Outdoor activities don’t have to stop when the temperature drops. Give guests a memorable and invigorating break from meetings with these unique ideas from around the country.
Add some good-natured competition to an event with a game of broomball at the Madeline Hotel and Residences. The game is played on the Colorado resort’s ice rink, but players wear spongy-soled shoes instead of skates. The resort also recently added a Sky Terrace with a year-round pool, hot tubs, and fire pits.
Guests at Hotel Telluride can get outside between meetings with the property’s Bike and Brew tour. A local retailer, Bootdoctors and Paragon Outdoors, provides what it calls a “Fat Tire” bike tour, using bikes with five-inch tires that have traction on the snow. Tour participants bike to the Telluride Brewing Company and Telluride Distillery Company for tasting experiences. The tour ends with a shuttle ride back to the hotel for a five-course meal back at its chef’s table.
Take in views of the Atlantic Ocean from the open-air skating rink at Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa. The rink is located on the roof of the resort’s spa. The surface is made of a synthetic material that replicates the feel of skating on ice. An adjacent bar serves hot toddies, mulled port, and hot chocolate. Skates are available for rental.
For meetings in Breckenridge, Colorado, guests can try the Gold Runner Alpine Coaster. Ride alone or with a friend on two-seat coaster cars that travel down the mountain on a 2,500-foot track. Riders control their own speed.
Meeting-goers headed to snowy New England don’t need to pack their own gear to enjoy outdoor activities. Hotel Vermont offers complimentary snowshoe rentals so guests explore Burlington's downtown area or scenic paths along Lake Champlain. Upon returning to the hotel they can warm up with hot toddies next to a wood-burning fireplace.
Solage Calistoga in Napa Valley offers floating meditation classes year-round in its geothermal mineral pool. Guests are lead through a calming sequence of visualization and breathing exercises while floating on rafts in the 130-foot pool that is warmed to body temperature.
To warm up guests after exploring the outdoors, the Omni Bedford Springs Resort serves its “Apple a Day” snack with warm apple cider, apples and caramel, apple smoothies, and mini apple muffins. The resort, located in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains, offers a variety of outdoor activities for groups. Trained guides can lead guests on Segways equipped for off-road tours. The nature tours can also be done in two- or four-person utility vehicles. Guests can also take part in guided hikes, biking, and fly-fishing.
At Hilton McLean Tysons Corner in suburban Washington, D.C., guests can experience the winter chill while staying warm inside. The hotel’s “blue break” offers a variety of cool blue-colored snacks, such as blue jelly beans, donuts with blue frosting, blueberry lemonade, and “snow balls” made from marshmallows and coconut.
