People:Faculty

Craig Madison

In 1979, The Alpha Group was hired by The Grove Park Inn to handle its local Food & Beverage advertising.  After five years of successful and expanding advertising efforts on behalf of the hotel, Madison was retained on a management contract to be the hotel’s full-time Director of Marketing, a position he held for 15 years.  His tenure coincided with the expansion of The Grove Park Inn from a 150-room seasonal hotel to a 510-room resort and conference facility.  In helping to guide and giving direction to that transition, Madison was responsible for the creation of many of the special events and internal programs that made The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa a success.

Appointed General Manager in September 1999, Madison’s first task was executing the vision of hotel owner Elaine D. Sammons for the Resort in the 21st Century.  He has overseen a three-year, $64 million property improvement program, including a new Main Inn roof, expanded Sports Complex, new Laundry, guest room “reinvention,” restoration of the resort’s century-old, Donald Ross-designed golf course, and a $40 million, 40,000 square-foot Spa.  The Spa ~ the finest in North America ~ opened on February 28, 2001.  The Resort’s most recent improvements include a full renovation of the rooms on the private concierge Club Floor, along with the addition of 12 individually themed suites.  In February of 2003, Madison was promoted to President and CEO.

Madison is Chairman of the North Carolina Travel & Tourism Coalition, as well as Chairman of the North Carolina Lodging Association and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority; Vice Chairman for the International Resort Managers Association; a Board Member for the Advantage West Regional Economic Partnership, the Asheville BBB and the UNC Asheville Foundation Board.  He helped found the North Carolina Golf Alliance, and coordinated the resort’s hosting of the North Carolina Governor’s Conference on Travel & Tourism in 1997, 2001 and 2005.

Contact Information

President & CEO
The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa
290 Macon Avenue
Asheville, NC  28804
Phone: 28-252-2711