Jazz Supper Club in a 1938 movie theater, by Rubin Studios, courtesy CVB of Montgomery Co.
Serenity nearby
For serenity and focus, there’s the IACC-certified Bolger Center, on 83 manicured acres seven miles west of Bethesda. Owned by the U.S. Postal Service and run by Dolce Hotels and Resorts, the 431-room property has 70,000 square feet of meeting space.
There are reminders of the center’s days as a convent for the Sisters of Mercy, which ran a special education school there. A large meeting room, Stained Glass Hall, was once the sanctuary; three confessionals remain. Among the 75 meeting rooms are ballrooms, boardrooms and computer labs. Spaces range in size from 155 to 8,000 square feet; maximum group size is 400.
In line with Dolce’s core values — nourishment, connectivity and community — the Bolger Center uses all-inclusive meeting packages and takes different approaches at its 27 resorts and conference centers.
Breaks, for example, are held in Nourishment Hubs, small rooms stocked with healthy choices like dark chocolate, peanuts, cheese and basil-orange-suffused water.
Breakout rooms have ergonomic chairs and tackable wall space. Green initiatives have converted all lighting to fluorescents on timed sensors. Water comes in coolers, not bottles, with corn gluten recyclable cups.
A central dining room that seats 400 serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. And from 4 p.m. to midnight, a lite fare bar with pool tables, darts, karaoke and an outdoor fire pit is open.
Outdoors a jogging track, high- and low-ropes courses, and a climbing wall are used for team building.
“We also do food-related team building,” said Karen Regen-Baum, sales director. “One is a pizza cook-off that usually turns into dinner after we add some salad and beer.”
For fun, there are horseshoe pits, volleyball nets, basketball hoops and tennis courts. There’s also an indoor Olympic pool and ample fitness equipment, including bicycles. WiFi and parking are complimentary, and there’s a free shuttle to the Bethesda Metro Center.
Arts and entertainment
Bethesda is one of Maryland’s 20 arts and entertainment districts, with three live theaters and a movie house that shows independent and foreign films.
A new Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club opened recently in what was a 1938 movie palace. Its striking Art Deco bar, two-tiered dining area and live music seven nights a week is a ready-made outing for meeting groups.
So is a concert at Strathmore, Montgomery County’s largest arts center. Its 2,000-seat concert hall was designed by William Rawn Associates, who also designed the concert hall at Tanglewood, the famed Massachusetts summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Strathmore’s concert hall’s hard surfaces — maple floors, white oak paneling and bronze mesh — better reflect sound. It also has a hidden perk for important occasions.
“There is a private dining room in the concert hall for 20 people,” said Mike Fila, director of media relations. “It can even be used when a show is going on. The music is piped in there.” A lobby with 64-foot-high windows that overlooks a patio and rolling hills is available for events.
Nearby, the estate’s mansion, built in 1899, can handle smaller events in its art galleries and on a grass terrace. Free concerts are held on the hillside in summer.
Bethesda offers meeting planners a range of options and a lot to do. And at meeting’s end, it’s just a short hop into Washington and all there is to do there.
