City centers are known for their distinct character, convenient transportation, chic shopping, vibrant entertainment, and delicious dining. The communities on their outskirts, meanwhile, are known for strip malls, chain restaurants, parking lots, and cul-de-sacs. It's no surprise, then, that downtown venues are typically at the top of meeting planners' wish lists. Before you take them out of contention, however, you should know that the suburbs get a bad rap. Although it's true that they lack many big-city benefits, that's not always bad. In fact, it can actually be good. Because what suburban and exurban destinations lack in urban attractions they often make up for with spacious accommodations, unique amenities, serene surroundings, and superior value. Case in point: the following venues, each of which is located within approximately an hour of a major U.S. city.
Doral Arrowwood (Rye Brook, NY)
Located on 114 acres in Westchester County, 30 miles north of New York City, is Doral Arrowwood Hotel Conference Center. Part of Benchmark Hotels & Resorts, the venue has 363 guest rooms and 68,000 square feet of International Association of Conference Centers (IACC)-certified meeting space, including 33 breakout rooms and a 6,500-square-foot ballroom. Although it may not have the skyline views of a Manhattan venue, attendees will be too busy drinking in the resort's natural setting -- brimming with mature trees, rolling hills, open meadows, and tranquil ponds -- to miss them. Highlights include a nine-hole golf course designed by Robert von Hagge, three onsite restaurants, and an expansive sports center offering fitness equipment, an indoor/outdoor heated pool, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, personal training, massages, racquetball and squash courts, outdoor basketball courts, as well as steam rooms and saunas. Manhattan can be stressful; Doral Arrowwood couldn't be even if it tried.
Eaglewood Resort & Spa (Itasca, IL)
If you fly into O'Hare International Airport at the wrong time of day, it can take an hour or more to make the 18-mile trip to downtown Chicago. If you drive just 12 miles in the opposite direction -- 40 minutes from Chicago, but just 20 minutes from O'Hare -- you'll end up in a fraction of the time at Eaglewood Resort & Spa (pictured above) in Itasca, IL. Inspired by nature, as well as the work of famed Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright, whose Prairie Style architecture is peppered throughout Chicago and its suburbs, the resort has 295 guest rooms and 37,000 square feet of IACC-certified meeting space for groups of 10 to 350. It's also home to an 18-hole championship golf course; a six-lane, retro-styled bowling alley; four fitness rooms; a pool; a full-service wellness spa; and spaces for outdoor activities like Bocce ball and bags. Finally, there's the grand fire pit on its expansive outdoor patio, which is a better place to recharge after a day of meetings than alone in a high-rise hotel room.
Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center (Southbridge, MA)
It doesn't get more "New England" than Boston. That is, unless you drive an hour southwest to Southbridge, MA. There, just four miles from the Connecticut border, your meeting group will have a quintessential New England experience at the Southbridge Hotel & Conference Center. Located in a restored redbrick factory, the hotel itself has 203 guest rooms and 24,000 square feet of IACC-certified meeting space, not to mention a full-service lounge and a fitness center with a sauna, racquetball and basketball courts, steam room, hot tub, and indoor pool. The venue's biggest draws, however, are located just beyond its borders. For instance, there's downtown Southbridge, which is home to picturesque Victorian buildings, tree-lined streets, and local shops; Wells State Park, a 1,400-acre woodland park with 8 miles of hiking trails; and Old Sturbridge Village, a living museum that recreates life in 19th-century rural New England. You won't find anything like it in Boston.
Terranea Resort (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA)
Thanks to its recent revitalization and rebirth, downtown Los Angeles is having a moment. For a more classic California experience, however -- more "Big Sur" than "big city" -- look an hour south to Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, home to Destination Hotels' Terranea Resort. Situated on a 102-acre private peninsula across from Catalina Island, Terranea is surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean. Featuring Mediterranean architecture to match the Mediterranean climate, it has 582 guest rooms -- including standard rooms and suites, two-bedroom bungalows, three-bedroom "casitas," and expansive villas -- and 135,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, not to mention a nine-hole golf course, a 50,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, four ocean-view pools, and eight restaurants, bars, cafes, and lounges. With activities like hiking, bocce ball, croquet, horseback riding, falconry, ocean kayaking, and paddle boarding, it's far from urban -- and that's a good thing.
International Palms Resort and Conference Center (Cocoa Beach, FL)
Orlando is unlike almost every other major meeting destination in the U.S.: When groups come to town, they head straight for the 'burbs. For Orlando groups, then, the "city center" isn't downtown at all; rather, it's 12 miles away on International Drive. Just because Orlando meetings aren't urban, however, doesn't mean they can't benefit from a shakeup. They can -- and a good place to get it is an hour east at International Palms Resort and Conference Center in Cocoa Beach, FL. Located on 13 oceanfront acres, it has 502 accommodations -- including guest rooms, poolside cabanas, villas, and suites -- and 23,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space, plus a habitat for rescue alligators; a heated outdoor pool; a fitness center; tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts; and beach access for surf lessons, paddle boarding, and kayaking. It's the perfect beach retreat from Orlando's signature suburban sprawl and theme parks.