A statue of King Neptune stands guard over the scenic three-mile-long boardwalk that lines the Virginia Beach oceanfront. Courtesy Photo

For lovers of beaches, mountains, hiking, camping, swimming, sailing, fishing, fine dining, shopping, brew pubs, wineries and romance — or if you just want to get away from it all — Virginia is the perfect place for all of the above . . . including meetings!

Virginia is blessed with an ocean shoreline spanning 132 miles, but its total shoreline, including tidal  and inland bays, lagoons and ocean adds up to an impressive 10,120 miles, offering ample access to sailing, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, swimming, fishing or just laying on a beach.

The beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachians, run through Virginia, as does the storied Appalachian Trail. The state is also home to Shenandoah National Park, which includes close to 200,000 acres of land endowed with both magnificent mountain peaks and awe-inspiring valley waterfalls. There are also National Historical Parks and 42 state parks.

Virginia Beach

Situated in the southeastern part of the state, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, Virginia Beach is one of the state’s iconic destinations, running along the ocean and bay and inland waterways.

With its abundant beauty, Virginia Beach has always been a tourism hotspot, the ideal place for a family vacation, but over the years, Sally Noona, director of convention sales for Visit Virginia Beach, has watched it grow and blossom into a dynamic destination for art, culture, fine food — and meetings.

Noona began her career serendipitously. When she left college, she had to look in an encyclopedia to learn what a CVB was before she sat for an interview.

She joined the Virginia Beach sales and marketing team, and when the city embarked on building a new convention center in the mid-’90s, Noona was named director of sales and marketing.

Before the new facility was built, Virginia Beach didn’t have a true convention center. This one, however, is the real deal, offering over 250,000 sf of programmable space: 150,000 sf for exhibits, a ballroom with 31,000 sf, plus another 29,000 sf of breakout space, and lots of beautiful open-air areas. Associations with about 800 to 2,600 attendees are a perfect fit.

Another advantage with Virginia Beach is its strategic location halfway between Florida and Maine, making it a short flight from the Washington, D.C./Baltimore region, a three-hour drive by car or an easy ride on Amtrak.

Bleisure — the combining of business and leisure travel — is trending, but Noona says Virginia Beach has been ahead of the curve for a long time. It’s an aquatic playground where event attendees can swim, paddle, sail, cruise, surf, rent a kayak or go paddle boarding. But if all that’s a little too much action, the three-mile boardwalk along the Virginia Beach oceanfront is perfect for leisurely strolls or cycling on a beach cruiser.

Visitors can also fish from one of several piers, or on a rental boat out on the water. Boat tours are available, and with any luck, passengers might see whales (during the winter months) or dolphins (year-round).

Virginia Beach benefits from local farmers who supply multiple area markets with an abundance of fresh produce — and of course seafood abounds, with the freshest fish and shellfish imaginable. Event attendees can also visit more than a dozen breweries and a bourbon distillery.

In the neighborhood around the convention center, a new district is coming to life. It’s called the ViBe — capital V for Virginia and capital B for Beach. This 15-block artists’ district features a wide range of murals, as well as old buildings that have been repurposed by local craftspeople, coffee masters, leather smiths, culinary professionals, performance artists and more.

There are also numerous historical sites to discover. Completed in 1792, Cape Henry Lighthouse — America’s first — is in Virginia Beach, as is First Landing State Park, honoring the Jamestown colonists’ 1607 arrival from England.

After a long day of meetings, attendees can de-stress with a stroll through The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, which features an array of ocean life including sharks, rays and sea turtles. The venue is also an exceptional option for offsites. Virginia Beach is also home to the Military Aviation Museum, and just west is Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in both the U.S. and the world.

In conjunction with its sister city, Miyazaki, Japan, Virginia Beach celebrates the Cherry Blossom Festival in March. Then, in May the Atlantic Coast Kite Festival offers kite building classes, as well as kite-flying and kite-building contests. Also in May, Beach Music Weekend hits town featuring top local beach bands and a classic car competition.

In winter, there’s whale-watching, museums and restaurants to enjoy, plus shopping at one-of-a-kind boutiques and even indoor skydiving! Attendees will also love Beachside Social with its 10,000 sf of ocean liner-inspired indoor shuffleboard, bocce ball and other games to foster team-building.

It’s clear that Virginia Beach has all the ingredients planners need to create an unforgettable meeting or conference.

Carey Goryl, CEO of the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR), headquartered in Holt, MI, discovered that for herself when AAPPR held its annual conference in Virginia Beach last year.

She was initially drawn there by what she’d heard about “the amazing customer service” visitors receive from Visit Virginia Beach, and of course, the beautiful beaches didn’t hurt.

Goryl was also impressed by how affordable the city is compared to other coastal destinations, as well as its proximity to Washington, D.C.

“Virginia Beach is unlike all the typical urban venues — a mix of city and beach in a smaller setting. We got great feedback about the conference! We were there offseason, so we had much of the city to ourselves without the crowds,” Goryl says.

Her conference attendees were also impressed by the custom banners hung just for them at the airport — which helped to set the tone as they arrived — and the shuttles that were provided were very much appreciated.

The Omni Homestead is the oldest resort in the U.S. and just underwent a $170 million renovation. Courtesy Photo

An Awe-Inspiring Experience

Located in the western part of Virginia, in the Allegheny Mountains, The Omni Homestead Resort is what Lynn Swann, the hotel’s director of marketing and communications, describes as a one-of-a-kind destination.

Surrounded by awe-inspiring mountains with stunning views everywhere you look, The Omni Homestead is the oldest resort in the U.S. Swann says that the venue’s storied history (which spans more than 250 years), countless unique features and endless recreational options all elevate it to something that can never be duplicated. It’s not just her opinion, though. The Homestead was recognized by Time magazine as one of its World’s Greatest Places for 2024.

From the hotel’s earliest days, mineral-rich geothermal warm and hot springs drew people to the area. Located in aptly named Bath County, The Homestead began welcoming travelers in 1766. Since then, it has hosted millions of visitors, including 24 U.S. presidents. It was a particular favorite of Thomas Jefferson, who stayed there for three weeks to soothe his rheumatism, as well as William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.

Located roughly three-and-a-half hours away by car, Washington, D.C. remains a major market for The Omni Homestead, and the resort hosts about 150 groups a year.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the resort’s Reception House and Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Bathhouses surround two pools fed by four mineral-rich warm springs. Three years ago, the pools underwent a 14-month rehab and restoration, part of a $170 million overall renovation and upgrade of the resort.

The Homestead’s hotel and grounds are massive, spanning more than 2,300 acres with 483 guestrooms, 76,000 sf of meeting space and endless outdoor areas.

A Wealth of Activities

Allegheny Springs, one of the onsite recreational areas, features ice skating during the winter as well as a family swimming pool, whirlpool, water slides, a lazy river and the Allegheny Springs Grill. Plus, there are four tennis courts, a miniature golf course and practice green nearby.

The resort also boasts two 18-hole championship golf courses — the Old Course and The Cascades, which is ranked as one of the nation’s finest mountain courses.

In the winter, event attendees at the Omni Homestead can enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tubing at Mountain Lodge, while archery and axe-throwing are available the rest of the year. For a thrilling ride, there’s the spectacular zip line tour that takes guests flying through the treetops on eight lines.

The Casino, built in the 1890s, was originally a golf club house for the Old Course, where guests played cards and other games of chance. Now it houses the Old Course Pro Shop and two restaurants, and guests can play lawn games such as cornhole, croquet and badminton on its large front lawn.

A luxurious spa is attached to the west wing of the main hotel building along with a state-of-the-art fitness center and Serenity Garden with a mineral spring infinity pool, a Finnish sauna and an adults-only hot tub.

The Omni Homestead offers more than 40 activities. In addition to the ones mentioned, every afternoon iced and hot tea and special treats made by the pastry chef are served, and two movies are shown each night in the indoor theater. There’s also a game room with pool tables, air hockey and classic arcade games.

Event attendees can access mountain bike trails, a falconry field, fly fishing and an equestrian center. The resort also has a shooting club, where visitors can participate in trap, skeet, five-stand, sporting-clay and rifle range shooting. There is  kayaking on the Jackson River, and there are group hikes into Cascade Gorge — led by one of the resort’s naturalists — where participants can marvel at 12 beautiful waterfalls.

As large as it is, The Omni keeps expanding its offerings. The newest venue is the Old Course Pavilion. Built at the top of the driving range, with sweeping views of the resort and surrounding mountains, it’s a striking structure perfect for small groups and parties.

While families come in droves during the summer and holidays, groups tend to visit in what Swann calls the “shoulder months” — March, April, May, September, October, and November — before and after the peak times for families. However, summers can be ideal for association groups, if participants want to bring their families to enjoy the resort amenities, and many do.

Swann says that with everything the hotel has to offer, the one component that truly makes it a “best-of” is the people who work there. “They treat this resort as if it’s their family business and take so much pride in what they do — as if they were welcoming guests into their own home.”

Alexandria

Like Virginia Beach and The Omni Homestead Resort, Alexandria’s proximity to the nation’s capital is pivotal, only more so, since it is just seven miles south of downtown Washington, D.C. As a result, Alexandria is home to scores of association headquarters, including the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare).

Founded 43 years ago to advocate for policies and legislation supporting access to home medical equipment and supplies, the AAHomecare association represents a broad spectrum of providers, manufacturers and ancillary service providers operating across all 50 states.

“Last month we wrapped up our trade show staged by Emerald Expositions at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, where we were pleased to have more than 300 exhibitors and over 4,000 industry professionals in attendance,” says Tilly Gambill, senior director of education, marketing and events for AAHomecare.

In May, her organization will host its Washington Legislative Conference, to be kicked off with a dinner at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C. That will be followed by more than 250 meetings with legislators, during which members will advocate for equipment and services enabling people to remain in their homes, stay connected to loved ones and maintain their involvement in the community.

Each year, the group also manages eight to 10 advisory council meetings — usually held at The American Management Association Conference Center in Alexandria — and it has also launched an annual trade show.

Clearly, Virginia is for lovers . . . of beautiful scenery, rich history and events that will delight attendees every time. | AC&F |