Kingsmill Resort
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Kingsmill Resort is a vacation, conference, and
golf resort A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to stay ...
in the
eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, located in
James City County, Virginia James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located ...
, southeast of
Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...
. It is located on a portion of the
Kingsmill Plantation Kingsmill is a geographic area in James City County, Virginia, that includes a large planned residential community, a resort complex, a theme park, a brewery, and a commercial park. The Kingsmill area is between the north bank of the James River ...
; the original plantation structures and their successors have long been in ruins. It was founded in the 1970s by
Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...
as part of related developments near
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
. In 2010, Kingsmill Resort, which sits within a large residential
planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
of the same name, was slated to become a vital piece of the entertainment and hospitality system operated by
Xanterra Parks and Resorts Xanterra Travel Collection (formerly Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Amfac Resorts and Amfac Parks & Resorts) is a privately owned American park and resort management company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, controlled by entertainment magnate P ...
, one of many enterprises owned by Denver-based billionaire
Philip Anschutz Philip Frederick Anschutz ( ; born December 28, 1939) is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, movies, theaters, arenas and m ...
. Anschutz bought Xanterra in 2008 after it was a Fred Harvey hospitality company dating to 1876. With facilities overlooking the
James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
a few miles east of Jamestown, the Kingsmill Resort has 425 rooms, five restaurants, of conference space, a spa and fitness center, marina, and 15-court tennis center. Three championship golf courses (two at the resort, one private) surround the resort and are nestled within a large
planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
(management of which is not part of the Kingsmill Resort). The resort has hosted a total of 29 professional golf tournaments from 1981 until 2009, among them
LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
and
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
events.http://www.dailypress.com/news/williamsburg/dp-nws-kingsmill-reax-20100713,0,2528443.story The resort has also been a perennial favorite for political conferences, such as national governors conferences and congressional caucuses. The area features the three main sites of the
Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia The Historic Triangle includes three historic colonial communities located on the Virginia Peninsula of the United States and is bounded by the York River on the north and the James River on the south. The points that form the triangle are James ...
which are linked by the
Colonial Parkway Colonial Parkway is a scenic parkway linking the three points of Virginia's Historic Triangle, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. It is part of the National Park Service's Colonial National Historical Park. Virginia's official state cla ...
(Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, and Yorktown), as well as the
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Busch Gardens Williamsburg (formerly known as Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens: The Old Country) is a amusement park located in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Located approximately northwest of Virgini ...
and
Water Country USA Water Country USA is a water park in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It is the Mid-Atlantic's largest water park, and it offers live entertainment, shops and restaurants, water rides, and other family attractions, all of which have a 1950 ...
theme parks An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
, joined by smaller attractions, hotels, time-sharing developments, restaurants, retirement complexes, and other venues.


Development history

Beginning in the early 1970s, largely on a tract of property which was formerly part of the
Kingsmill Plantation Kingsmill is a geographic area in James City County, Virginia, that includes a large planned residential community, a resort complex, a theme park, a brewery, and a commercial park. The Kingsmill area is between the north bank of the James River ...
, the Kingsmill Resort was developed by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) as a portion of the brewing company's development of diversified activities in the Williamsburg area, which grew to include not only the brewery, but the
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Busch Gardens Williamsburg (formerly known as Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens: The Old Country) is a amusement park located in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Located approximately northwest of Virgini ...
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
, and large upscale developments of residential and office park properties such as that at McLaws Circle. The St. Louis-based brewer invested in the area following negotiations held between August Busch, II and
Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the g ...
, a son of Colonial Williamsburg's initial chief mentor,
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...
Winthrop Rockefeller had been serving as both governor of Arkansas and chairman of
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
in the 1960s and 1970s. (
Water Country USA Water Country USA is a water park in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It is the Mid-Atlantic's largest water park, and it offers live entertainment, shops and restaurants, water rides, and other family attractions, all of which have a 1950 ...
, a local
water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
, was acquired by A-B in the 1990s, and added to the company's theme park activities, which include a number of
SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...
properties in other states as well).


Divestiture by A-B, InBev

In the last part of the 20th and early into the 21st century, as a brewer, A-B found itself increasingly in tough competition in an increasingly global market. In 2008, after initially resisting an unsolicited stock bid, A-B announced it had reached an agreement to be acquired by the even larger Belgium-based
InBev InBev () is a brewing company that resulted from the merger between Belgium-based company Interbrew and Brazilian brewer AmBev which took place in 2004. It existed independently until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, which formed Anheu ...
, the world's largest brewing company. The newer owners announced plans to sell-off the portions of A-B activities which were not part of the core beverage business as it worked to reduce debt incurred to fund the acquisition. As A-B had been a major employer and strong community supporter for many years, there was widespread speculation and more than a little apprehension about who might ultimately acquire and control the theme parks, the resort, and other Busch developments in the region.


New owners, future

Since then, the
Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...
acquired the company's 10 theme parks, including two near Williamsburg.http://www.dailypress.com/news/williamsburg/dp-nws-kingsmill-sold-20100712,0,6001852.story In July 2010, it was announced that Xanterra had entered into an agreement, to purchase and operate the Kingsmill Resort. In 1968, Xanterra became the successor to the
Fred Harvey Company The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey to cater to the growing n ...
established by entrepreneur Fred Harvey in 1875. One of Xanterra's locations is at the
Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Xanterra (owned by Anschutz since 2008) has operated in national and state parks across the United States, especially in the Western regions. Other operations include
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
in
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
and
Crater Lake National Park Crater Lake National Park is an American national park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth-oldest national park in the United States and the only national park in Oregon. The park encompasses the caldera of ...
in
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. Owned by Denver-based billionaire
Philip Anschutz Philip Frederick Anschutz ( ; born December 28, 1939) is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, movies, theaters, arenas and m ...
since, 2008, prior to the Kingsmill announcement, Xanterra was operating about three dozen hotels and lodges with more than 5,000 guest rooms combined, with over 8,000 employees.


References


External links

* 1975 establishments in Virginia Buildings and structures in James City County, Virginia Golf clubs and courses in Virginia Landmarks in Virginia Tourist attractions in James City County, Virginia Williamsburg, Virginia Hotels in Virginia Sports venues in Hampton Roads William & Mary Tribe golf William & Mary Tribe sports venues