Hotel Reservations Information:  Book by September 6, 2006 for conference rate 

Reservations may be made by calling 540.985.5900 locally or 1.866.594.4722 toll free and asking for the VGFOA 2006 group.  The group rate is $109 single occupancy and $119 double occupancy.  The VGFOA block is limited in size and is available on a first-come, first-serve basis until the rooms in our block are sold out or September 6, 2006, whichever comes first.  It may be possible to book rooms at the Hotel Roanoke after this date, but the rate and availability cannot in any way be assured.

Overnight parking options at the Hotel Roanoke include valet parking ($9) and self parking ($6).  Daily self parking is also available at a cost from $1 - $5, depending on length of stay.
 

About the historic Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center

Your conference hotel, the Hotel Roanoke, was built in 1882 by the Norfolk and Western Railway (now part of the Norfolk Southern Railway), which had recently constructed its administrative offices in Roanoke, bringing in over a thousand railroad workers. It officially opened on Christmas Day, 1882. In July, 1898, a fire started in the kitchen which shut down the hotel for several months. The hotel was reopened in January, 1899, restored with a few additions.

The next major renovation took place in 1938, remodeling the hotel to have a more Tudor look. Additonal new wings were added in 1947 and 1955.

In 1989, Norfolk Southern gave the Hotel Roanoke to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). After the flag lowering ceremony on November 30, the hotel was closed. Sale of the contents began and continued for 17 days.

In 1992, the Renew Roanoke campaign was launched to raise enough money to reopen the hotel. Virginia Tech had set a deadline of December 31, 1992 to have enough money. By late fall, the campaign was still short $1 million. In an unpreceded Christmas-time fundraiser, the campaign succeeded, raising $5,006,000. Norfolk Southern then donated an additonal $2 million; 30 times what it paid for the original hotel. The Hotel Roanoke reopened in 1993 and still operates today.

A conference center was built directly adjacent to the Hotel Roanoke and opened in 1995. A pedestrian bridge was also constructed over Norfolk Southern's railroad tracks to link the hotel and conference center to downtown Roanoke near the Wachovia Tower.

Source: Wikipedia.com