New England has something special to offer.

New England Has Something Special to Offer

There is never a bad time to meet in New England. All four seasons bless the region with a unique beauty, and each of the region's six states has something special to offer.

In the spring and summer, New England comes alive with blooming flowers and budding trees. Colorful regattas sail past New England beaches and rocky shores, while dolphins and whales play along the horizon. Inland, grand lodges treat guests to refreshing mountain breezes and cool lake waters, blended with an array of activities.

In fall, the brisk New England air is ablaze with the magnificent quilted colors of its trees. Fall festivals abound, and the entire region prepares for the wonder of a New England winter.

When winter arrives, it brings the region a blanket of white and a new vitality. Ski resorts dot New England and visitors can hit the slopes day or night. Skating comes as close as the nearest pond, and farmers spend time tapping trees for the sap that will soon become pure maple syrup.

Anytime, anyplace, New England is a perfect place to be.

Connecticut

Connecticut offers meeting planners a wide variety of attractions and modern facilities. From the beaches of Long Island Sound to the history-rich maritime communities and charming inland villages, Connecticut can make any group feel comfortable and welcome.

The state's capital, Hartford, is the center of Connecticut's meeting industry, with more than 2,300 hotel rooms in downtown Hartford alone, plus a convention center that boasts more than 95,000 square feet of flexible space. In addition, Hartford's location makes the rest of the state easily accessible - you can enjoy all the modern facilities and amenities of the city while still exploring Connecticut's many attractions.

Around Hartford and in the central part of the state, opportunities for historic tours and unusual day trips abound. Nearby Coventry, settled in 1712, boasts the Nathan Hale Homestead, built in 1776. In a forest setting, the homestead is a tiny museum with 10 rooms of period furniture, china, and pewter. Not far away is the Caprilands Herb Farm, where guests can enjoy a rustic 18th-century farmhouse surrounded by 30 gardens planted with more than 300 varieties of herbs.

In New Haven, the famous Yale University is filled with artifacts and surprises, including an extensive art collection. The Art Gallery features a wide range of American and European painting, sculpture, furniture, decorative arts, and archaeological finds. Yale also boasts one of the most impressive libraries anywhere - the Beinecke Library. Here, 250,000 volumes of rare books are collected and protected in a unique windowless building where translucent marble lets in the light. Guests can view a rare Gutenberg Bible, printed in 1455, and a psalm book from 1640, the first book printed in the colonies.

On the coast, opportunities for shopping, dining, and sightseeing abound - especially in lovely old coastal villages such as Greenwich. Bought by English settlers in 1640 from local Indians for "twentie five coats," Greenwich boasts historical sites, art galleries, an Audubon naturalist center, and the 60-acre Montgomery Pinetum, which includes a lush garden and offers lectures on conservation, horticulture, and flower arranging.

Up the coastline to the east is Mystic, settled in 1654. This tiny old port town remains almost unchanged from its whaling days, with weathered wharves and scenic seascapes, and is truly picture-postcard appealing.

Inland, Connecticut is filled with beautifully preserved colonial buildings, local village museums filled with Americana, unique shopping opportunities, fine food, and first-rate accommodations.

A special attraction for music and theater lovers can be found in the Victorian town of East Haddam, where groups can attend a show at the Goodspeed Opera House. This beautifully restored opera house sits on the banks of the Connecticut River, an inheritance from the colorful days of steamboat travel. From April through November, the Goodspeed presents musical revivals and original productions.

The Goodspeed is just one example of the countless museums and theaters that dot the state. There's a charming clock museum in Bristol, a castle on the Connecticut river in Hadlyme, Shakespeare festivals on the Housatonic, and even a 280-year-old copper mine and prison in East Granby. Regardless of what interests a guest or group, Connecticut has a special place for them.

Rhode Island 

Located on beautiful Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island has always been a popular destination for meetings and vacations, and it is quickly becoming known as a top location to work and live. The state offers a wide variety of recreational activities - hiking, boating, golf, jail alai - and the requisite dose of historic sites, colonial buildings, and old churches.

The heart of Rhode Island is its capital, Providence. Once an afterthought among New England cities, Providence has come as long way - even recently being named among the top 10 places to live in the 1990s. The city is becoming as popular for meetings and conventions, too with the development of the 60-acre Capital Center - a $180 million development of offices, hotels meeting space, and much more.

Providence has always maintained its history and culture. The city is filled with historic buildings, most of which are still in use. Theater and shopping opportunities abound, and Providence has been rated one of the 10 best cities in the nation when it comes to offering visitors places to dine.

Another popular meeting destination - and culinary treat - is Newport, justly famous as the saltwater-and-champagne resort. The city offers more than 1,000 guest rooms and 70,000 square feet of meeting space, plus more than 400 restaurants and specialty shops.

The charm and allure of Rhode Island extend far beyond Providence and Newport. Though small, much of the state remains undeveloped or dotted with quaint villages - perfect settings for relaxing moments or meetings.

Massachusetts

Like other New England states Massachusetts is relatively small in size but offers planners impressive variety. Starting in Boston - the cultural, educational, and business center of New England - guest have myriad activities to choose from - sightseeing, visiting historic buildings and museums, attending cultural events, enjoying city gardens, and going shopping.

In Boston, the cornerstone of meeting facilities is the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center. The center occupies a pivotal site in the city, facing the major commercial arteries and straddling a main rail line. In addition, it is minutes from Logan Airport. A comprehensive, modern facility with more than 360,000 square feet of flexible space, the center has captured a number of architectural awards for its unique, friendly design.

Hynes Center offers planners five dedicated exhibit halls totaling more than 193,000 square feet and a 25,000-square-foot ballroom featuring a 60-foot-high domed ceiling. Best of all, the Hynes Center is within convenient walking distance of major hotels and sites in Boston.

The Sheraton Boston is a sumptuously renovated luxury hotel in downtown Boston that boasts 1,253 guest rooms, including 85 hospitality suites. The Sheraton is capable of accommodating almost any group short of a major convention entirely within its facilities. The hotel's Grand Ballroom Complex accommodates up to 2,500 people at one time, and there are 41 function rooms that offer 44,000 square feet of meeting space.

For those who prefer a more open and relaxing vista than a city offers, Massachusetts provides a delightful choice of seaside locations.

Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard offer beaches, sailing, antiquing, good food, and comfortable accommodations in postcard-like settings. Shopping opportunities abound and can be a pleasant diversion for those who manage to get sunburned. In addition, the shore region is filled with local artisans who often produce high-quality reproduction furniture, art, and collectibles.

But Massachusetts offers even more to planners in the hills and valleys of its western half. Here tourists can visit small towns almost unchanged from the 1800s, the historic Pioneer Valley, and travel the beautiful and scenic Mohawk Trail. They can also visit the homes of Robert Frost and Emily Dickenson in Amherst, which was settled in 1759.

Summer meetings in western Massachusetts should be sure to include a visit to Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where the audience can sit on the grass on a soft summer night and hear a full-fledged concert or listen to a group of talented students perform. For an out-of-the-ordinary adventure, groups can join a canoe trip down the scenic Housatonic River followed by a picnic and an evening of music at Tanglewood.

Massachusetts is a microcosm of New England, from major cities to beaches, from rolling hills to quaint villages. Whatever a group needs, it's sure to find it in this exciting state.

New Hampshire 

The Granite State's mixture of quiet countryside, sparkling lakes, and ancient mountains with historic towns and a beautiful coastline have helped to make it one of the more popular destinations in the region.

In addition to its historic appeal, New Hampshire has immense beauty with endless opportunities for outdoor recreation. The state has 27 major mountains with downhill ski trails and more than 30 cross-country ski areas (in most cases, a lodge nearby is well-suited to small group meetings). Those same mountains, interspersed with placid lakes, make refreshing spring and summer playgrounds.

On the seacoast, New Hampshire boasts a number of excellent locations. Exeter, a quaint New England town settled in 1638, was once the state capital and still has a number of historic homes and buildings. Further down the coast is Portsmouth, first settled in 1614.

Portsmouth is another 17th-century town perfect for sightseeing, cruises, and fine food. Wherever you go in New Hampshire you will find enthusiastic residents hosting popular annual events: yacht races and regattas, arts and crafts festivals, and more.

Vermont

Picturesque villages at the bottom of white ribbons of ski trails. White-steepled churches nestled among bluegreen mountains. Lakes, rushing brooks, and bright valleys of rolling farmland. These are just a few of the many faces of Vermont.

The Green Mountain State is a true year-round meeting destination. Vermont's meeting facilities are diverse enough to satisfy almost any group's needs, and the state blends natural hospitality with excellent facilities and consistent professionalism.

In the heart of Vermont, Burlington boasts more than 3,000 guest rooms citywide and modern meeting space that can accommodate groups equally large. In addition, ski resort and mountain lodges throughout the state can provide smaller groups with unique, exciting settings. Woodstock, also in central Vermont, hosts lively events year-round, including the wonderful Annual Cabin Fever Antiques Show each February.

Vermont offers a world of charming possibilities.

Maine

The Pine Tree State is a land of contrasts - wave-splashed cliffs, vast potato fields, timeless villages tucked away down country roads, busy cities, and the hush of a northern wilderness.

It may not be a planner's first thought as a meeting destination, yet the state is well-equipped to serve groups from 10 to 3,500, and conference professionals are found throughout Maine.

Perhaps the perfect meeting for Maine is an executive retreat, designed for a few, or a few dozen, people. It's the kind of meeting the state has been hosting for more than 100 years, and many parts of the state seem to have been created just for small groups to visit and enjoy. Maine boasts several retreat communities, such as Bethel and Rangeley, and the inns of the Carrabasset Valley lie in a lake and mountain region.

Throughout the year, special events of all types add to the pleasure of visiting Maine. In the spring and summer there are boat races and other watersports contests, as well as fairs and crafts shows. Toward the end of the summer, Maine hosts one of the region's outstanding annual events - the Maine Seafood Festival, held the first weekend in August.

PHOTO : America's oldest indoor shopping mall - The Arcade - in Providence, Rhode Island (above) and the Hynes Convention Center on Boylston Street in Boston (below).