May - Albany Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce

Winning handTurning Stone is upstate New York’s destination for work and playThe 18th hole and clubhouse atTurning Stone’s Atunyote golf courseGolf, gaming, dining and entertainment arejust some of what Turning Stone Resort& Casino in Verona has to offer –– and it’scloser to the Capital Region than you mightthink.“We draw about 7 to 10 percent ofour business from the Albany region,”said Karen Ramirez, vice president ofhospitality. “It’s a relatively short drive;we’re within two hours of the CapitalRegion.”Turning Stone opened 18 years agowith a small casino but has since evolvedinto a world-renowned destination resort.“We have four hotels, two spas, fivegolf courses, an RV park, a night club,an indoor tennis dome and a golf dome,”Ramirez said. “We have a little bit ofeverything to attract a variety of differentpeople.”Turning Stone has a 5,000-seatevents center and an 800-seat showroom.Entertainers who have performed thererecently include: Stevie Wonder, TravisTritt, Fergie, Pat Benatar, James Taylor,Montgomery Gentry and EnglebertHumperdinck.There are five golf courses atTurning Stone. The longest is Atunyote,which hosted the Turning Stone ResortChampionship from 2007-10 and was thesite of both the PGA Professional NationalChampionship and the BC Open in 2006.It is ranked as one of the “Top 100 BestResort Courses” by Golfweek.Kaluhyat was ranked one of the “Top100 Best Resort Courses” by Golfweek in2010 and is considered one of the mostchallenging courses in New York state,while the Shenendoah course was builtand is maintained to comply with stringentAudubon International standards forenvironmental protection and preservation.There are also two 9-hole, par threecourses for golfers looking to perfect theirshort game.Stay awhileIn terms of lodging, visitors have fivedifferent venues with different price pointsto choose from.The Lodge includes Ska:na, a spathat has earned recognition from Spamagazine; it has 33,000 square feet, 12treatment rooms, whirlpools, a steam room,sauna and mineral pool. The Tower is a19-story hotel with an amazing view andis the tallest building between Albany andSyracuse.Guests can also choose classic lodgingat The Hotel, modest comfort at The Inn,or recreational fun at The Villages RVPark.The gaming at Turning Stone isspread out over 120,000 square feet, with2,300 multi-game machines, 85 tablegames, a poker room with 32 tables and abingo hall with 1,300 seats.Lava is the resort’s high-end nightclub,a two-story facility that accommodates1,200 people and brings in nationallyknown DJs.Turning Stone has 15 differentrestaurants, including: Wildflowers, itsfour-diamond restaurant; Forest GrillSteakhouse; Peach Blossom, an Asianrestaurant; and Pino Bianco, which servesItalian fare.Not only is Turning Stone an awardwinningresort and casino, it’s also an idealplace to conduct conferences and businessevents, Ramirez pointed out.“Turning Stone is the largestconvention hotel area in the region,with more than 100,000 square feet offlexible meeting space and the ability toaccommodate up to 1,500 guests,” she said.“We get a lot of corporate business andassociations from the Capital Region.Turning Stone’s location is an assetand has helped place Verona on the map.Despite being located in CentralNew York, Turning Stone believes it’sessential to have ties to the Capital Regionbusiness community through its Chambermembership.“We think that it’s very importantthat we stay connected and belong to theAlbany-Colonie Regional Chamber,”Ramirez said. “It helps us keep up to datewith what’s going on in the community,and it’s important for us to have a presencethere. We view it as a partnership.” •May 2011 | VISIONS | 19