VisitLoudoun.org; @VisitLoudoun
Loudoun County boasts 50 wineries, stunning resorts, and the picturesque landscape of Virginia’s horse country. It is also home to Dulles International Airport (IAD) and more than 5,700 guest rooms at top-brand resorts and hotels.
One of only a handful of properties in the country to earn Forbes “Five Star” distinction for its accommodations, restaurant, and spa, the 168-room Salamander Middleburg boasts 30,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, including a 4,500-square-foot ballroom accommodating up to 450 people for receptions and 230 for banquets. The property’s world-class Equestrian Center is also available for special events; the center’s pristine, spacious barn aisles accommodate 140 people for dinner and 250 for cocktail receptions. Salamander also has a 42,225-square-foot grand lawn, ideal for banquets of up to 330 guests and receptions of up to 450. Salamander’s cooking studio is a favorite for group events and teambuilding activities. The resort will unveil new pool experiences and more poolside services this summer.
AAA Four Diamond Lansdowne Resort, spanning nearly 476 acres overlooking the Potomac River, includes 296 newly renovated guest rooms and 55,000 square feet of function space across 37 event rooms. A 9,525-square-foot ballroom can host up to 1,000 guests, and a state-of-the-art amphitheater accommodates 160 people. Resort amenities include 45 holes of championship golf, Spa Minérale, a five-pool aquatics complex, and multiple restaurants, including the locally inspired Coton & Rye and newly renovated Piedmont’s.
In Leesburg, the National Conference Center has 265,000 square feet across more than 250 meeting and event rooms. The National’s West Belmont Place event center features a 16,000-plus-square-foot ballroom that can accommodate 1,800 people seated theater style, 1,200 banquet style, and 900 classroom style. Other amenities include more than 900 newly renovated guest rooms, teambuilding amenities, and dining experiences.
New hotels and rebrands in Loudoun County include Echo Suites, which is scheduled to open in Sterling in June, and Hotel Burg, which is expected to open in August as the first hotel to open in Leesburg’s historic district in 60 years. Hotel Burg will have a restaurant, a rooftop lounge, boardrooms, and conference space for 100 people. Comfort Inn Gateway has rebranded as Spark by Hilton, and Comfort Suites Leesburg has rebranded as Holiday Inn Express, Leesburg.
Known as D.C.’s Wine Country®, Loudoun County recently celebrated its 40th anniversary as a wine region. This distinction gives planners many creative venue options, according to Ann Hayes, director of sales, groups, and meetings for Loudoun County CVB.
“From intimate settings in barrel rooms to outdoor gazebos and boardroom-style rooms overlooking vineyards, many of Loudoun’s 50 wineries have meeting space to accommodate a variety of events,” she says. Purcellville’s 868 Estate Vineyards includes a restaurant ideal for corporate meetings and offers farm-to-fork catering.
Loudon County also has more than 30 breweries, many of which are on the “LoCo Ale Trail,” a connection of trendy urban breweries, bespoke taprooms, farm beer gardens, and mountaintop beer halls. The newest addition to the trail is Local Lion, which opened earlier this year in Hillsboro.
