Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Blowing Rock is a quaint resort village nested in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina that’s “been in the business of hospitality for 150 years, and we’re pretty good at it,” said Tracy Brown, executive director of the Blowing Rock Tourism Development Authority.
Year-round, Blowing Rock has 1,200 residents and “just a couple stoplights.” But in the summer, the population jumps to nearly 10,000 with summer residents — the number of stoplights stays the same. Main Street is “Norman Rockwell-esque, with beautiful post-World War II architecture,” he said, and plenty of restaurants and boutiques.
The 87-acre Chetola Resort has a variety of accommodations, including its hotellike lodge, bed-and-breakfast-style inn and multibedroom condos. Planners will find several types of conference and meeting rooms, including the 1,925-square-foot Evergreen Room with a stone fireplace. Nearby, the Meadowbrook Inn and Suites’ Four Seasons room can seat 200 at rounds for meals and can be combined with the lounge and other spaces to accommodate events for up to 350 guests.
Known as the Grand Dame of the High Country, the 1891 Green Park Inn is a shining-white historic hotel with a green roof and function space for events for up to 195 people.
Greenwood, South Carolina
In Greenwood, South Carolina, uptown, not downtown, has been enjoying a major revitalization, and the catalyst was the renovation of the 1911 red-brick Federal Building, now a community and cultural hub that houses the visitors and arts centers.
That project has led to other major investments in uptown, where visitors will find “unique restaurants, boutiques, an open-air farmers market and a pretty large cultural arts component,” said Lindsay Burns, director of sales for the Greenwood Visitors Bureau.
The 25,000-square-foot Arts and Visitors Center of Greenwood has a large art gallery that can be used for lunches or receptions, and the reception hall can seat up to 150 people for a meal or 200 theater style. Two conference rooms can each accommodate about 20 people. The Visitors Bureau offers the use of the building and its meeting spaces for free to groups that book room nights.
Next door, the Greenwood Community Theater seats up to 300, and a courtyard that connects the two buildings can be used for receptions and lunches. Next to the theater, the Greenwood Museum also welcomes special events and meetings.
Two blocks down, the 48-room Inn on the Square is a renovated full-service property where groups can reserve the 2,500-square-foot ballroom, the outdoor covered patio or the executive boardroom.
Highlands, North Carolina
Located in Nantahala National Forest, Highlands, North Carolina, is known as the Aspen of the East — minus the ski slopes, said Jennifer Cunningham, visitors center director with the Highlands Chamber of Commerce. But it offers the same level of fine dining, high-end shopping and natural wonders, such as White Side Mountain and Dry Falls.
Old Edwards Inn and Spa is popular for meetings groups, she said. There, Edwards Hall can host events for up to 125 in its five rooms, which include a boardroom and an outdoor terrace. The 1,230-square-foot event barn opens onto a 4,900-square-foot stone patio, and events with up to 150 attendees can book the Springhouse. Groups can also use the wine cellar and the golf clubhouse.
The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts also welcomes events at its six-building, six-acre campus, where guests will find a covered bridge, a nature trail and an outdoor terrace. The main 27,500-square-foot building is a combination of an 1838 barn with modern stone and glass materials.
