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Representing the largest metropolitan area along Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail, and Roanoke Valley, Virginia’s Blue Ridge offers an eclectic mix of mountain culture and big-city amenities. “What differentiates Virginia’s Blue Ridge outdoor adventures from everywhere else is our proximity to a major downtown city center with dozens of local restaurants, world-class museums, boutique hotels, and other amenities,” says John Oney, vice president of sports and sales for Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. The area includes two cities, Roanoke and Salem, and three counties, Roanoke, Botetourt, and Franklin, offering approximately 5,000 guest accommodations and numerous venue options.
Berglund Center in Roanoke features several venues, including a 10,600-seat coliseum, a 2,148-seat performing-arts center, and a special-events center with 46,000 square feet of flexible exhibit space. Other components include a 14,396-square-foot exhibit hall that accommodates 100 exhibit booths and up to 1,500 people seated theater style. Salem Civic Center’s arena can host 6,000 people for large events and 1,500 for seated dinners. The civic center also has a flexible and dividable community room ideal for conferences, trade shows, corporate meetings, and social events. Three smaller event areas are also available.
Hotels with event space include Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center – Curio Collection by Hilton, which occupies a circa-1882 Tudor-style building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Earlier this year, the hotel completed a $14 million renovation of all 330 guest rooms. The IACC-approved hotel features 63,000 square feet of space across 35 meeting rooms and accommodates 1,600 theater style and 928 classroom style in its largest space. The hotel’s Regency Room restaurant is the area’s only Four Diamond restaurant and is known for its uniquely Virginian specialty, peanut soup.
Holiday Inn Tanglewood – Rt 419 & I581 and Holiday Inn – Valley View, both located in Roanoke, completed cosmetic upgrades late last year. The 131-room Spark by Hilton Roanoke Airport opened earlier this year near Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA). It is also less than four miles from Berglund Center and area attractions.
For a unique venue option, Roanoke’s Grandin Theatre, a circa-1930s independent movie theater with multiple screening rooms, a lobby, and a gallery, is also available for private screenings and special events. Nearby dining options include Show Pony, serving upscale comfort food and inventive cocktails, and Gianni’s, for Haitian Creole fare.
