Top-Tier Meeting Sites

Why meet in an ordinary hotel conference room when you can rent your own castle, country house, winery or island? It’s possible to find charming venues at stately homes, museums, parks and municipal buildings, many with architectural and/or historical significance. 

In Santa Fe, groups can meet at the Governor’s Palace, built when New Mexico was still part of Spain; or on piers (Chicago’s Navy Pier, New York’s Chelsea Piers) or even on the Queen Mary, not to mention on all sorts of film and TV sets, from the campy Ponderosa (in Nevada) to even campier Southfork (near Dallas). Some standouts:

Caribbean. For reward meetings or retreats, many companies are looking for the kind of venue that can deliver exclusivity, privacy and essential business amenities. Peter Island Resort, a 52-room property, is the only hotel on the eponymous 1,800 acre island; the rest of the place is lush mountainous terrain, ringed by five private beaches. Travel & Leisure called Peter Island Resort one of the world’s best hotels. The high staff to guest ratio, new spa and outstanding restaurants mean plenty of pampering.. For small groups, the four-bedroom Crow’s Nest villa comes with a personal chef, steward, maid and gardener, and can be set up with every conceivable meeting accoutrement.

Lyon, France. Set amid the vineyards of the Beaujolais region, Chateau de Bagnols is not only one of the most remarkable historical monuments in France, it’s also one of the nicest places in the world to stay. (Tatler magazine ranked it “Best Small Hotel of the Year.”) Executive retreats are de rigueur there. Use one of several circular corner-tower rooms or one of the salons that bear the extravagant decorations of the 17th century: carved fireplaces, ceiling arabesques, landscape panels and trompe l’oeil arcades. The cuvage, where wine is still made, is part of the complex surrounding the lower courtyard and is frequently used for concerts, private parties and wine tastings.

Scotland. Ackergill Tower isn’t your typical castle turned inn. There’s no lobby, bar or restaurant. The guest rooms don’t have locks. And it’s only available for companies willing to take over the entire house and grounds—which they do in droves, partly for the pleasure of flying their company flags from the ramparts, partly for the superb security and partly for the novelty of having the entire estate at their discretion. And when the meetings are adjourned, there’s a challenging links course, hunting and fishing and even opera in Ackergill’s own wee Opera House. Meeting space accommodates 60 delegates.

Merida, Mexico. Between its unusual provenance and quirky charm, Hacienda Temozon, the site of the last summit of Presidents Bill Clinton and Ernesto Zedillo, is an extraordinary venue. Once a village supporting a sisal plantation, the resort’s buildings have all been converted to suites bearing the names of the structures’ original functions: the pharmacy, the school, the great house. All 28 suites have air-conditioning, oversized bathrooms and hammocks—the better to sleep in the Mayan way. The resort has dedicated meeting facilities for up to 80 people.

Seattle. Big Picture bills itself as the “first boutique multimedia event facility, where e-business builds business,” boasts founder Mark Stern. In any case, the space is striking: bamboo ceilings and velvet theater seats with a row of matching ottomans in the front row. The digital theater is perfect for watching PowerPoint presentations on a high-resolution movie theater screen. HBO used Big Picture for the screening party celebrating the launch of the second season of The Sopranos; Microsoft held a corporate meeting, then screened an episode of South Park; a beverage distributor held PowerPoint, video and DVD presentations in the theater prior to a wine-tasting. Capacity: 100.