ATLANTA—About an hour outside of Atlanta, Barnsley Resort is a favorite for corporate and experiential marketing events in the South. Major Fortune 500 restaurant groups, airlines, and leaders in the home improvement category have been flocking here for outdoor events and corporate retreats for more than a decade.
The resort is also especially popular with legal groups and law firms, as well as Garden & Gun magazine’s member events, like golf shootouts and cookouts. No wonder—it sits on 3,000 acres of land in the pastoral foothills of the North Georgia mountains. And the ruins of an 1840s Italian villa (capacity for 200) built by a shipping magnate stand on its grounds as a quite idyllic and unique backdrop for meetings and events. 
Rice House is Barnsley Resort's newest renovated event space on property.Photo: Courtesy of Barnsley Resort
But it’s Rice House, the newest renovated event space on property, that has us intrigued. The venue’s adjacent Georgian Hall has 9,000 square feet of space, including the 5,000-square-foot Savannah Ballroom. The hall is a state-of-the-art facility and was only built in 2018, plus the resort offers a curated list of preferred vendors that are familiar with the venue, as well as an in-house, full-service AV team. While those sturdy foundations are what a successful meeting or event is built on, it’s these five elements that help ice the cake on a perfect Southern-inspired event...
The resort's bamboo meditation garden is an ideal space for alfresco meetings or brand activations.Photo: Courtesy of Barnsley Resort
1. Rice House
You can’t get more authentically Southern than Barnsley Resort’s Rice House that was recently overhauled from top to bottom. A reimagined 19th-century farmhouse—with real bullet holes from the Civil War in the exterior—the historic space is like nothing else in metro Atlanta and beyond. It also boasts a sprawling lawn out front to begin or continue an event alfresco. Mint juleps, anyone?
The menu at The Rice House has been called “yard-to-fork” with its produce grown on property. The clever green tomato burrata is a trick of the eye and resembles the Southern delicacy, although it's anything but. It’s actually creamy smoked burrata cheese wrapped in a green tomato gelatin to look like the fruit (yes, tomato's a fruit). It's a hit with guests who want something inspired by the region.
2. Bamboo Meditation Garden
The Rice House is walking distance to the bamboo meditation garden. Under a blooming muscadine vine that spreads like an enormous canopy over the event space, you’ll find the ideal spot for an open-air meeting or brand activation. The venue holds around 80 people, and the resort often brings in Southern singer/songwriters, cooking demonstrations, catering, and bicycle bar carts (aka Party Peddlers) filled with bourbon and other specialty Southern cocktails to help with the mood. The bamboo grove’s trees keep it private, with outsiders sure to wonder what’s going on behind the tall narrow trees. It’s also decked out in hanging lights, creating a sweet firefly mood at dusk and into the evening. 
Bicycle bar carts (aka Party Peddlers) are available for group gatherings and offer bourbon and other specialty Southern cocktails.Photo: Courtesy of Barnsley Resort
3. Axe Throwing
There may be nothing more sporty and Southern than an outdoor adventure. While the resort has archery and skeet shooting for groups, it’s their new guided axe-throwing experience that will turn your conference or retreat into an unforgettable team-bonding moment. Attendees spend time learning the safety, technique, and thrill of axe throwing at the resort’s outdoor venue at the Barnsley Farm.
The resort’s special handmade Sea Island Forge Fire Kettle allows attendees to see chefs cooking over an open flame.Photo: Hannah Lozano Photography
At 5 p.m. most weekends, you can find guests in the inn lobby experiencing a complimentary bourbon infusion tasting. This is a customizable experience the resort offers meeting attendees as well. Groups will get to taste Woodford Reserve Bourbon infused with house-smoked local pecans, a signature flavor with added notes of caramel and smokiness. The infusion process takes more than eight hours. For a treat, they can also have the Party Peddler come around and pour the bourbon from this mobile happy hour cart.
5. Fire Kettle Cooking
At a recent Garden & Gun golf shootout, the resort’s special handmade Sea Island Forge Fire Kettle was ablaze for a post-golf luncheon. And while the stunning display takes up a good chunk of space, attendees are awed by how the chef moves the large iron handles and levers over the open flame. Cameras were definitely out for fire-emoji Insta moments. For meetings and events, planners can schedule an interactive cooking experience where the resort’s executive chef prepares a favorite recipe over the fire with attendees. True Southern hospitality won’t be the only thing on display.
