Florida Panhandle
Destin, Fort Walton Beach
Website – DestinFWB.com; Social media – @DestinFWB
Sugar-white sand beaches and emerald-green waters await visitors in Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park will unveil Dolphin Oasis, a multimillion-dollar new habitat for seven Atlantic bottlenose dolphins this spring. An extensive renovation and rebranding of a former Best Western in Fort Walton Beach will open this spring as Beal House Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. Scheduled to open later this year are a 100-suite Home2Suites, a Tru by Hilton, and a Comfort Inn & Suites. Holiday Inn Resort completes a full room renovation later this year, Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Walton Beach will complete a soft renovation, and Best Western Sugar Sands Inn & Suites in Destin is adding 54 new guest rooms, set to open this spring.
The largest event space in the area is the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center that has eight meeting rooms, a column-free 21,200-square-foot ballroom, and a 30,000-square-foot outdoor venue overlooking the bay. Hotels with event space include Henderson Beach Resort and Spa, with more than 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including a ballroom that seats up to 300 guests; Holiday Inn Resort, with 152 guest rooms and meeting space to host up to 250 people; and Hilton Garden Inn Fort Walton Beach, with 178 guest rooms and 5,040 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space.
Event space at The Gulfarium includes the 1,900-square-foot Living Sea Aquarium room, with eight-foot high aquarium windows, covered outdoor space on the beach, and three event venues in the new Dolphin Oasis opening later this year.
Gulf County
Website – VisitGulf.com
Gulf County boasts a west-facing sunset paired with more than 240 miles of shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico and inland bays and waterways.
According to the Gulf County Tourist Development Council, the communities of Port St. Joe, Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, St. Joe Beach, and Wewahitchka offer a casual, laid-back atmosphere and beach-town style with lots of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Small groups and corporate retreats will find vacation rentals that can sleep groups of up to 12, plus B&Bs, cottages, and inns. The Port
Inn & Cottages, Ascend Hotel Collection,
has 25 guest rooms with small meeting and event space.
Panama City Beach
Website – VisitPanamaCityBeach.com
With 27 miles of sugar-white sand beaches, Panama City Beach offers numerous meeting spaces for all size groups and a conference center, all of which hug the coastline.
Expected to open in June 2023, a 225-room Embassy Suites by Hilton, next to Pier Park, will feature Gulf-view meeting rooms with 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including a ballroom and rooftop venue. Also opening this year, Duplin Winery is a 35,000-square-foot complex set on 20 acres, with tastings and tours, hand-bottling demonstrations, and “plenty of space to host groups,” according to Visit Panama City Beach.
Several venues are capable of hosting large events. Bluegreen’s Bayside Resort & Spa (formerly the Sheraton Panama City Beach Resort) has 60,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space to accommodate up to 1,600 meeting attendees. The AAA Four Diamond resort features multiple restaurants, watersports, and 18 holes of championship golf. Boardwalk Beach Hotel & Convention Center has 233 guest rooms and more than 40,000 square feet of indoor event space and additional outdoor pool decks, lawns, and terraces to accommodate groups of up to 3,000 guests. Edgewater Beach Golf & Resort has 400 guest rooms and more than 30,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting and event space.
Additional hotels with event space include Springhill Suites Beachfront, with 10,832 square feet of function space; a beachfront Travelodge, with 4,700-square-foot auditorium and eight breakout rooms; Hampton Inn & Suites Beachfront, with two meeting rooms; and Hyatt Place Beachfront, with 1,316 square feet of indoor and outdoor event spaces.
Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key
Website – VisitPensacola.com; Social media – @VisitPensacola
Pensacola is called the “City of Five Flags” because flags of five different governments have flown over the city in its almost 500 years of history. The city reflects Native American, African, Latin, European, and Asian influences.
Located on Interstate 10, Pensacola is about six hours or less by car from cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham, and Nashville. Pensacola International Airport is the largest airport between New Orleans and Jacksonville and offers more than 25 non-stop flights.
Event attendees who bring their families can explore Pensacola Beach, historic Fort Pickens, Historic Pensacola Village, Gulf Island National Seashore, and the National Naval Aviation Museum.
Every year in July, the Blue Angels, the Navy’s elite flying squad, put on special shows over the beach, and they hold practices twice a week from March through November.
Pensacola has approximately 12,000 hotel rooms and guest lodging in condos and cottages on the beach. New on Pensacola Beach, the 209-room Fairfield Inn has 1,100 square feet of event space plus a large balcony overlooking the pool. Hotels with major event space include Hilton Pensacola Beach, with 272 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of function space; Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach, with 206 guest rooms and 6,515 square feet of meeting space; 137-room Hilton Garden Inn, with 4,389 square feet of event space; and 210-room Springhill Suites on Pensacola Beach, with 3,876 square feet of meeting space.
Major offsite meeting and event venues are the Pensacola Bay Center in downtown, with 10,000-seat arena, 12 meeting rooms, four pre-function areas, and more than 20,000 square feet of arena floor space for exhibits, and the National Naval Aviation Museum, with 10,000 square feet of event space. Home to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos Minor League Baseball team, the 30-acre Blue Wahoos Stadium and Amphitheater at Maritime Park in downtown seats 5,038 people and has 20,000 square feet of function space for meetings, dinners, or receptions. Downtown’s historic Saenger Theatre has a 3,000-square-foot meeting room and a 1,641-seat main theater.
Santa Rosa County
Website – Getrelaxing.com; Social media – @RelaxInNavarre
Located about 30 miles from either Pensacola International Airport or Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Santa Rosa County is home to Blackwater River State Park and Gulf Islands National Seashore.
“Navarre Beach and Santa Rosa County are best known for our relaxed atmosphere and our beautiful white-sand beaches,” says Julie White, tourism development director for the county.
Several homegrown establishments offer after-meeting fun, including Ye Olde Brothers Brewery, with a quaint country-store façade, the Club at Juana’s Pagodas, and the Beach House Bar & Grill.
Planners looking to mix a local feel with their activities might consider Adventures Unlimited in historic Milton. “It’s a prime venue for outstanding teambuilding, group retreats, and recreational programs,” White says. Adventures Unlimited also organizes beach clean-up efforts for teambuilding.
Coldwater Gardens is a secluded agritourism destination suitable for small corporate retreats. The 352-acre property offers a fully sustainable retreat, with a dining room that seats up to 80, gardens, and event lawn. Hotels with event space include Days Inn & Suites Navarre Conference Center, with 4,000 square feet of function space to host up to 400 guests, and Springhill Suites, which has two Gulf-view event rooms to host up to 140 guests.
South Walton County
Website – VisitSouthWalton.com; Social media – @SouthWalton
With 26 miles of white-sand beaches and 200 miles of trails, South Walton offers outdoor events, plus 16 distinct beach towns with high-end resorts, quaint seaside inns, and a variety of group excursions.
South Walton’s neighborhoods include Miramar Beach, Sandestin, WaterColor, Seaside, Seagrove Beach, Alys Beach, and Rosemary Beach.
The Lodge 30A, located in Seagrove Beach, will be the area’s newest boutique hotel when it opens this spring adjacent to the 15,000-acre Point Washington State Forest. Guests at The Lodge 30A will have access to St. Joe Hospitality’s portfolio of amenities, including Watersound Beach Club, water sport rentals, and access to two private golf courses.
The Pearl in downtown Rosemary Beach, a Forbes Four Star and AAA Four Diamond property, has completed a refresh of its 55 guest rooms. The hotel features a private beach and four distinctive indoor and outdoor event venues to accommodate up to 120 guests.
There are more than 15,000 guest rooms in the area, many in hotels with major event space. Hotel Effie is a 250-room luxury hotel located within the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. It has 20,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and the resort offers planners an additional 1,100 accommodations in condos, homes, villas, and penthouses, with 85,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Miramar Beach has 602 guest rooms, with 40,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and more than 20,000 square feet of beachfront decks and outdoor spaces. It is home to the AAA Four-Diamond steakhouse, Seagar’s. TOPS’L Beach & Racquet Resort offers 200 condo units and 17,000 square feet of event space to host up to 400 guests. Other hotels with event space include the 155-room Embassy Suites, with 8,000 square feet of indoor meeting space; Seascape Golf, Beach & Tennis Resort, with 200 guest rooms and 4,000 square feet of function space; and WaterColor Inn & Resort, with 60 guest rooms and 5,500 square feet of indoor and outdoor space.
Tallahassee
Website – VisitTallahassee.com; Social media – @Visit_Tally
Florida’s capital, Tallahassee provides historic, cultural, and natural backdrops, along with hotels and venues, neighborhoods, and excursion options.
In the past couple of years, the city has welcomed a number of new hotels. Hotel Indigo Tallahassee–College Town has 143 guest rooms and three meeting rooms to host up to 126 guests; Hyatt House Capitol–University has 120 suites and more than 2,000 square feet of meeting space; and AC Hotel Universities has 154 guest rooms and more than 18,000 square feet of event space plus rooftop bar.
Other hotels with event space include the LEED-certified 153-room Four Points by Sheraton, which has eight meeting rooms in 7,568 square feet of event space to accommodate up to 275 guests; and Doubletree by Hilton, with 242 guest rooms and 10,600 square feet of event space to accommodate up to 400 guests.
Classrooms and meeting and event facilities on the Florida State University campus include the Augustus B. Turnbull III Florida State Conference Center, with a 350-seat auditorium, 280-seat dining hall, and seven breakout rooms and the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, a 12,100-seat arena. A variety of event spaces are also available on the Florida A&M University campus, one of the nation’s largest historically Black universities, including Lee Hall Auditorium with approximately 1,100 seats.
