Workshop Location

Accommodations / Hotel Information
Dining
Reservations
History of Asheville, North Carolina

ACCOMMODATION/HOTEL INFORMATION
The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, Asheville, North Carolina.

Built from granite boulders hewn from Sunset Mountain, The Grove Park Inn opened in 1913. At its opening dinner, William Jennings Bryan declared that it had been “built for the ages.” In the decades since it has become one of the South’s most famous and venerable resorts. It took a crew of 400 men only 12 months to build the majestic landmark, dragging hundreds of tons of boulders up the mountainside with the aid of teams of mules, ropes and pulleys, wagons and a lone steam shovel.  From yesterday to today, The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa has remained a place dedicated to providing its guests with comfort — and genuine delight.

DINING

The Grove Park Inn has a selection of restaurants located on the premises.  Those restaurants include:
Horizons.  Frommer’s says that Horizons is “the finest in the area.” It has dazzling innovations on classic cuisine, a world-class wine list and impeccable service.  The Sunset Terrace is the resort’s classic steakhouse, serving prime beef and fresh seafood for dinner and a variety of salads, sandwiches and entrées for lunch — all with breathtaking western views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The Blue Ridge Dining Room.  Here you can savor selections from the menu or enjoy one of the famed weekend buffets while overlooking the Asheville skyline, the resort’s gorgeous fairways and, of course, the Blue Ridge Mountains that give the Dining Room its name. The Great Hall Bar.  Located in the Great Hall Lobby, this is a signature bar that is flanked by immense 14-foot stone fireplaces and steeped in old-world charm.  The Great Hall Bar is a wonderful place to meet before dinner.  Others include Elaine’s Piano Bar, Magnolia Lounge, Spa Cafe, Pool Cabana, and for those that want to stay in their cozy hotel room, delicious room service can also be ordered.

RESERVATIONS

A special conference rate of $209.00 (US $) single/double occupancy for a Run of House Guest Room is available to all AMBA Workshop attendees and companions.  The room rates are exclusive of a county tax of 4% and the state tax of 6.75%.  The hotel cannot guarantee bed-type, sleeping room location, smoking/nonsmoking or view.

For reservations, call 1-800-438-5800 and identify yourself as a participant of the Association of Military Banks of America (Group Code 6891NV).  Failure to make your reservation using the assigned group code will result in a higher rate which cannot be modified at check-in or check-out.

The Grove Park Inn is a very popular destination and is currently in a “sold out” status over the dates of our workshop.  It is, therefore, imperative that you make your reservation before Monday, August 6, 2007.

Group Run-of-House rates have been negotiated, however, resort policy cannot guarantee bed-type, sleeping room location, smoking/nonsmoking or view.

A deposit equal to one night’s sleeping room rate by a major credit card (Visa/MasterCard/Discover/Amex) or a check is required to confirm your reservation.  You should receive a written or email confirmation within two weeks.  If you do not receive confirmation, please call 1-800-438-5800.  Reservations cancelled less than seven days prior to arrival date will be charged a fee equal to the first night’s room rate.

The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa
290 Macon Avenue
Asheville, NC 28804, USA
Phone: 1-800-438-5800
Fax: (828) 253-7053
www.groveparkinn.com

 ASHEVILLE HISTORY

Before the arrival of Europeans, the land where Asheville now exists lay within the boundaries of Cherokee country.  In 1540, Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto came to the area, bringing the first European visitors, in addition to European diseases which seriously depleted the native population.  As the Cherokee were eventually dominated by European settlers, the area was used as an open hunting ground until the middle of the 19th century.

Asheville was a primitive outpost in 1797.  Frontiersmen such as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett traveled through in the early days.  Asheville was little more than a crossroads of Indian trails on a plateau surrounded by mountains and rivers on all sides.  The railroad transformed Asheville and Buncombe County into a resort and therapeutic health center when it arrived in 1880.  Asheville became a Mecca for visitors searching for a mountain escape, its population climbing to nearly 30,000 seasonal residents in 1890.

Rich Architecture

Asheville had no money to invest in urban renewal projects that were so popular in other cities following the Great Depression.  The magnificent buildings built during the boom years were spared the bulldozer and this is why Asheville is a snapshot of what an American boomtown looked like during the turn of the century.  It isn’t unusual to find quaint shops in elegant surroundings.

Pioneers, Philanthropists and Artists

Asheville has always drawn visionaries, poets and explorers.  George W. Vanderbilt came to Asheville in the late 1880s and quickly purchased 120,000 acres to build his grand estate.  The endeavor took six years and Vanderbilt commissioned renowned landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, to design the grounds and gardens, and celebrated architect, Richard Morris Hunt, to help him plan the house.  Biltmore Estate has withstood the test of time and modern mansions are dwarfed by the regal home.

Thomas Wolfe was born in Asheville and grew up in his mother’s rambling boardinghouse, known as “Dixieland.”  Wolfe is one of the giants of American literature, and Asheville is the backdrop for his autobiographical novel, “Look Homeward, Angel.”

ASHEVILLE POINTS OF INTEREST
Points of interest include: the Biltmore Estate, Botanical Gardens, North Carolina Arboretum, Vance Monument, Pack Square, Blue Ridge Parkway, Thomas Wolfe Memorial, Asheville Urban Trail, Riverside Cemetery, Southern Highland Craft Guild Folk Art Center, Smith-McDowell House Museum, and the Richmond Hill Inn.

For more information visit Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau website (Link to www.exploreashville.com)