Published September 2001

Business, pleasure do mix
at regional getaways

By Kimberly Hilden
Herald Business Journal Assistant Editor

Planning a conference or company retreat? You don’t have to look far for destinations that combine business with the beauty of the great outdoors.

Take the Sleeping Lady, for example. A conference retreat/lodging facility just outside of Leavenworth, it offers 10,000 square feet of meeting space, serving groups of up to 200 people in a rural setting along Icicle Creek at the foot of the Stuart Range in the Cascade mountains.

“Sleeping Lady offers a conference experience that really enhances communication and encourages creative thinking,” Marketing Director Sharon Lunz said. “Our natural setting encourages the development of new solutions to everyday challenges. Groups find that their meetings are incredibly productive here.”

If the friendly environment — enhanced by wooden floors, oriental rugs, wood-burning stoves and great views — produces productivity, Sleeping Lady’s high-tech amenities help it along.

“We have high-speed Internet connections in all of our meeting spaces,” Lunz said, adding that the center also offers state-of-the-art audio/video equipment for slick presentations.

Although the facility welcomes individual guests, it was designed and built for groups, Lunz said.

“We are totally set up to make life easy for the meeting planner,” she said, “and offer a complete meeting package with rates that include everything they need: audio/video, beverage breaks, meeting space, all the meals” and lodging.

This winter, Sleeping Lady is offering complimentary charter transportation to and from the center for business groups from the Puget Sound area, Lunz said.

“They get to use the two-and-a-half hour drive to socialize and relax, and everybody arrives at the same time,” she said.

Since opening in 1995, Sleeping Lady has attracted a growing Northwest clientele that includes Microsoft, Nike, area law firms and high-tech companies, Lunz said.

Across the U.S.-Canadian border, another hotel is attracting Northwest companies — and holding as many as 200 business meetings and conferences a year, said Tim Tindle, Marketing Director for Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa.

Located in southwestern British Columbia’s Coastal Mountains along the shore of Harrison Lake, the resort offers about 24,000 square feet of meeting space in 14 rooms that range from boardrooms to banquet facilities.

Audio/video equipment is available upon request, Tindle said.

“We do have our own in-house equipment; however, in today’s highly specialized market, we outsource with local suppliers to customize clients’ needs,” he said.

Just as Sleeping Lady has hiking, fishing and biking opportunities for guests, Harrison Hot Springs has outdoor recreation of its own.

“We have a full-service marina in front of the resort,” Tindle said, along with mopeds, bicycles and nature-trail hikes.

The resort recently finished a $2.2 million (Canadian currency) renovation of its spa facilities to establish the Healing Springs Spa. The spa has more than 8,000 square feet of natural-mineral hot-spring pools as well as treatment rooms featuring services based on the restorative properties of the mineral-rich waters and traditional services such as facials, massage and manicures.

The improvements have had a noticeable effect on business, which has been “excellent,” Tindle said.

“We need more staff,” he said, chuckling.

For more information on Sleeping Lady, call 800-574-2123, send e-mail to info@sleepinglady.com or visit the retreat’s Web site, www.sleepinglady.com. For more information on Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa, call 800-663-2266, send e-mail to info@harrisonresort.com or visit the resort’s Web site, www.harrisonresort.com.

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