Meeting planners who have long searched for a centrally located, full-service, four-season resort option in the Northeast can now find it at the newly opened Grand Cascades Lodge at Crystal Springs Resort, located just 47 miles from Manhattan in the lush mountains of northwestern New Jersey.

Conveniently situated just a one-hour drive from Manhattan, Newark Liberty International Airport and most points in northern and central New Jersey, the 250-room Grand Cascades Lodge was designed with meeting planners in mind.  More than 30,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, which will become available for use beginning in October 2007, has been incorporated into the luxury resort with a host of distinctive touches that help Grand Cascade Lodge’s staff customize the meeting experience.
Among a few of the unique meeting aspects offered at the resort:

• Specially tailored menus for events and a dedicated corporate sales staff to provide planners with step-by-step guidance before, during and after conferences;
• A golf simulator to complement the resort’s own championship golf that allow groups to “play” a round on Pebble Beach or St. Andrews famed courses;
• A Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning wine cellar that offers an inimitable setting for a meeting or private dining experience, surrounded by a collection of more than 50,000 bottles;
• A distinctive “iron chef” team building challenge.
• All grass, 18-hole putting course ideal for meeting attendee competitions or meeting break activities

            Grand Cascades Lodge provides groups with access to some of the best golf in the Northeast, including the resort’s seven owned, top-ranked courses such as Ballyowen, rated the #1 public course in New Jersey and given 4 ½ stars by Golf Digest, and Wild Turkey, adjacent to the Lodge.  The resort also offers a great location for ski season in New Jersey’s surrounding Appalachian Mountain range at Mountain Creek. A one-of-a-kind Biosphere complex featuring two exotic freeform heated pools, spacious tub, water slide, sunken tropical aquarium, sauna, vortex pool and organic juice bar are all found under a distinctive translucent retractable roof that permits sunrays to penetrate through, allowing for a winter tan. In addition, the resort offers a year-round heated outdoor pool.
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New Grand Cascades Lodge Offers Meetings Facilities / 2

            The resort recently hired Jeff Weggeman, a 20-year meeting veteran, as vice president of sales and marketing to help grow revenues and to put the comprehensive meetings facility on the map.   Formerly vice president of sales and marketing at ARAMARK Harrison Lodging, Weggeman also served at Dolce International for 11 years, most recently as vice president sales, the Americas. 
“Grand Cascades Lodge is truly a significant development for the Northeast region and certainly for the New York metropolitan area,” said Weggeman.  “There is simply no other resort of its kind that offers both the proximity to Manhattan and the comprehensive luxury facilities and services that are available here.  The philosophy is all about making it easy for planners and offering the type of one-on-one attention they deserve.”
Among the diverse room options at Grand Cascades Lodge is the beautiful 4,300-square-foot Emerald Ballroom featuring floor-to-ceiling arched windows, dramatic chandeliers, and sound proof room divider for convenient function usage.  This is just one of a myriad group of options for both indoor and outdoor banquet venues. 

Dedicated conference rooms feature wireless high speed internet access, video conferencing capabilities, ergonomic chairs, conference tables with privacy screens and on-site IT managers to work with guests to orchestrate a successful event.
In addition to the facilities at Grand Cascades, planners also have access to 20,000 square feet of function space at nearby full-service Minerals Resort & Spa, also part of the Crystal Springs group of resorts.  Both resorts offer a great location for surrounding attractions, including: wineries, hiking, craft and antique shopping, hiking, apple and pumpkin picking, boating and fishing and minor league baseball with the Sussex Skyhawks.

“We are committed to ensuring planners have a world-class experience,” said Weggeman.  “This area has been lacking the type of facility we offer and both planners and attendees will find it’s been well worth the wait.”