The Sunshine State is filled with sparkling springs, plentiful rivers and lakes, and the sights and sounds of Everglades National Park. But perhaps it is best known for its 1,200 miles of scenic coastline and some of the world’s best shell-gathering spots. Planners will find a wide variety of regional characteristics, ranging from the quaint, easy-going feeling of Old Florida locales to the international excitement of Miami and Orlando.
Central Florida
Bradenton Gulf Islands
Website – BradentonGulfIslands.com; Social media: @Visit_Bradenton
Known for its unspoiled beauty, rich history, and casual island style, Bradenton, the county seat of Manatee County, also has a revitalized downtown filled with arts, culture, discoveries, and more. The area includes the outer barrier islands of Longboat Key and Anna Maria.
The Bradenton Area Convention Center features 60,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space. Ideal for everything from concerts to trade shows, the convention center has a 32,400-square-foot main arena that can seat 4,000 people. A new full-service, 252-room Sheraton hotel adjacent to the convention center is under construction and scheduled for completion next year. The area is also served by two hotels—Courtyard Bradenton Sarasota/Riverfront and Hampton Inn & Suites Bradenton Downtown—that provide a combined total of 500 guest rooms and 11,446 square feet of event space for up to 400 guests.
Located on a 600-acre campus, Bradenton’s boarding school and sports camp IMG Academy has the 150-room Legacy Hotel at IMG Academy and event space for up to 515 guests. The 253-room Resort at Longboat Key Club has eight function spaces and can accommodate up to 250 guests in its 2,948-square-foot space. The new 187-room Zota Beach Resort offers 2,752 square feet of meeting space. The property features a restaurant and wine bar close to upscale shopping and restaurants at St. Armands Circle.
Clearwater, St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach
Website – VisitStPeteClearwater.com; Social media – @VSPC
From classic beach hotels to golf resorts and boutique downtown properties, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and St. Pete Beach in Pinellas County offer many amenities for successful gatherings and meetings. The 585-room TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach feature 70,868 square feet of meeting and event space, with the largest area being 10,584 square feet. Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort features 416 guest rooms and 35,000 square feet of meeting space. The largest space is 9,800 square feet. The 333-room Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront – Downtown/Waterfront boasts 30,000 square feet of meeting space. The largest space is 7,000 square feet. Other favorites include the recently renovated Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach, which has 22,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Sheraton Sand Key Resort, which features 25,332 square feet of tented beach space and 24,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, including two ballrooms and seven breakout rooms. The resort’s largest space can accommodate up to 1,500 guests.
Groups might also consider hosting a fully catered, entertainment-filled event on Shell Island. This undeveloped barrier island features some of the finest locations on the Florida Gulf Coast for exotic tropical shelling. Add style and color to an event at the Chihuly Collection, an intimate space displaying artist Dale Chihuly’s glasswork installations. The 10,000-square-foot setting features intricate chandeliers and other works of art.
Waterfront activity hubs like St. Pete Pier, John’s Pass Village, and Pier 60 offer dining and shopping. Don’t miss the Salvador Dalî Museum, featuring the largest collection of Dalí works outside Spain.
Florida’s Adventure Coast
Website – FloridasAdventureCoast.com; Social media – @Adventure_Coast
An hour north of Tampa in Hernando County, historic Brooksville—established in 1845—offers a great getaway for old-fashioned Florida charm and a host of outdoor activities. Local sights include the May-Stringer House, a historic Victorian-era home. The 1885 Train Depot Museum showcases historical artifacts. Weeki Wachee is known for its underwater mermaid show and natural springs. For excellent antiquing, don’t miss historic Arcadia.
Other attractions include Withlacoochee State Forest and Cabot Citrus Farms, formerly World Woods Golf Club, which is set to open this year. FLG X Tampa in Brooksville features four courses of obstacles and ziplines.
Kissimmee
Website – Experience Kissimmee.com; Social media – @ExperienceKissimmee
Located in central Florida, just 25 minutes from Orlando International Airport (MCO) and on the doorstep of some of the biggest theme parks in America, Kissimmee offers an array of unique meeting properties and venues.
Michelle Moore, senior director of meetings sales and services for Experience Kissimmee, says lodging and venues range from top brands such as Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center and Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate to hybrid resorts like Margaritaville Resort and Reunion Resort & Golf Club, offering both traditional hotel rooms and vacation homes and condos, to boutique hotels.
“Our location offers close proximity to world-class attractions and shopping but also access to nature, outdoor adventures, and eco-activities,” Moore says. “Downtown Kissimmee offers free walking tours of local artist-designed murals and sculptures. Groups can find plenty to do in the quaint downtown of Celebration, from boutique shops to nature trails to explore by bike or on foot. Fun excursions can also be combined with cultural opportunities at Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures, with an authentic Native American village. Groups also can incorporate a local giveback through CSR activity to provide support to a local nonprofit organization.”
New developments and renovations abound, according to Experience Kissimmee. In 2024, Omni Resort at ChampionsGate Orlando, which has 248,100 square feet of meeting space, will add 144 new sleeping rooms, bringing the resort’s total to 1,006 guest rooms. Additionally, the resort will add a unique golf venue with flexible indoor/outdoor event space. The recently opened ette hotel has 126 guest rooms with state-of-the-art amenities, a private room on the first floor that can accommodate up to 44 people, and a sixth-floor rooftop reception area. Margaritaville Resort, which has 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, completed a guest room expansion in 2022, adding 49 rooms for a total of 263 guest rooms and more than 300 cottages. Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando Sunset Walk has added a new social space for groups of up to 100 guests in the Oasis Beach Club that will share space between Embassy Suites and Margaritaville Resort.
Delta Hotels Orlando Celebration, formerly the Grand Orlando Resort at Celebration, is currently completing renovations of all 718 guest rooms and its 10,000-square-foot conference center. Also new, Meliá Orlando Hotel Celebration has partnered with AdventHealth Nicholson Center, within walking distance, allowing hotel guests to utilize meeting space at the center that has 5,600 square feet of venues for training, conferences, and social and corporate events for up to 450 people.
Kissimmee offers 25,000 hotel rooms and 30,000 vacation homes and more than 1 million square feet of event and meeting space.
The largest convention hotel in Kissimmee is Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center, with 1,718 guest rooms and 76 meeting rooms in more than 500,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space. Other larger event hotels in Kissimmee include Embassy Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista South, with 300 suites and 40,000 square feet of total event space; Wyndham Orlando Resort and Conference Center, with 434 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of function space; and Ramada Kissimmee Gateway, with 500 guest rooms and 8,495 square feet of meeting and event space.
Osceola Heritage Park is a unique venue in downtown Kissimmee that includes festival grounds, 11,000-seat arena, 5,300-seat stadium, and a 60,000-square-foot event center with five meeting rooms and a 47,859-square-foot exhibit hall.
Lake County
Website – VisitLakeFL.com; Social media – @Visitlakefl
Located about a half hour west of Orlando, Lake County features lakes, a national forest, a state park, more than two dozen golf courses, and the quaint small towns of Mount Dora, Tavares, and Eustis.
Meeting facilities range from a full-service resort to a restored 1920s mansion. The 1,200-acre Mission Inn Golf & Tennis Resort has more than 30,000 square feet of function space including 19 meeting rooms, two ballrooms, outdoor venues, and lakeside pavilion and can host up to 400 meeting guests. Lakeside Inn of Mount Dora has 90 guest rooms and 5,000 square feet of indoor event space with additional outdoor venues. Howey Mansion can host 100 to 1,000 people for receptions, dinners, and galas. Bella Collina offers championship golf, two- and three-bedroom suites, and a 75,000-square-foot clubhouse to accommodate up to 240 event guests. The Clermont Performing Arts Center has a 1,200-seat main theater and smaller 450-seat black box theater.
Orlando
Website – VisitOrlando.com; OrlandoMeeting.com; Social media – @orlandomeeting
Consistently ranked as a top meeting destination, Orlando provides planners with low-cost accessibility, a wide range of accommodations for all budgets, a state-of-the-art convention center, and entertainment options that set the standard for theme parks.
“This year, we’ll welcome several brand-new hotels, including the Conrad Orlando, which is part of the expansive Evermore Orlando Resort, plus elevated health services and major new attractions at our theme parks,” says Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando.
Fresh off a $127 million transformation, the AAA Four Diamond resort Caribe Royale Orlando has added a 50,000-square-foot ballroom and renovated all 1,217 one-bedroom suites. The resort offers a total of more than 220,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
The recent opening of Orlando International Airport’s (MCO) South Terminal Complex adds 15 gates and includes a state-of-the-art radio frequency baggage system. When opened later this year, Brightline Orlando Train Station, located at Terminal C, will connect domestic and international visitors traveling between Orlando and Miami with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
Orlando offers many distinct neighborhoods. “One of the most historic areas in Orlando, the Parramore District preserves and celebrates this 140-year-old neighborhood while bringing awareness to the rich, deeply rooted culture of Orlando’s African American community,” Matej says. “Visit Orlando also offers resources to explore Asian American, Hispanic, Latino, and LGBTQ+ history and influence in the Orlando area.”
Downtown Orlando is home to several major convention hotels, including the AAA Four Diamond Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando, which has 10,000 square feet of meeting space and is adding a new rooftop lounge this year, and the nearby AC Hotel by Marriott, with three meeting rooms, ideal for executive and boardroom meetings.
Lake Nona is a neo-urban community infused with technology and innovation. Four miles from Orlando International Airport, the neighborhood’s shops, restaurants, and activities are connected by miles of trails. The recently opened Lake Nona Wave Hotel offers 234 guest rooms and 12,000 square feet of tech-infused meeting space. A 205-room Aloft Lake Nona is set to open this fall and will include a 10,000-square-foot conference center.
The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) has 7 million square feet of event space in two connected buildings and is directly connected by pedestrian bridge to 5,000 guest rooms at Hyatt Regency Orlando, Rosen Centre Hotel, Rosen Plaza, and Hilton Orlando.
Set to open fall of 2023, Conrad Orlando will have 433 guest rooms and suites with 40,000 square feet of indoor meeting space plus a rooftop experience. The hotel will be part of the 10,000-bedroom resort complex, Evermore Orlando Resort, offering an array of stay experiences, from single homes to villas, flats, and hotel guest rooms Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Disney Springs Area, a new official Walt Disney Partner Hotel, is set to be completed this spring with 604 guest rooms and more than 17,000 square feet of meeting space.
Set for completion in late 2023, Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek will welcome a new Waterside expansion of more than 90,000 square feet of meeting space directly adjacent to existing meeting space, including ballroom, a screened lanai with views of the Walt Disney World fireworks, an outdoor patio, event lawn, and seven additional meeting rooms. The new 118-room Cambria Hotel Orlando Universal Blvd will welcome guests this year and offer flexible meeting spaces including a rooftop pool and lounge. JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes has completed several multimillion-dollar renovations. New amenities and offerings include an expansive waterpark, refreshed guest rooms and suites, and new executive family suites. The hotel has more than 144,000 square feet of function space.
Among the new features at Walt Disney World Resort is the return of an updated “Happily Ever After” nighttime spectacular, and TRON Lightcycle, one of the fastest coasters at any Disney park. At Universal Orlando Resort, The Great Movie Escape features interactive missions inspired by the films Back to the Future and Jurassic Park. At SeaWorld Orlando, Pipeline, a unique surf coaster, opens this spring offering an ocean adventure experience.
Other major convention properties in the city include Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, with 779 guest rooms and 102,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor function space; Ritz Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes, which has just completed a multi-million dollar redesign and has 582 guest rooms and more than 147,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space; Waldorf Astoria Orlando, with 60,000 square feet of function space; and Rosen Shingle Creek, with 1,501 guest rooms and suites and more than 524,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space.
Polk County
Website – MeetCentralFlorida.com
Offering more than 7,200 hotels rooms, the Polk County area gives planners space for larger events in uncrowded settings. The area is about 45 minutes from airports in Tampa and Orlando and about 30 minutes from the Orlando-area theme parks.
Family-friendly attractions in the area include Legoland Florida, Safari Wilderness, Bok Tower Gardens, and the Florida Children’s Museum in Bonnet Springs Park, a new 168-acre urban park in downtown Lakeland.
Set on 16,000 acres, Streamsong Resort has three championship golf courses, 216 guest rooms, and more than 25,000 square feet of indoor meeting space with additional outdoor spaces. Set in downtown Lakeland, the RP Funding Center has 100,000 square feet of conference, meeting, and event space plus a full theater and arena. It is adjacent to two hotel properties with 250 total guest rooms, according to information from Meet Central Florida. Also downtown, Terrace Hotel is a historic boutique hotel, now operating as a Hilton Tapestry Collection, with 88 guest rooms and 3,185 total square feet of event space.
The region is home to two unique themed venues. The 200-acre SUN ‘n FUN Expo Campus has more than 100,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space with an aviation theme, including an aircraft hangar and a conference room in a converted Piedmont 727. Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo provides a Florida cowboy atmosphere with more than 200 guest lodging options in glamping tents, cabins, and cottages, plus more than 16,500 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space.
Additional event space is at AdventHealth Fieldhouse, with 37,000 square feet of expo space, 7,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 330-seat theater.
Sebring
Website – VisitSebring.com; Social media – @VisitSebring
Speed rules in Sebring, home to the legendary Sebring International Raceway. The area is looking forward to new accommodations and other ventures set to open in 2023.
PARC will open as a 15-acre resort with upscale “tree canopy cottages” for short-term rentals. The resort also will be home to a new farm-to-table restaurant and will offer classes in the practical arts, including metalsmithing, woodworking, cooking, food preservation, wild food forage, and more. A 10-room boutique hotel and an Irish pub is planned to take over a historic building in Sebring’s downtown circle. With Gavaghan’s Irish Pub on the ground floor, the Roanoke Hotel will occupy the second floor. Also coming this year are 25 solar-powered premium cabins at Sebring International Golf Resort, along with a fully renovated championship golf course, and new cabins at Sebring International Raceway that also will feature a 6,000-square-foot event space.
Located right on the raceway, Seven Sebring Raceway Hotel, has 123 guest rooms and a variety of indoor and outdoor event spaces to accommodate up to 500 people for classroom sessions and up to 550 for receptions. Other hotels with meeting space include Holiday Inn Express and Suites Lake Placid, with meeting space to accommodate up to 100 people, and Inn on the Lakes in Sebring, with 160 guest rooms and event space overlooking the lake that can accommodate up to 85 guests.
Offsite venues include the Alan Jay Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts at South Florida State College in Avon Park, with a main theater that seats up to 1,460 people.
Space Coast: Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral
Website – VisitSpaceCoast.com; Social media – @flaspacecoast
Home to the only beach that doubles as a launch pad, Florida’s Space Coast includes the cities of Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, and Cape Canaveral.
Event venues at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex include the Debus Conference Facility that can accommodate up to 400 reception guests and the Apollo/Saturn V Center that can host receptions of up to 2,000 people beneath a 363-foot Saturn V rocket. Dining for up to 250 guests is available in a space with more than 60 interactive exhibits featuring the space shuttle Atlantis.
Area hotels with event space include Resort at the Port in Cape Canaveral, with 284 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of meeting space; Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place, with 15,000 square feet of event space; Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront, with 295 guest rooms and more than 12,000 square feet of function space; Radisson Suites Hotel Oceanfront in Melbourne, with 11,500 square feet of function space; and Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront, with 290 guest rooms and suites and 10,000 square feet of indoor meeting space plus additional outdoor space. Also, Holiday Inn Viera Conference Center in Melbourne has seven meeting rooms in 7,000 total square feet of event space and Hyatt Place Melbourne Palm Bay has 106 guest rooms and 1,606 square feet of meeting space.
Tampa Bay Area
Website – VisitTampaBay.com; Social media – @VisitTampaBay
Located along the Riverwalk in the heart of downtown Tampa, the Tampa Convention Center features 600,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. The facility’s exhibit hall spans 200,000 square feet with ample room for 17,000, and there is a 36,000-square-foot ballroom space for a conference of 4,000 or banquet of 2,000, along with 36 meeting rooms, many with waterfront views. The venue is undergoing a $30 million capital improvement plan to upgrade facilities and create new meeting spaces. With an estimated June 2023 completion, the facility will offer 18 additional waterfront meeting rooms spanning 16,000 square feet.
Next door to the convention center, the 519-room JW Marriott Tampa Water Street offers nearly 100,000 square feet of event space. The hotel also connects via sky bridge to the 727-room Tampa Marriott Water Street, which contains 50,000 square feet of meeting space.
The 800-room Saddlebrook Resort has 65,300 square feet of indoor meeting space and 13,000 square feet of event space outdoors. The Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay features 444 guest rooms and 28,000 square feet of meeting space. Components include 23 meeting rooms, the largest of which holds up to 2,000 guests for receptions.
Vero Beach
Website – VisitIndianRiverCounty.com; Social media – @IndianRiverCVB
In the Indian River County cities of Vero Beach, Sebastian, and Fellsmere, planners will find “sunrises, not high-rises,” according to Visit Indian River County, with all of the luxuries of the big city plus small-town charm. The county has 2,107 guest rooms in 40 hotels and resorts located along Indian River, on the oceanfront, and on the mainland. Meetings of up to 300 attendees can be accommodated with a variety of venues to choose from.
The Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel & Spa has 1,500 square feet of indoor space to host up to 140 guests for seated events and beachfront space to host up to 200 for receptions; Vero Beach Inn & Suites has 117 guest rooms and 5,581 square feet of event space; Springhill Suites Vero Beach, Dockside Inn & Resort, and Holiday Inn Express Vero Beach West all have smaller event spaces. Historic Dodgertown, a baseball spring training location for more than 60 years and now home to the Jackie Robinson Training Complex, has 89 guest rooms and a variety of meeting and event spaces for up to 150 guests plus a dining hall, training, and playing facilities.
Larger offsite facilities include the Vero Beach Museum of Art, with space for 300, and the Waxlax Center for the Performing Arts that seats 808 in the main theater or 300 for dinners.
The Florida Keys
Website – Fla-Keys.com; Social media – @thefloridakeys
The 125-mile-long island chain of the Florida Keys is an ideal location for corporate meetings and incentive retreats.
“The Keys’ open-air scenic landscapes, sunsets, vast seascapes, and unique hotel offerings are refreshing antidotes to the hectic challenges of mainstream everyday life,” says Jack Meier, group sales manager for the Keys’ Monroe County Tourist Development Council.
On 2,500 acres in northern Key Largo, the private 275-room Ocean Reef Club features more than 30,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 7,500-square-foot ballroom for receptions of up to 700 guests. The property includes a 28,000-square-foot spa and fitness building for various wellness offerings, including beach yoga, stand-up paddleboard yoga, and more. Set on a 15-acre nature sanctuary, the 200-room Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo, a Curio Collection by Hilton, has 12 meeting venues for gatherings of 10 to 100 people. The resort offers nature-based activities such as outdoor yoga, walking trails, and water sports.
The 114-room Islander Resort in Islamorada features nearly 19,000 square feet of flexible indoor meeting space for groups of up to 1,000 guests. The resort also has more than 110,000 square feet of outdoor space. Promoted as the largest Keys resort with 117 hotel guest rooms and 250 two- and three-bedroom townhome-style villas, Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key has 20,000 square feet of indoor waterfront meeting space and boasts the Keys’ largest ballroom which, at 5,733 square feet, holds 611 guests for receptions. The resort has a Dolphin Connection program with complimentary daily viewings.
In Marathon, the 24-acre, 199-unit Isla Bella Beach Resort, near the Seven Mile Bridge, has 24,000-plus square feet of indoor and outdoor meetings function space and a 4,000-square-foot, full-service spa with five treatment rooms.
Crafting sand sculptures in Key West at the Casa Marina Key West or The Reach Key West promotes teamwork. The two properties are Curio Collection by Hilton resorts.
With targeted completion in late 2024, Key West International Airport is beginning construction on its two-year, $100 million Concourse A terminal expansion. The new 48,000-square-foot concourse project features enhancements to departure and baggage areas, new boarding bridges, and an expanded security checkpoint.
