Contracted turf maintenance helps Tarrytown House staff manage the grounds Just 25 miles north of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River, sits a unique retreat. Two historic mansions serve as the heart of Tarrytown House Estates & Conference Center, which recently underwent an $11 million renovation to restore the mansions, while updating the hotel’s more modern facilities. Today, Tarrytown House boasts 212 guest rooms and 30 meeting rooms, totaling 30,000 square feet of meeting space, not to mention a fully equipped fitness center and recreational amenities that include indoor and outdoor pools, as well as tennis, volleyball and basketball courts. The égreat lawn,_ first added to the property in 1922, provides a shining example of how turf quality at Tarrytown House has been dramatically improved over the last several years. As impressive as the buildings are, it’s the property itself that separates Tarrytown House from other hotels and conference centers. Where others might have just a few flower gardens or a patch of lawn, at Tarrytown House there are 26.3 estate-like acres of landscaped grounds. It’s this setting that attracts guests to the property, and therefore the grounds must be kept in finely manicured condition. Norm Christian, director of engineering, is responsible for maintenance and grounds at the historic facility. “Some of the grounds work we do ourselves, but much of the maintenance is contracted out to a landscaper,” he says. The arrangement, he adds, allows the hotel to lower costs by assigning its own staff to handle certain projects, while ...