Author: Martinarmes

ConventionSouth Magazine Honors Destination for Best Meeting Sites in the South

PINEHURST, NC (October 15, 2019) – The Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has earned its tenth consecutive Reader’s Choice Award as determined by the voters of ConventionSouth magazine. The CVB is among nearly 350 convention and visitors’ bureaus, meeting facilities and hotels located across the South to receive this year’s award.

Led by CVB executive vice president, Beverly Stewart, the organization garnered top votes for the best meeting sites in the South. More than 7,000 voters participated in this year’s Reader’s Choice survey. The survey also reported its highest voter participation via social media this year. The Reader’s Choice Awards program started in 2001.

“Receiving this award for the tenth time is awesome and a reflection on the true Southern hospitality we value here,” says Beverly Stewart, executive vice president for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Of course, we have a truly unique area to promote, but it is the service and attention to detail on the part of the CVB team that is really appreciated by meeting planners.” Stewart added, “I’ve worked with many of these meeting planners for years, and it is those long-term professional and personal relationships that reap the benefits of new and return business.”

“ConventionSouth readers and fans have voted to decide the best meeting sites in the South, and it is no surprise to us that Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB has been selected to receive our annual Readers’ Choice Award,” said ConventionSouth Senior Editor Marcia Bradford. “The value in receiving this prestigious recognition is that it comes from the United States’ top meeting professionals who hold events in the South. These planners demand the highest level of customer service and quality facilities, and they have contributed in determining that Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB indeed displays the commitment to professionalism, creativity and service that they require.”

The CVB will be featured as an award recipient in the December 2019 awards issue of ConventionSouth magazine. Celebrating over 35 years as a leading meeting planner resource, the magazine is based in Gulf Shores, AL, and is distributed to more than 18,000 meeting professionals located across the country who book meetings held within the South.

Learn More about hosting your meeting at The Home of American Golf.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. (September 12, 2019) – The Manor Inn, the youngest of Pinehurst Resort’s three historic hotels at a mere 96 years, is again open to guests following the first stage of an extensive renovation for much of 2019.

Not unlike the sweeping redesign of Pinehurst No. 4 by Gil Hanse or the masterful reimagination of the historic steam plant building as the wildly popular Pinehurst Brewing Co., The Manor’s renovation is the next in line of a series of groundbreaking projects at Pinehurst Resort.

Just like the Holly Inn and the Carolina, the Manor has its own unique place in the history of Pinehurst, says Bob Dedman Jr., Pinehurst Resort’s Chief Executive Officer.

“Our intention was to improve upon and modernize the guest experience while still preserving the Manor’s unique charm,” Dedman says. “I think we’ve accomplished that in fine fashion.”

First opened in 1923 after the Holly Inn (1895) and the Carolina Hotel (1901), the Manor and its 43 guest rooms have been transformed since renovations began in February 2019. All of the inn’s interior has been completely renovated, with only 15 percent of the interior framing remaining. The lone original component to the Manor following the renovation is its fabled exterior structure of the unique Kellastone, a special stucco-style building material that was new to the era and known for its permanence.

Always a favorite of Arnold Palmer’s when he would visit Pinehurst, the Manor’s new interior includes a stylish new bar for its guests, club rooms and a large lobby. It is that lobby that has always presented the Manor with its relaxed charm.

The origins of the Manor begin with the razing of the Lexington Hotel in the same location in 1922, and owner Mrs. Emma C. Bliss went about designing a new hotel, unheard of for a woman at the time. Her vision of the Manor featured an expansive lobby with several rooms meant for gathering and fellowship, offering – along with the hotel’s new steam heat and electric elevator – festive spaces for table tennis and card playing, and then later in the early 1950s, a specially designed TV room.

That style of distinct gathering space returns with the renovation of the Manor. A terrific option for golf groups, there are two private hospitality suites that can be reserved for the duration of their stay. The Library and Club Room, each on the lobby level and decked out with casually elegant furnishings, can accommodate 12-20 guests, respectively.

The North & South bar opens in early December and will feature craft beer from the nearby Pinehurst Brewing Co. as well as an extensive whiskey selection. Memorabilia and photos throughout the bar will pay homage to the historic North & South Amateur Championship, which has been played at Pinehurst since 1901. The signature element of the N&S Bar is the dramatic ceiling, which features an illustration of the original routing of Donald Ross’ first four courses at Pinehurst. The map, circa 1922, coincides neatly with the period in which the Manor originally opened.

The Manor renovation is all part of a masterplan to diversify and enhance the guest experience at the historic resort. In 2017, Pinehurst opened The Cradle, a 789-yard par-3 course that Golf Channel called the “most fun 10 acres in golf.” A year later, famed golf architect Hanse completed his redesign of Pinehurst No. 4, which GOLF Magazine named the “Best New Course You Can Play.” And in 2018, Pinehurst Brewing Co., a 10-barrel microbrewery, opened in the Village’s old steam plant, a historic building that dates back to 1895.

“Our mantra is simple,” says Dedman. “Always Pinehurst, but always better.”