Where to safely stay this turn of the season
How better to embrace the natural beauty of fall foliage than to source an event space so your guests can enjoy a true fall backdrop? We gathered some of the best venues for taking in the meeting and the view.
Sugarloaf Mountain
Carrabassett Valley, Maine
Steve Lyons, director of Maine Office of Tourism, says leaf peeping is big in Maine. “Probably about 20-25% of our annual business comes in the fall during the foliage season and most people [are] up here for leaf peeping and viewing the fall colors.”
Lyons recommends ski resorts such as Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel and Sugarloaf Convention Center. Outdoor activities include surrounding ski resorts and terrain.
“They have beautiful golf courses, mountain biking, disc golf, zip lining…they have chairlift rides and you can go hiking in the area as well,” said Lyons.
Sugarbush Resort
Warren, Vermont
Famous for its vibrant foliage, Vermont is home to Sugarbush Inn and Conference Center. The large windows in every meeting room bring the outdoors inside as groups gather, yet outdoor meeting spaces are available as well. The resort can host up to 450 people and offers AV support and motivational team-building activities.
Sugarbush is also a ski resort, reiterating the relative untapped nature of these venues as potential corporate event spaces. The resort also offers unique outdoor activities for team building such as zip lining and a climbing wall.
Conrad Hotel Midtown
Manhattan, New York
Only five blocks away from iconic Central Park, the Conrad Hotel Midtown offers a breathtaking view of the heart of The City that Never Sleeps. Central Park is visually striking in the fall with an artistically stark contrast to the metallic towering high-rise buildings. A view of Central Park from your guests’ hotel rooms and meeting spaces is a leaf peeper’s dream.
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Conrad Hotel Midtown embraces the juxtaposition of modern urban architecture and rustic natural beauty with large windows in their event and conference centers to display the unique landscape of Manhattan. For smaller meetings, an atrium space with glass walls and ceiling can host guests and provide far reaching views of Central Park and all of Manhattan.
Winvian Farm
Litchfield, Connecticut
Although only a two-hour drive from New York City, Winviam Farm is a remote location for small corporate retreats that will showcase the best of New England’s foliage. With 18 individual resort cottages in addition to the Hadley Suite, Winviam Farm offers nothing short of top-notch hospitality. The hotel offers state-of-the-art technology and skilled staff and has earned itself a ranking in CEO World Magazine’s “20 Most Luxurious Hotels in the United States for CEOs.”
Read More: Meetings Get Unconventional in Connecticut
Fresh seasonal cuisine from on-site gardens, accessible group activities, luxurious amenities and the epitome of leaf peeping fun are all included.
Chetola Resort at Blowing Rock
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Near the famous Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, Chetola Resort at Blowing Rock offers private outdoor business meeting spaces to truly be engulfed by the multicolored fall foliage. Interior meeting spaces are available for smaller groups as well, equipped with conference equipment and high-speed Wi-Fi.
Leadership building programs are available at the resort and off-site. With fun activities such as scavenger hunts, archery and zip lining, your group will be sure to have a fall experience they won’t soon forget.
This article appears in the October 2022 issue. You can subscribe to the magazine here.
