The Home of Ichabod Crane

In the Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow areas, there are numerous facilities for meeting and events, unique venues for receptions and gatherings and plenty of activities to keep participants enthusiastic and engaged. The Old Croton Aqueduct provides an opportunity for team-building exercises involving hiking/bicycling between multiple towns, scenic areas and historic sites related to colonial America. If meeting or event attendees are located in the greater New York City area, cars are not necessary. it’s easy to get to Tarrytown and other Hudson River towns by Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak. 

Tarrytown's hotels run the gamut from the large 439-room Westchester Marriott to the mid-sized Doubletree to the intimate and luxurious Castle Hotel & Spa, with 24 rooms and six historic suites. All have meeting space available for groups. The Doubletree’s 10,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom can accommodate up to 1,200 people, while the Marriott Westchester’s 26 meeting rooms can handle events of just about any size and configuration.

The Tarrytown House Estate & Conference Center, the nation’s first commercial conference center, offers numerous meeting spaces in 11 separate buildings on 26 acres, including the Mary Duke Ballroom, which can accommodate groups of up to 350. The property also includes the King Mansion, an historic guest house with 10 Georgian-style rooms and 212 additional rooms and suites. At Castle on the Hudson, you can book an event or conference in the magnificent Great Hall or the Caramai Ballroom, meet informally at poolside, or have a private dinner meeting in the rosewood-paneled Arthur D. Litt Library.

The region also has a selection of chain hotels in Elmsford and North Yonkers offering rooms and small meeting facilities. They include SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott and Sheraton in Tarrytown; Hampton Inn and Extended Stay America in Elmsford, and Residence Inn by Marriott and Hampton Inn in North Yonkers. Additional hotels are available in nearby White Plains to handle overflow attendees.

For complete listings, go to the Westchester County website and click on Meetings & Groups.

If you want to go off site, consider a unique venue like Sunnyside, Washington Irving’s home in Tarrytown. Its shady and expansive lawns, colorful gardens, tented courtyards, picturesque porches and galleries make perfect settings for ceremonies, cocktails and formal dinners. Nearby Lyndhurst Castle features a 19th-Century estate and a dazzling setting. Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow is an 18th-Century working farm with a water-powered gristmill, charming mill pond, pasture, handsomely furnished manor house and an 18th-Century Dutch barn and garden. The glass-roofed greenhouse is perfect for scenic evening and stand-up events of up to 100 people. The adjoining gallery, decorated with artifacts from the collection of Historic Hudson Valley, is a larger setting suitable for formal dinners up to 80 people. For larger groups, the historic 843-seat Tarrytown Music Hall can accommodate a wide range of events such as concerts, corporate functions, recitals, theatrical performances and more.

Restaurants in the area offer a broad range of cuisines, and many are well-versed at handling groups. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, located at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, offers a private dining room that seats up to 64 guests and a HayLoft that can accommodate groups up to 260. Extensive team-building activities can be organized in conjunction with the property’s farmers and chefs.

On the riverfront in Irvington is Red Hat on the River, a popular, classy bistro with stunning river views and a rooftop lounge in good weather. Half Moon restaurant in Dobbs Ferry and Harvest on Hudson in Hastings-on-Hudson also feature great riverfront locations. Half Moon offers a casual setting and menu, and Harvest on Hudson is a perfect location for any type of casual or formal business event.