Saratoga National Golf Club and Saratoga Spa Golf Course; great spa options, such as Spa Cascada and Sanctuary Spa; and shops and galleries.
“The SCTB can also arrange for other great activities like pub crawls, dine-arounds, group painting and cooking classes, backstretch tours at the Saratoga Race Course, historical tours and even seasonal ghost tours,” Garofano says.
Groups might also check out the calendar at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, which has a particularly hopping schedule during the summer; Northshire Bookstore, located on the bustling Broadway thoroughfare; and the Beekman Street Arts District, filled with an array of galleries.
“And you can’t come to Saratoga without tasting the waters from our 17 natural mineral springs or taking a mineral bath at the Roosevelt Baths & Spa,” Garofano says.
A number of attractions also double as off-site venues for group events, including National Museum of Dance & Hall of Fame, National Museum of Racing & Hall of Fame, Saratoga Automobile Museum, Saratoga Polo, Hall of Springs and the historic Saratoga Race Course, the oldest operating sports venue in the U.S. that accommodates groups in several private and semi-private areas of the track.
“Groups coming back to Saratoga will enjoy a brand-new downtown 11-screen movie theater with a BTX experience that will blow you away,” Garofano says of Criterion Cinemas. “The theater can also be used for events.”
After taking in all Saratoga Springs has to offer, Garofano encourages groups to explore. Just 30 minutes to the north are the scenic vistas of Lake George and the Adirondacks, and a 30-minute drive south is Albany and the state capitol complex.
“Lake Placid, the Finger Lakes, the Catskill mountains, Cooperstown and Vermont are also all just a short drive away,” he says.
One of the region’s top lures is the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. The town is also home to the historic Otesaga Resort Hotel, a AAA Four Diamond, meetings-friendly property set on the shore of Lake Otsego. The hotel is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation of its guest rooms and lobby.
