Smart Meetings

Fortunately for planners, Idaho retains that raw natural beauty and offers myriad opportunities for convening, dining and team-building, luring outdoors-minded groups with hiking, fly-fishing, white-water rafting and some of the best skiing in the country. About two-thirds of the state is owned by the federal government-mostly national forests. You'll find 21 million acres of unpaved wilderness here (to put that figure in perspective, it's more than any other state except Alaska).

Record-breaking snow this past winter brought epic ski conditions to Idaho’s many mountains, which means a fantastic white-water season this summer. From May through September, 3,200 miles of Idaho whitewater provides thrill-seekers with an unparalleled adrenaline rush.

For those who seek their thrills on manicured turf, the state hosts more than 100 golf courses, including 10 unique, challenging courses on the Idaho Golf Trail, a group of courses situated in or near resorts attractive to planners (and their duffers).

And that’s just post-meeting. Whether you’ve got a sales team to motivate, a new product to launch, a training session to hold or a small-to-midsize convention to secure, there are destinations and venues all around this northwestern state that will match your needs.

FINE-TUNING YOUR GPS
Geographically, Idaho is an L-shaped state whose densely forested Panhandle reaches to the Canadian border on the north, and whose southern region is bordered by Nevada and Utah. Montana lies to the east, Washington and Oregon to the west. Overall, the state has a four-season climate with micro-climate pockets created by its 80 mountain ranges and plains.

BOISE
Located in southwestern Idaho, Boise is the state's thriving capital city, and with the largest airport, it's a busy destination as well as the jumping-off point for several well-known, luxurious resorts. While it's remote - the largest city between Salt Lake City and Spokane - it's definitely not rural. Tech giants like Micron Technology and Hewlett Packard have an established presence here, adding another layer of industry to the city's government, agricultural, medical and educational core.

Especially due to Micron and HP, which have drawn an influx of talented employees from elsewhere, downtown Boise has undergone a transformation that's still in progress. BoDo, as it's called, is a hip area of cafes, restaurants, brewpubs, shops and boutiques. Here you'll find names like Urban Outfitters, Ann Taylor Loft and PF Chang, for starters. Depending on the season, a popular farmers market on Saturday mornings fills stalls with colorful fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers; free live music happens on Wednesday nights.

And speaking of the seasons, Boise offers all four, but as it's located on a high desert plain, the winters are mild (about 22 inches of snow) and rainfall is a mere 12 inches a year. Boise River runs through town, flanked by a 25-mile, willow-lined Greenbelt ideal for jogging and biking.

Known for its trees (it was dubbed “The City of Trees” by early explorers), Boise’s colorful history dates back to the 1800s, populated by trappers and traders, gold miners, and later, in the 1930s, by Basque sheepherders, whose cultural influence is still present today, particularly in the “Basque block,” a downtown enclave that houses one of only two Basque cultural museums in the United States.

The Basque museum, however, is only one of numerous cultural attractions. The arts scene pops with Opera Idaho, Ballet Idaho and the Boise Philharmonic. Summers bring the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, which is performed in an outdoor amphitheater along the river.         

One association’s meeting featured a microcosm of what the city has to offer to planners. Sharon Gee, director of meetings and events for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies in Washington, D.C. held her annual meeting in Boise, with 323 participants for a four-day event, plus pre- and post-conferences. For the majority of the sessions, she used the Grove Hotel, the Boise Centre on the Grove and the Egyptian Theatre, plus a few meeting rooms in the Owyhee Plaza Hotel.

“The Idaho Commission on the Arts, served as our host,” she says. She also felt that “the city offered a diverse, culturally interesting environment that included local multicultural arts communities that we could present to a national audience.”

Gee planned several off-sites, including the Egyptian Theatre for their plenary sessions, the Boise Art Museum for a welcome reception and exhibition opening, a commemorative event at the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, an optional excursion to a performance at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and an optional guided walking tour of Boise Public Arts.

Her finale? A closing party and paella dinner on the Basque block featuring lively performances by the Oinkari Basque Dancers and the contemporary dance company, Idaho Dance Theatre. And later, dancing to Soul Purpose.

MAJOR MEETING VENUES
The Grove, a cluster of downtown venues surrounding a central open-air plaza, is Boise’s meetings and entertainment hub. Boise Centre on the Grove, the city’s convention center, is located here, with 50,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting and exhibit space, plus a 359-seat auditorium. “Three hundred to 400 is a nice size group,” says Terry Kopp, director of sales for the Boise CVB, but the venue can accommodate up to 1,800, or 2,000 if there are no exhibits. Its airy, glass-enclosed lobby is just steps from BoDo and within walking distance of 800 of the city’s 5,000 hotel rooms. About 1,500 rooms have been added in the past couple of years, she says, and there is still talk of expanding the convention center with another building about two blocks from the current location, adjacent to the Marriott hotel currently under construction.

The Grove also encompasses Qwest Arena, Idaho’s professional sports arena and one of the most popular venues in the state. It hosts hockey, basketball, arena football and other special events with seating for 5,000 to 6,000 guests. There are 39 luxury seats for your VIPs located in the adjacent Grove Hotel; premium boxes are just steps from the boardrooms here.

Taco Bell Arena, at Boise State University, is another option for large groups, with a 13,000-seat events center that can accommodate conventions, trade shows, conferences, sporting events and performances. Its exhibition area can accommodate 110 booths (10x10), with direct access from loading bays.

UNIQUE VENUES AND ACTIVITIES
The Boise Art Museum - a contemporary gem - offers both indoor and outdoor possibilities.

The Basque block, which includes the Basque Museum & Cultural Center allows groups to experience the food and music of Boise’s early heritage. The area can be roped off for private events for 200 to 500 guests (contact the museum to arrange).

Boise’s convenient location means you can end a meeting at noon and still tackle some white-water rapids on the Payette River during daylight. Or, Kopp says, you can rent inner tubes and take a 3-1/2 hour float on the Boise River, a more leisurely water adventure.

Idaho’s wines are gaining more recognition, as is their pretty wine country. Try Ste. Chappelle, which has indoor and outdoor space for groups (80 indoors, up to 1,200 on the 2.5-acre park).  

MCCALL
Follow the Payette River Scenic Byway, a winding, two-way highway, about two hours from Boise, and you’ll reach McCall, one of the state’s famous resort communities.

A favorite with Idahoans - and just now getting more of the national attention it deserves - McCall dates back to the 1890s and its small downtown encompasses bistros, cafes and boutiques. The area’s centerpiece is Payette Lake, a tranquil glacier lake that has drawn visitors for generations. Its other star attraction is Brundage Mountain, with affordable skiing and some of Idaho’s best snowÑ300 inches a year on average. In winter, there’s a famous ice carnival; in summer, music festivals draw enthusiastic fans for the headliners and the ambience.

On the sandy shore of Payette Lake is Whitetail Club & Resort, McCall’s premier resort and meeting venue. Looking like a movie location scout’s dream, it’s a European-style sporting lodge whose interior luxury - both furnishings and amenities - are a pleasant surprise.

“Whitetail is a great place for incentives and other groups who want to work and play,” says Jocelyn Kidd, director of sales and marketing for the resort.

Meeting Space
Whitetail provides 13,000 sq. ft. of meeting space - all of it with lake views, Kidd says, although all the windows can be black-screened when needed. Two pavilions are available, in addition to two boardrooms, outdoor decks and patios, private dining areas -even a theater with a popcorn machine.

The spring and fall shoulder seasons offer the best values, she says. “Summer is peak, and winter is catching up.”

Outdoor Fun
Situated on 1,300 acres of dense forest, and on the banks of one of Idaho’s prettiest lakes, the resort has such a myriad of activities that you’ll be hard-pressed to narrow down the choices. Organize a tennis round-robin on indoor or outdoor courts, a golf tournament on the 280-acre, 18-hole Andy North designed course, a white-water rafting excursion or fly-fishing instructions. Or, just set them loose on the lake for a few hours, where ski boats and waverunners are antidotes to laptops and PowerPoints. In winter, get your group on the slopes or the ice rink.

COEUR D’ALENE
Arriving in the pretty town of Coeur d’Alene, on Idaho’s deeply forested Panhandle, the first things you notice are the mountains (beautiful) and one of the state’s largest lakes - Lake Coeur d’Alene, a 25-mile-long lake (also beautiful) with 135 miles of shoreline. The other landmark is the imposing Coeur d’Alene Golf & Spa Resort, an 18-story resort with 328 renovated guest rooms that entices visitors with world-class amenities and recreational opportunities. For instance, the spa is a two-story haven featuring a full menu of treatments, including one of the few $100,000 SilverTag showers in the world.

Its signature restaurant, Beverly’s, is not only a Five-Star recipient, it’s also singled out by Wine Spectator for its extensive wine list. “Our biggest draw is that people want a place that’s unique, beautiful, easy to get to, with a lot of activities, world-class meeting facilities and dining,” says J. J. Jaeger, director of sales and marketing for the resort.

Downtown is walkable and shoppable, with an array of boutiques, art galleries and antique shops. During the warmer months, restaurants and cafes spill outdoors for alfresco dining and people-watching. In season also are art walks and the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre.

MEETING SPACE
The Coeur d’Alene Golf & Spa Resort encompasses the largest meeting space on the lake (25,000 sq. ft.), with a dedicated conference center. You can take your meeting out on the water on six motor yachts that are moored at the resort’s marina; or plan a charter on one of the six sightseeing boats (up to five are available if you want a regatta).

Kelly Laabs, executive assistant for the Dave Jensen Region of UGA AIS - the newest of nine regional offices throughout the U.S. for Health Markets - planned the first regional meeting for division leaders and their spouses at the resort. “Since we are a new region, this was the first opportunity for everyone to meet and get to know each other, since we would be working as a team,” she says. “We had meetings on Monday and Tuesday morning to bring everyone up to speed as to what our expectations were and how we were going to accomplish our goal of being the #1 region in the country.”

Laabs chose the resort as the company had held meetings on property before and was enthusiastic about Coeur d’Alene as a destination. “For the most part we did everything on-site, including the dinner cruise - highly recommended - and the spa, which was the best we’d ever been to.”

OUTDOOR FUN
A must for golf aficionados is The Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, with 18 of the most scenic (and photographed) holes in the country - like the renowned 14th hole, the only floating, movable green in the world. You hop a speed boat in the marina to reach the course, where special events can be held on the grassy lawn. The marina’s also where you can plan myriad other water activities for team-building or just plain fun.

Speaking of water, nearby Silver Mountain ski resort in Kellogg has added an indoor waterpark dubbed Silver Rapids to its attractions, allowing it to become a year-round destination. In winter, it’ll allow your group to hit the slopes and surf giant waves on the same day. Another ski option is Schweitzer Mountain in Sandpoint, which has 2,500 skiable acres.

Other outdoor recreation opportunities abound, such as fly-fishing, hiking at Tubbs Hill (a moderate trek adjacent to the hotel), biking along the Centennial Trail and float-plane excursions.

MOSCOW
A small, friendly town south of Coeur d’Alene, Moscow is another haven for outdoor aficionados. Known for being the home of the University of Idaho - and just across the state line from Washington State University - the town is close to mountain biking, snowmobiling, fishing and skiing. There are also numerous festivals and events of interest to meeting groups, including an annual jazz festival and summer theater. Meeting space can be found at La Quinta Inn Moscow Pullman (2 rms; 1,200 sq. ft.; lq.com) and Best Western University Inn (11,000 sq. ft., up to 500).

SUN VALLEY
Sun Valley has a golden past, one that saw it begin as a vision in 1936 to create a ski resort to rival Switzerland’s St. Moritz and, not quite incidentally, create more passenger traffic on the Union Pacific Railroad. Hollywood gave it cachet - both in movies and in visits by the top film stars of the day - Errol Flynn, John Wayne and Lucille Ball.

Its present is equally as golden, as are the stars you might find in town and on the slopes - like Clint Eastwood and Ashton Kutcher, for starters. Part of the early Hollywood connection was to promote its availability as a four-season destination, which it remains today, due in part to the 75-85 degree weather during the day, cooling to 45-55 at night.

Pat Moloney, president of TMN Events in Boise, is a DMC who often chooses Sun Valley as a meetings locale. “Sun Valley is a beautiful destination any time of year,” he says.

Plus, it has Sun Valley Resort, which he likes because it’s self-contained. “The lodging, golf, fly-fishing, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, ice skating, great restaurants and unbelievable mountain event venues are all on-property.”
 
In addition, the resort is continually upgrading and renovating its prime features, including guest accommodations (recently remodeled), its symphony venue (a brand new outdoor pavilion hosting Sun Valley’s Symphony Concert Series, a free three-week series) that’s also available for groups, and the addition of nine holes of golf (for a total of 27) and a brand-new 58,000-square-foot clubhouse.

“With the new golf course on the ridge and the Symphony building opening this summer, it adds more to the uniqueness of Sun Valley,” Moloney says.

MEETING SPACE
Complementing Sun Valley Resort’s 515 guest rooms are 25,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, which attracts incentives, medical meetings, associations and other groups that want to take advantage of the resort’s activities throughout the year (summer is now peak season). Function space includes 18 meeting rooms, as well as outdoor venues; the newly renovated Sun Valley Inn Convention Center features more than 12,000 sq. ft. “Seventy-five percent of our groups return, so we’re doing something right,” Sibbach says.

OUTDOOR FUN
Meeting groups can take full advantage of the resort’s location and outdoor activities. In winter, there’s skiing on Dollar Mountain and Mt. Baldy - some of the best in the world. Ice skating is another popular option; in fact, Sun Valley has one of only two uncovered outdoor rinks in the world, and in summer, Olympic gold-medal skaters head here to perform. Your group can dine and watch these athletes execute their winning moves under the stars - but be sure to make arrangements when you book your hotel rooms.

Take your group via hayride to Trail Creek Cabin for a private dinner (up to 65 guests). Or, if you’ve got a larger group of city slickers, host a western barbecue with all the fixin’s, available on the Trail Creek grounds for 300 to 400 or more.

Your golfers won’t want to miss the opportunity to bring their clubs to play the storied Robert Trent Jones, Jr. course - or the new nine-hole course. Plus, Sibbach says, there’s a new 18-hole putting course (Sawtooths), modeled after one at St. Andrews. “It's not just flat, it’s rolling hills,” he says. “It’s great for people who don’t really golf.” Back to Top

Getting There

• Boise: Four miles from downtown, Boise Airport (boise-airport.com) is the major hub for Idaho airlift. It is served by most major airlines, including Horizon Air, Sky West, Southwest and United, and offers nonstop flights to more than a dozen cities.
• McCall/Whitetail: Boise Airport, as above.
• Coeur d’Alene: Located in northern Idaho, Coeur d’Alene is easily accessible via Spokane International Airport (spokaneairports.net); the resort offers shuttle van and limo service by reservation for the 40-minute ride.
• Sun Valley: Friedman Memorial Airport (flyfma.com) is 14 miles south of Sun Valley in Hailey. Served by two commuter airlines (Horizon Air and SkyWest), it has nonstop service from Los Angeles, Oakland, Salt Lake City and Seattle. Or you can connect through Boise. Sun Valley Resort meets all guests at no charge.

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Not To Be Missed

BOISE

• A stroll or bike ride on the Greenbelt
• BoDo’s vibrant cafe scene
• Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial
• Nearby wine country

MCCALL/WHITETAIL

• McCall Winter Carnival
• Skiing on Brundage Mountain
• Watersports on Payette Lake
• Golf on the Andy North-designed course

COEUR D’ALENE

• Golf at The Coeur d’Alene Golf Course (a real must, just for the famous floating 14th hole)
• A sight-seeing cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene
• Fly-fishing for Idaho trout
• Skiing (or “surfing”) at Silver Mountain Resort

SUN VALLEY

• Golf, golf and more golf
• A western barbecue at the Trail Creek Cabin
• Summer’s Saturday Night Ice Show
• Skiing Mt. Baldy

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