Family Reunion Ideas
 

Planning ahead for a summer 2000 family reunion location in either Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North/South Carolina where families from five different locations can meet up. We have a total of 20 people (eight will be kids ages 9-18). We need golf (18 holes - nearby) and swimming pool. Others would love the ability to rent a boat for a day of fun on a lake/ocean. Flexible on the food ... could be a house where we make our own food or eat out/inclusive plan (it is vacation, after all!). Would appreciate any suggestions/ideas! Thanks!

In the Smokey Mts, just 11 miles east of Gatlinburg in Crosby, TN is a rental house called "Castle on the Green". A friend of mine rents it annually with a large group. The house has 9 bedrooms and sleeps 28. It has a view of the mts and sits directly on a golf course. There is access to 3 pools and tennis. Lake Fontana (maybe 1 hr?) & Douglas Lake (1/2 hour) are nearby. Plenty of restaurants in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and tons of things for everyone to do - shopping, Dollywood, hiking, horseback riding, the list goes on and on. They have a second property called "Camelot in the Smokeys". I don't know anyone who has stayed there. The web site is http://www.castleonthegreen.com/ <BR>

In the Smokey Mts, just 11 miles east of Gatlinburg in Crosby, TN is a rental house called "Castle on the Green". A friend of mine rents it annually with a large group. The house has 9 bedrooms and sleeps 28. It has a view of the mts and sits directly on a golf course. There is access to 3 pools and tennis. Lake Fontana (maybe 1 hr?) & Douglas Lake (1/2 hour) are nearby. Plenty of restaurants in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and tons of things for everyone to do - shopping, Dollywood, hiking, horseback riding, the list goes on and on. They have a second property called "Camelot in the Smokeys". I don't know anyone who has stayed there. The web site is http://www.castleonthegreen.com/ <BR>

Whew, those two castles/retreats are beautiful but who can afford them? You might try the chamber of commerces in the areas you wish to go. I had a book with all the campgrounds in USA in it and it listed the champers and their phones numbers in each section. I would just write ( suppose now you could just e mail) and ask for books and phamplets. Another cute place in gatlinburg is www.roaringforkmotel.com <BR>has pool etc and individual cabins, one that sleeps 9. I also subscribe to REUNINON magazine and its full of ads of where to hold your reunion. Maybe they are online?

Thanks, Ellie, for the great suggestion! The Castle on the Green looks awesome on their web site (and easier $ when divided by 5 families). Thanks, too, to Tricia for the recommendation on Reunions magazine! I did find it on the web (www.reunionsmag.com) and it is full of ideas. <BR> <BR>Any other suggestions out there? THANKS!

We had a great family reunion at Nags Head on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Didn't have the swimming pool, but the kids really loved the beach. I don't know if I would recommend the house we stayed in. It was big, had more rooms than the 22 of us needed, and several kitchens, and it was cheap (something like $300/family), but it was also really rundown. We were comfortable, but that's about it. But the location was wonderful. I'm pretty sure there was golf nearby. <BR> <BR>A suggestion about handling the food. We had 8 couples and 6 kids. For 4 nights a pair of couples was assigned dinner duty, shopping, cooking, cleaning up. the fifth night we ordered takeout and split the cost. first and last nights everyone was on their own. This worked really well. No one had to deal with cooking more than once, and the cost was controlled by the couples planning their evening. It worked great for us.

From your 4-state range, it sounded like you wanted to stay in the mountains -- if so, DO look at Asheville, NC. However, I strongly second the OuterBanks idea, but warn you away from Nags Head (or Kitty Hawk or Kill Devil Hills) because they're all seriously overbuilt. However, look north toward Southern Shores, Duck, Corolla, Whalehead, etc. -- believe you'll find all of what you want. Several realtors (Kitty Dunes, Southern Shores, Joe Lamb, and there are more) are on line and have "cluster" houses or big houses designed to handle large family groupings. Sanderling (north end of Duck) is expensive but just lovely resort.

Thanks, Carolina, for the great info. We have never been to the Outer Banks area and it sounds like a good possibility. Looks like they have a lot of large houses available which might suit our purposes. <BR> <BR>House vs. resort: Does anyone have any "family resort-type" places they would recommend for a family reunion group? THANKS! <BR>

Callaway Gardens is family type resort. They have a variety of accomodations and activities that might suit your group.

The Grove Park Inn Resort in Asheville, NC is wonderful. Every thanksgiving my family meets there for the long weekend and we have plenty to do. the mountains are beautiful, and the resort has golf, tennis, pool, and nearby horseback riding. the hotel also has a gym on its grounds. i have used the tennis, gold and horseback riding facilites and i found them to be very well staffed and in impeccable condition.the resort is historic and welcoming. wonderful dining as well, i recommend eating breakfast and dinner on the terrace. it is wonderful in the summer as well. i hope you have a wonderful family reunion!!

the resort website is www.groveparkinn.com