Successful Meetings - September 2007 - (Page 65)

PLACES SPACES & Skytop Lodge The American Club Hotel Bedford Springs Resort Skamania Lodge Coeur d’Alene Resort West Baden Springs Hotel Nemacolin Woodlands The Homestead The Greenbrier Ojai Valley Inn El Monte Sagrado Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa 09.07 Mirror Lake Inn Resort & Spa On Paths Less Traveled For getting away from it all, there is nothing like the standalone luxury resorts that can be found tucked away high in the mountains, deep in the forests, and out on the prairies of America. The classic choices include The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA; The American Club Hotel in Kohler, WI; Skytop Lodge in Pennsylvania’s Poconos; the Ojai Valley Inn, in Ojai, CA; Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, ID; and of course, The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WV, where $50 million has just been spent on renovations. These destinations—while often not easy to get to—offer outdoor activities, luxurious relaxation, fine dining, and the opportunity to explore business issues in a setting far removed from the workaday world. And it seems that there are more of them than ever. This past May, the historic West Baden Springs Hotel reopened after closing 75 years ago. The French Lick, IN, spa-hotel was built in 1902, and now joins French Lick Springs Hotel (its rival in ’02) as a single resort augmented by a casino. There are spas in both properties, and the only remnant of competition between the two exists in the century-old names given the waters, West Baden’s featuring Sprudel water and French Lick’s, Pluto water. The new spa is replete with murals and decorative glass. Hydrotherapy is the primary treatment. A Pete Dye 18-hole championship golf course is to open next year. The 246room hotel has limited meeting space (3,000 sf). Another historic restoration is the Bedford Springs Resort, built in 1796 on a site with seven springs providSUCCESSFUL MEETINGS SEPTEMBER 2007 ing healing waters. Located in Bedford Springs, PA, the 216-room resort features the 30,000-sf Springs Eternal Spa, fed by an eighth mineral spring, newly discovered. Instead of decks, rooms have porches with rocking chairs offering views of the resort’s 2,200 acres in the Southern Allegheny Mountains. There’s a historic golf course that’s been restored. Benchmark Hospitality manages the hotel and 20,000-sf conference center. Also boasting old-time charm is the 405-room Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa in Point Clear, AL. Says David Clark, the hotel’s GM, the resort is “160 years new.” That’s because of the $100-million spent on renovations in the last five years. Prompted by Hurricane Katrina, the property’s 38,000 sf of meeting space has been completely renovated. There are two brand-new golf courses and a multimillion-dollar pool overlooking the bay, not to mention a world-class, 20,000-sf spa. Newly built but suggestive of Adirondack lodges from early in the last century, Grand Cascades Lodge is an addition to Crystal Springs Resort in the Sussex Highlands region of New Jersey. Accommodations include 177 suites; meeting space totals 31,286 sf. There’s a spa, but it’s the Biosphere pool with underground aquarium, vortex pools, and caves that is the property highlight. (Although some might give that honor to the four-star restaurant with 50,000-bottle wine cellar.) Nature and local artists provide the influences at El Monte Sagrado in Taos, NM, which has just added 48 Inside > Caribbean > Monaco PAGE 87 PAGE 98 > Greater Los Angeles PAGE 101 > Hilton Head/Myrtle Beach PAGE 106 mimegasite.com 65 http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - September 2007

Successful Meetings - September 2007 Contents Editor's Note Research Calendar Suppliers Planner Spotlight Websites of the Month Management Matters Meetings Law Personal Success Pre-Event Tools of the Trade The Social Revolution Long Beach Insert State of the Art A Better Banquet The Seven Wonders of the Gaming World On the List Places & Spaces Caribbean Trinidad & Tobago Insert Monaco Greater Los Angeles Hilton Head/Myrtle Beach Gurus Nevada Planners Guide 2007 This Just In Las Vegas The Big Picture The Benefits of Being Small Let's Get Together Let Us Entertain You This Just in Reno Tahoe Perfect Complements Hotel Stats & Contact Info Hawaii Incentive Handbook 2007

Successful Meetings - September 2007

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