(LENOX, Mass.) – Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club was recently recognized by Meetings Focus East Magazine, a leading conference planners publication, for a “Best of the East” Award, the sixth time the resort has been honored with this distinction. This latest accomplishment comes on the heels of their restaurants receiving the Wine Spectator’s 2012 Award of Excellence.

Readers of Meetings Focus East are polled annually for their favorite meeting properties in the East based on the following criteria: quality of the meeting space; guest rooms; guest services and amenities; food and beverage service; the efficiency and helpfulness of staff; high-tech services and equipment; recreational facilities and activities; and overall value and experience.

Cranwell continues to be a popular venue for meeting planners throughout the Northeast due to the vast array of activities and resources offered by the resort’s conference planning group.  They recently developed a new Activities Guide to enhance meetings with a host of group activities. Options include Scavenger Hunt Team Challenges and Culinary Experiences such as “Beer Here” and “Hors d’oeuvres at the Chef’s Table”.  In addition to wellness seminars and activities, Cranwell can also arrange drumming workshops or social dancing instruction.  In the first few months since launching the new guide, many planners are already busy adding these options to their agendas.

Conveniently located in the heart of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, Cranwell has long been a favorite destination for meetings and events for up 200 guests. Cranwell features 15,000 square feet of event space including a spacious ballroom with panoramic hilltop views and a stately board room in an historic Gilded Age Mansion. The property offers wireless internet access throughout the resort.

Cranwell Resort, Spa & Golf Club is an all-season resort in the heart of the scenic Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, known for its abundant cultural venues including the famed Tanglewood Music Center and the Norman Rockwell Museum. In addition to a graceful, historic Gilded Age Mansion, this award-winning resort features 114 distinctive guest rooms, an 18-hole golf course set on 380 hilltop acres and one of the largest resort Spas in the Northeast.  With three restaurants and spacious banquet rooms, Cranwell also hosts numerous year-round conferences, weddings and social events.

Cranwell Resort is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ brand, an unsurpassed collection of over 500 hotels which together offer an infinite variety of memorable hospitality experiences. Cranwell is also a long time member of Historic Hotels of America, which preserves the authenticity of over 200 of America’s most prominent historic hotels and inns.  The resort is listed in Zagat’s “Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts & Spas” and some of their many awards and distinctions include the SpaFinder Readers’ Choice Award for one of “Best Spa Resorts for Golf”, and the Wine Spectator Magazine Award of Excellence.

Cranwell is located just two and one-half hours from New York City and Boston in the historic New England village of Lenox, Massachusetts.   For information, please call 800-272-6935 or visit the website at Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club.