Last spring, at the request of several WVFA members, the WVFA Executive Committee and I took a trip down to Beckley, WV to visit Glade Springs Resort. We went there to learn about the Resort, the amenities it offers to visitors, and to compare the Resort at Glade Springs with Canaan Valley Resort as the 2025 host site for the WVFA Annual Meeting.
I’m aware that we have gone to other places in the past, most notably Lakeview Resort at Cheat Lake near Morgantown. Based on anecdotal comments from members who went there, they don’t ever want to go back… So, I was a bit reserved about even considering a move to southern WV and Glade Springs, but WVFA has many members and member companies living and working well below Flatwoods. And I do hear comments about having to travel such a long distance to get to Canaan every summer.
Our intent in visiting Glade Springs was to identify a comparable location in southern WV where we could hold the Annual Conference in alternate years, partially to attract more southern WV based members and partially to find a new experience for members. WVFA has been going to Canaan Valley Resort for maybe thirty years now, with only one two-year break at Lakeview. That’s a long, long time to be in one place!
Prior to our visit, the event manager at Glade Springs gave us a very attractive proposal — they would match the contract prices provided by Canaan Valley, so the cost to you, our members, would basically remain the same. So, having the 2025 Annual Conference at Glade Springs should be about the same cost for members as it was this year at Canaan Valley.
But is Glade Springs as nice a site as Canaan? At Canaan Valley, we typically (post-Covid attendance) have 150 to 175 attendees that stay overnight for at least one night. This year, there were 140 people at the Loggers Barbeque, 149 people at the Awards Luncheon, and 130 people at the Banquet on Saturday night. There are also events like the golf tournament, the skeet shooting competition, children’s events, and other activities available during the Conference at Canaan Valley. There are a lot of great things to do at Canaan Valley, which is why it’s been a preferred destination for the Annual Conference over the years. Members of the Executive Committee met at the Resort Lodge in early March to tour the facilities and determine for ourselves whether Glade Springs could handle our Annual Conference. The trip from Charleston to Glade Springs was just over an hour for me. For folks living in northern WV, the trip can be three to four hours, but mostly on interstate highways.
Getting there was easy, as was finding the main Lodge. We met with the Event Manager, who guided us around the grounds and gave a whirlwind tour of the facilities. The Resort is laid out on 4100 acres, and the main Lodge has 150 rooms available with several large meeting rooms that would accommodate all the Annual Conference events and meetings. An additional 60 or so rooms are available at the Manor House, the Birch Lodge, and in individual cabins located on the Resort in different styles and configurations.
The Manor House, which the Executive Committee toured on our visit, is a large, three-story building designed to accommodate large families or groups on each of the three floors. A living/family room is centrally located on each floor, which would be very appealing to families attending the Annual Conference.
The rooms are spacious and it’s an easy hike to get to the Lodge, less than five minutes in most cases.
To get a feel for what the Resort offers in terms of room and lodging options, here’s a great site for you to visit. All the various room options are listed, and the site details the various configurations and amenities available with each room — https://www.gladesprings.com/rooms/
There are at least ten room configurations available, each with loads of options. We visited several rooms on our whirlwind tour and every room option they showed us was great! As noted on one site, “Accommodations at the resort include spacious two-room king suites, king or queen rooms and junior suites at the inn or manor house. Villas of three, four, and even six bedrooms are also available for larger groups.”
Obviously, Glade Springs Resort can handle all of our catering needs at the Conference, but there are times when dinner isn’t provided as one of the Conference events. In that case, the Resort has at least three options to consider.
First, there’s Bunkers Sports Bar, located at the Golf Clubhouse near the Cobb golf course — one of three courses available at the Resort. Bunkers offers a wide compliment of beverages and food and is located a short distance from the Lodge, but obviously, it’s close to the course and outdoor seating is available for those interested in watching golfers get frustrated… Bunkers is open every day of the week for the following hours: Sunday through Thursday 11:30am–10pm; Friday, Saturday, and Holidays 11:30am–11pm.
Glades Grill and Bar, located in the main Lodge, has fine dining with a great view of the Resort grounds. As noted in the Resort’s description, “Glade’s Grill & Bar provides a fine dining experience, professional service, an impressive wine list, and spectacular West Virginia views.”
Then there’s the Small Talk Café, open at various times during the week, starting early every morning to serve coffee and pastries. Open at 7am, they have a rotating selection fresh-baked pastries ranging from muffins, scones, brownies, cookies, and cakes. also offer salads, seasonal soups, and more. They offer a more casual approach to dinner and serve specialty sandwiches including the Breakfast Club, Hot Ham & Swiss, and the Caprese Panini. During summer, they also offer cafe menu service at the poolside. Small Talk Café is also a great option for casual dining at the Resort.
Finally, there’s the Rotunda, which isn’t always open based on the season and occupancy, but if we go to the Resort, the Rotunda is probably one of the best options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, since it’s conveniently located in the main Lodge and offers a buffet style menu plan. So, if you’re hurrying to the Saturday morning WVFA Business Meeting and want a good, quick breakfast, this could be the place for you! As noted in the Resort’s advertising, “The Rotunda is a comfortable setting for breakfast featuring a wide array of fresh foods. This breakfast restaurant covers all the options, with healthy selections and kid-friendly choices. It’s one of four on-site Resort restaurants, offering a great family dining option to finish your day at the Resort.”
Conversations with the folks at Glade Springs suggest that all lodging will cost the same on an “individual room” basis — $159 per room per night! And in fact, the Glade Springs Resort Event Staff have committed to strike a deal with WVFA that will match the charges and rates we committed to in 2024 at Canaan.
The Resort does charge an additional fee of 12.5 percent of the room cost. This Resort Fee, charged to all nightly room rates, enables the Resort to provide guests with access to a large number of amenities, including Indoor Heated Pool & Hot Tub, Outdoor Heated Pool (seasonal), Children’s Playground, Fishing at Mallard Lake, Saunas & Steam Rooms, Fitness Center, Daily Movies in the Cinema Room, Volleyball, Horseshoes and Swings in Town Square, Bonfires in Town, Indoor Basketball, Outdoor Tennis & Pickleball, Walking Trails, On-site Parking, On-site Shuttle Service, and of course, High-speed Internet Service. Here’s another website with all the details for all the key activities we can access while we’re at the Annual Conference: The Resort at Glade Springs
The Executive Committee discussed a possible situation where the Annual Conference is held at Canaan Valley Resort in even years (like 2024) and at Glade Springs Resort in odd years (like 2025). That helps members from the North and the South attend the Annual Conference and makes everybody feel like WVFA wants to include them in these special meetings!
Let me know (email bob@wvfa.org) how you feel about this new option for the Annual Conference and if there are any suggestions you might have that would help us make it even more successful in the coming years. I look forward to hearing from each of you!
