New River/Greenbrier Valley
‘Outdoor Playground’ Conquers New Ground
By Ashley Wright Ask almost anyone from West Virginia’s New River/Greenbrier region and they’ll tell you that the destination is an outdoor playground waiting to be explored. “There is a wide variety of activities to enjoy year round,” said Lisa Strader, spokesperson for the Southern West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). “Groups can enjoy shopping, golfing, whitewater rafting, skiing, biking, kayaking, fishing, live theater, centers where local artists show their work and more.”
Encompassing nine counties in Southern West Virginia, with the city of Beckley as its largest and most centrally located municipality, and offering a dramatic landscape of mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes, the region is ripe with recreational opportunities and affordable meeting options, according to local destination marketing officials, who also boasted about the region’s accessibility. “Southern West Virginia is easily accessible and located within 500 miles of 60 percent of the U.S. population,” Strader said.
New Developments
The region is also making headway on several new developments, including the major renovation of the Beckley - Raleigh County Convention Center, the opening of The Chuck Mathena Center and the planned expansion of Twin Falls Resort State Park.
The Beckley - Raleigh County Convention Center, formerly the Raleigh County Armory Civic Center, recently underwent a major renovation and opened a new $1.5 million expansion that included 4,800 square feet of meeting space, said convention center officials. The new space features four separate meeting areas. The convention center also includes a 15,000-square-foot arena that can seat up to 1,000 people, theater style, while other meeting spaces provide more than 9,700 square feet of meeting space.
The Chuck Mathena Center for the Performing and Fine Arts, which is slated to open in Princeton (located 30 minutes south of Beckley near the Virginia border) in June, will be a 44,000-square-foot, multipurpose facility with a 900-seat auditorium, according to Spring Turner, operations coordinator. The center’s opening has been highly anticipated for a number of years since it’s groundbreaking in March 2005 and will be celebrated with a weekend of concerts and shows in July after a dedication ceremony in June, Turner said. The center is currently accepting event bookings.
The planned expansion project at Twin Falls Resort State Park, which according to local news reports was initially budgeted for $6 million, is set to expand the lodge’s overnight accommodations and conference facilities as well as add a spa and an exercise center. According to Nathan Hanshaw, assistant park superintendent, initial bids for the project came in over budget, so new bids are now being accepted with hopes of beginning the expansion by 2009. Hanshaw said the park, which is located in Mullens County 20 minutes southwest of Beckley, has recently updated the conference rooms, including the addition of new audio/visual equipment, and has installed Internet access in several areas. Resort lodging includes 20 guest rooms in the lodge and 14 cottages. Meeting space for the resort totals 4,683 square feet.
The region is also making news for the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, which opened in Beckley last year. The hotel offers 110 guest rooms and suites, a full-service restaurant and 1,160 square feet of meeting space. And, in November, a new Microtel Inn and Suites opened in Beckley with 62 guest rooms and suites and complimentary high-speed Internet access, according to Pam Smith, director of sales for both of the properties, who said that Hospitality Lodging Investors owns both hotels as well as the nearby Country Inn and Suites and the Mountaineer Conference Center.
Situated near the Country Inn and Suites, the Holiday Inn and the Microtel Inn in Beckley, the Mountaineer Conference Center offers 3,100 square feet of meeting space. “This is an ideal location for any meeting planner,” Smith said. “And the center and surrounding hotels are one of the most cost-effective options in our area.”
According to Strader, the new Microtel Inn and Suites is the closest lodging property to the Beckley - Raleigh County Convention Center.
Another new development in the area is the Cabins at Pine Haven, located just south of Beckley in Beaver. According to Strader, the lodging development includes a recently built lodge/conference center that can accommodate up to 90 attendees for a meeting.
Resorts, Parks & Other Places To Meet
Other options for groups include Pipestem Resort State Park, which is located 20 miles south of Beckley and features a 16,000-square-foot conference facility, two lodges and 26 cottages, according to Ruth Ann Hatcher, convention coordinator for the park. “We have meeting facilities of all different sizes and capabilities, as well as on-site lodging,” she said. “Everything you need is right here, including a four-person sales staff that can coordinate everything for you.” Amenities include an 18-hole championship golf course, a fitness center, and a variety of outdoor recreational options like hunting, fishing, hiking and horseback riding.
South of Beckley in Daniels, the 4,100-acre Resort at Glade Springs offers 12,000 square feet of meeting space and 203 guest rooms and lodging options. The resort offers a complete meeting package that is a “simplified method of pricing that groups all conference-related charges into one convenient, easy-to-budget cost per attendee,” said Bill Gilmore, director of sales for the resort, adding that within the last two years the resort has added more guest rooms and approximately 5,000 square feet more conference space. Also new is a 120-seat restaurant called Bunkers and a new leisure center that includes a 10-lane bowling alley, a full-service spa, an indoor pool and an indoor tennis court. “Renovations are always ongoing here,” he said. “We are always trying to improve our facilities.”
The Tamarack Conference Center in Beckley has 12,000 square feet of meeting space that includes one large ballroom that breaks down into three smaller rooms, a boardroom and a private dining room, according to Andrea Akers, director of conference sales and service. There is also an on-site 178-person theater available for lectures. “The conference center is just more than 4 years old,” Akers said. “And we have also updated the audio/visual equipment to provide more flexibility.” Food and beverage services are managed on site by The Greenbrier resort.
One hour east of Beckley in White Sulphur Springs, The Greenbrier is a historic resort that offers a conference center with 85,000 feet of flexible meeting space and a 16,500-square-foot exhibit hall. John Johnstone, CMC, has returned to the resort and has been named the director of food and beverage for The Greenbrier’s 10 on-site restaurants and bars, including the recently unveiled Hemisphere restaurant and the 38°80 lounge. General Manager Michael Gordon said, “We’re delighted to welcome John back to The Greenbrier and are confident that his vision will further add to The Greenbrier’s culinary cache.”
Recreational options at the resort include three championship golf courses; indoor and outdoor tennis; trap, skeet and sporting clays; a spa; an off-road driving school; mountain biking; fly fishing; indoor and outdoor pools; an equestrian trail; and more.
Key Info · Sales Tax: 6 percent
· Hotel Tax: 6 percent
· Transportation: The region’s car rental companies typically charge a 6 percent sales tax and a $1 fee per day. |
Other group options include the Elkhorn Inn and Theatre, which is located west of Princeton in McDowell County and offers 14 guest rooms and a variety of flexible meeting space on site as well as an adjacent theater, which is a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and the Holiday Inn Oak Hill - New River Gorge, which offers 119-rooms and 2,625 square feet of meeting space.
Approximately two hours northeast of Beckley and more than one hour north of the Greenbrier Valley Airport, Snowshoe Mountain West Virginia, a ski resort, offers several outdoor activities and numerous spaces for events within 1,000 acres of mountain wilderness, including 40,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and a new 15,400-square-foot Expo Center. “In addition to all of the space for meetings and lodging, we have this gorgeous outdoor playground,” said Laura Parquette, communications manager. “Not only can you accomplish all you need to in your conference, we have so much to offer outside the conference—and all in one place.” The resort offers several lodging options, including Snowshoe hotels, ski resort condos, cabins, private townhouses and mountaintop chalets.
