Suppose you were seeking to stage a retreat for your mission workers in Asia (maybe SE Asia in particular). You expect around 150 people to attend. You need big meeting rooms, meals, activities for kids, safety and security, a tranquil setting, and some kind of natural beauty like an ocean (and a beach?) or majestic mountains. Price is a factor — but you’ll consider anything. Where would you stage such a get-together? And at what time of the year would you stage it? (Late May or early June, for example?) Please click “Comment” below the web version of this item. Feel free to recommend general areas, but what would REALLY be helpful would be specific properties which have worked with mission agencies before and who understand our unique needs. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
We had an international missions conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was at the Horizon Village & Resort. Big meeting rooms, meals, activities for kids, safety and security, tranquil setting, relaxing gardens, and close to mountains. Winter is the best time of the year in Chiang Mai. We were there in January and the weather was perfect.
The Paradise or Flamingo Hotels in Tanjung Bungah in Penang. It is right next door to Dalat International School, a school that was started by CM&A more than 80 years ago and still serves missionary (and business) families. They may be of help too.
Back in the 1990s I was in the Philippines working with FEBC. We had our annual retreats at the Caliraya Re-Creation Center, which is a Christian retreat/resort that was actually started by missionaries (http://www.calirayalake.com/clryarctncntr.html). It’s in Laguna province, I think, about 2 hours south-east of the Metro Manila and maybe 3 hours from the international airport (around the south-east end of Laguna de Bay, the strange 3-fingered lake SE of Manila).
Caliraya has very good accommodation and meeting facilities, catering, and lots of outdoor sports with a pool, tennis, horse-riding, and even jet-skis or swimming in the man-made lake, for the free time between meetings.
A lot of missions used Caliraya during the years I lived in the Philippines. You’d need to get more current reviews from people who are in the Phils now, to see if the quality is still as good as it was back then. But they could comfortably provide for 150 mission-staff. Otherwise, I’ve used both the Flamingo in Penang and the Horizon in Chiang Mai, as noted by others–both are nice.
Given your dates (late May-early June), you should check the weather patterns for the country in question. Thailand gets really hot just before the rains come (late 30s; early 40s); Philippines not so hot, but still rather uncomfortable. Penang is around 30-32C in the daytime and maybe 26-27 at night, but Flamingo has good aircon in meeting areas and rooms. Not so much to do in the neighbourhood, though (and jellyfish in the sea, so stick to the pools!).
I’ve attended one at Sunway Lagoon, Kuala Lumpur. Sizable meeting rooms, lots of space, and connected to a shopping area and a water park. I was there in July, which I’m sure was off-season (and cheaper), but the A/C worked well, and who wants to go to a water park when it’s cold?
This is not in Asia… but the Zodhiates International New Testament Study Center in Athens, Greece hosts large missionary conferences for several organizations bringing in staff from around the world. The added benefit is the opportunity to offer the spiritually encouraging experience of visiting the places where some of the first missionary activity took place with the Apostle Paul as a component of the conference. You can google “zintsc” to be in touch.
Just finished a conference, again, at the Empress Hotel in Chiang Mai. Its in the city, near the night market for people who like shopping, has lots of break out rooms for workshops and different size conference halls.
I would second Chiang Mai as a great place for a Mission conference. The Horizon Resort is great for a secure place with many meeting rooms, wonderful food, good manager who has hosted many Christian gatherings, speaks English and is very accommodating. The costs are extremely reasonable for all the perks and beautiful setting. Also a group called SAM ( run by Christians) can help set up everything for the meetings in the city for places like Empress Hotel which was mentioned.