The New England region conjures images of all things quaint: covered bridges, Main Street parades, fall foliage, church steeples, lighthouses.
Homes, from classic colonials to Gilded-Age mansions, and gardens of the botanical, farm and park varieties, also have a place on that list.
Following is a rundown of the best home and garden settings throughout New England that are available to host memorable off-site group gatherings.
Group-Friendly Homes…
Boston is home to oodles of magnificent settings for receptions, including Hampshire House, a turn-of-the-century mansion located on Beacon Hill with views of the city’s Public Garden.
According to David O’Donnell, senior manager of media relations for the Greater Boston CVB, this Georgian revival townhouse, featuring ornate Italian marble, crystal chandeliers and tall
Palladian windows, can also configure banquet, theater and classroom setups.
Situated in the Berkshires is Lenox, Mass.-based The Mount, the circa-1902 home of author Edith Wharton, which can host group lunches and casual receptions on the terrace for up to 50 people, often paired with private tours of the house, gardens and grounds.
“Particularly popular are our ghost tours, which take place after normal hours in some of the eeriest parts of the estate,” said Anne K. Schuyler, The Mount’s director of visitor services.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Holyoke, Mass.-based Wistariahurst offers both home and garden settings.
“The Music Room at Wistariahurst is styled in the era of the Italian Renaissance and holds up to 120 guests,” said Michele Goldberg, director of marketing for the Greater Springfield CVB.
“The gardens at Wistariahurst Museum offer a beautiful outdoor location to host cocktail receptions, wine tastings and more.”
The area is also home to the Springfield-based Carriage House, which is located in Forest Park and features a banquet room.
Goldberg added that during warmer weather, “an elegantly draped tent, complete with chandeliers and cathedral window sides, is available for larger groups, and pavilions plus a lavish rose garden are offered within the park.”
In Connecticut’s Fairfield County, the Norwalk-based circa-1931 Gallaher Mansion and Cranbury Park features a great lawn, stone terrace, sculpture gardens and a pavilion.
“Groups of up to 100 can meet year-round inside the impressive home, including its French walnut-paneled meeting rooms,” said Scott Phelps, president of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CCSB).
Founded in 1891 in a Georgian mansion is the New Haven Lawn Club, which today houses Lawn Club Fine Catering, a catering/events service that produces events in this unique venue.
The elegant ballroom features 25-foot barreled-vaulted ceilings and will accommodate banquet, theater and reception settings, according to Phelps. Other spaces include the ballroom rotunda and a wood-paneled library.
The mansions of Newport, R.I., are the stuff of legend, and according to Tim Walsh, vice president of sales for Discover Newport, many of them “take off-site entertaining and dining to a new level.”
Among them is The Elms, a home of the Preservation Society of Newport County.
“While The Elms offers the elegance of Newport’s summer cottages, one of its special features is the enchanting sunken garden and enticing outdoor space that groups can utilize to start an evening-to-remember at this Gilded-Age mansion,” Walsh said.
The Victoria Mansion, an Italian villa in Portland, Maine, with indoor and outdoor reception space, is located within walking access to group-friendly hotels.
“There are amazing theater groups in town that can incorporate period performance arts,” said Elissa English-O’Brien, director of group marketing for Visit Portland. “Your guests can be engaged and entertained while appreciating the stunning architectural details of this mansion.”
Situated just outside of Manchester, N.H., is the historic Bedford Village Inn.
The restaurant at the inn is a restored 1800s colonial-style home where planners may arrange meetings, private dinners and cocktail receptions in one of five individually decorated dining rooms.
PageBreak“The Porch Room is surrounded by windows and is great for cocktail receptions, and the Overlook Room, which features beautiful wood-paneled walls and a private built-in bar, is perfectly suited for meetings and dinners,” said Candace Burgess, the inn’s director of lodging.
In Manchester, Vt., is Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home, which was built by presidential son Robert Lincoln in 1905.
The 412-acre estate also includes a welcome center, store, gardens and an exhibit featuring one of President Lincoln’s three existing stovepipe hats, according to Paula Maynard, Hildene’s group tour director.
“Hildene’s grounds offer breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and the sweeping valley below,” she said. “A seasonal tent is available for cocktail parties, dinners and corporate receptions. And Hildene’s Beckwith Room is especially suited for board meetings.”
…and Gardens
The Cape Cod COC held its annual meeting at Heritage Museums & Gardens in June 2016. This Sandwich, Mass., venue features the largest public garden in southern New England, where attendees can find the most comprehensive collection of hydrangeas in the country, as well as rhododendrons and a Windmill Garden.
“The Shaker round barn houses an extraordinary automobile collection and is a dramatic space for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres,” said Olive Chase, owner of The Casual Gourmet, a local catering company.
Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass., offers farm and garden tours as well as Shakers talks and crafts demonstrations.
In Cape Cod, Falmouth, Mass.-based Highfield Hall & Garden, a circa-1878 Queen Anne-style mansion that sits on 5.5 acres, features heirloom trees and two historic gardens.
“The wraparound covered porch overlooking a spacious lawn and colorful gardens is perfect for enjoying outdoor cocktails or a seated meal,” said Janet Morgenstern Passani, the venue’s director of marketing.
The Venetian-inspired Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which today hosts receptions, meetings and meal functions, was the scene of elegant entertaining in 1903 when it opened, according to the Greater Boston CVB’s O’Donnell.
“The lush and lavish courtyard and garden at the museum is one of Boston’s most iconic locales,” he said.
In Connecticut, Foxwoods Resort Casino is home to several walking trails, including Lantern Hill Trail, which climbs to nearly 500 feet above sea level and affords views that stretch as far as the waters of Block Island Sound. Meanwhile, Mohegan Sun, in Uncasville, Conn., features a 17,500-square-foot outdoor sun terrace and 55-foot indoor waterfall.
Located in West Hartford, Conn., Elizabeth Park offers more than 100 acres of gardens, walking loops and recreational opportunities.
According to the CCSB’s Phelps, the Elizabeth Park-based Pond House Cafe is a beautiful venue that accommodates banquets, receptions, meetings and presentations. Its Garden Room, which is decorated with seasonal flowers and has floor-to-ceiling cathedral windows, overlooks a pond and gardens.
Blithewold, considered an American garden treasure, is located nearby Providence in Bristol, R.I.
Thomas Riel, vice president of sales and services for the Providence Warwick CVB, considers it an excellent venue for groups seeking an oceanside country setting.
“Blithewold is perfect for garden parties, dinners under the tent, concerts on the lawn or other specialized events that can be themed,” he said.
The Botanical Center Conservancy at Roger Williams Park is another great option when seeking a garden venue in Providence. Events here are held within the glass enclosure of the greenhouses or in tented areas, and Riel said tours can be arranged.
One of Newport, R.I.’s historic buildings, which operated as a movie theater for years, is now being restored to its original use and is scheduled to open later this year as the Newport Opera House Theater and Performing Arts Center.
“The meeting space and theater will greatly enhance the attraction of our city as a world-class meeting destination, but the venue will also have a beautiful rooftop garden consisting of an
The Boothbay-based Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens resides on tidal shoreland, so according to Visit Portland’s English-O’Brien, “not only is the venue just absolutely stunning, but it also offers access to a dock, kayaks and boat tours out on the water.”
The gardens, she added, accommodate various group setups, including receptions in tented areas.
Strawbery Banke Museum, a 10-acre living history museum in downtown Portsmouth, N.H., features 32 historic buildings and eight heirloom gardens, some of which can accommodate group functions.
“The Goodwin Garden is a private gathering spot with lawn and formal ‘carpet gardens’ in the Victorian style, surrounding a cast- iron fountain,” said Stephanie Seacord, the museum’s director of marketing. “Planners have used the space with and without tents. The small service kitchen and lecture hall in the adjacent modern Visitors Center serves events held in this garden.”
At the Woodstock, Vermont-based Woodstock Inn & Resort is the 2.5-acre, certified organic Kelly Way Gardens, which contributes to events held here in various ways, according to public relations spokesperson Stephanie Strommer.
“Our banquet menus are designed to infuse Kelly Way Gardens into the experience,” she said. “Kelly Way Gardens can also provide decor for events, including floral arrangements and handmade vine-designed decorative trees. Garden cocktails are also becoming more popular.”
Strommer added receptions are often arranged al fresco in the garden with beautiful vista views.
And the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education, located at the Shelburne, Vt.-based Shelburne Museum, has spaces to host dinners, receptions, meetings, presentations and more.
“The 18 renowned gardens on the museum’s campus provide a spectacular way for event participants to enjoy a walk before, during or after their meetings,” said Geeda Searfoorce, the museum’s communications and marketing manager.
