The flip side of bustling Southeast Florida can be found on the tranquil southwest coast of the Florida peninsula, a land of not one or two, but 10,000 islands, a haven of nature trails, waterways, turtle nesting grounds, and solitary beaches carpeted in colorful shells. The kind of place where “traffic jam” or “snowbird” could well refer to the crowds of white pelicans seen clamoring for space on the islets of Charlotte Harbor every winter.
There’s plenty of room for nature here, but people are well accommodated, too, in secluded island retreats, spectacular beachside resorts and city hotels that are within walking distance of dining, shopping and entertainment.
Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades
Cosmopolitan flair combines with luxuriant, uncharted wilderness in Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades, also known as the “Paradise Coast,” giving the region a visual and recreational variety that few areas—even in Florida—can match.
The trip from downtown Naples to the heart of the Everglades is less than an hour time-wise, but it’s like a journey through time as you take in a primeval landscape of gumbo-limbo trees, royal palms, ferns, air plants, and sawgrass, catching glimpses of silently gliding alligators and graceful wading birds.
That evening, you’re back on Fifth Avenue South at an outdoor cafe, taking in the scene as people stream by on their way to restaurants, art galleries or the symphony, and the whole street is lit by twinkling lights strung through the palms.
“There’s a lot more to this destination than just the beach,” says Jack Wert, executive director for the Greater Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB. “It’s a very complete destination with a lot of unique off-site venues that really make the group experience very different and memorable.”
Groups will find a host of excellent hotel- and resort-based meeting and conference facilities on the “Paradise Coast,” most located on or near the beaches of Naples and Marco Island and offering convenient access to golf, dining, team-building experiences, and other group adventures.
Full-service resorts with extensive and flexible meeting space include the Naples Grande Resort and Club, the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club, the LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort, and two Ritz-Carlton properties, while on Marco Island, groups can gather at the newly renovated Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort and the Marco Island Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa, the county’s largest meeting and conference facility.
For meetings on a smaller scale, the Bellasera Hotel and Olde Marco Island Inn and Suites may fit the bill, but for those intrepid groups who really want to get away from it all, the Ivey House in Everglades City specializes in small meetings and features an in-house guide service for Everglades canoe and kayak tours.
From the city sights of Naples to the backcountry flora and fauna of the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge off Marco Island and the small-town charm and stone crabs of Everglades City, the mood along the “Paradise Coast” is both breezy and busy. Paddle along the Wilderness Waterway—a 99-mile water trail connecting Everglades City and Flamingo—and you’ll enter the world of manatees, bottle-nosed dolphins, bald eagles, ospreys, roseate spoonbills, woodstorks, and pelicans. Or pick up the pace on a guided Waverunner tour of the mangrove estuaries lining the coast.
For landlubbers and great group activities, the Naples Zoo, the Naples Botanical Garden and the shopping enclaves of Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South are waiting, while the beautiful white-sand beaches lining the entire Naples coastline and Marco Island can be appreciated by everyone.
Fort Myers and Sanibel
A mix of island-style relaxation, Old Florida history and 21st-century amenities distinguish the Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel, located about 45 minutes up the road from Naples.
When attendees aren’t exploring the antique shops and art galleries of Fort Myers, taking windsurfing or sailing lessons, or tapping their toes in a downtown jazz bar, there’s one word to keep in mind while they’re here: shells. The beaches in Lee County are ranked among the best in the nation for shelling, with about 400 varieties sprinkling the sand. In fact, shelling is so popular on Sanibel Island that the posture one adopts to search for these treasures is known as the “Sanibel Stoop.”
Starting with the area’s signature convention facility, the Harborside Event Center—which offers 42,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space but will be expanding in the near future—meeting and convention facilities at local resorts and hotels run the gamut from 73,000 square feet at the Hyatt Coconut Point Resort and Spa and 45,000 square feet at Sanibel Harbour Resort and Spa, to 4,500 square feet at the new Embassy Suites Hotel Fort Myers/Estero.
Beginning in 2008 and beyond, the area’s mix of beachside and in-city hotels with meeting space will get a boost from a host of incoming properties, including a Courtyard by Marriott, a Residence Inn by Marriott, a Hilton Garden Inn and a Homewood Suites.
Sanibel and Captiva are the best known of the 100 barrier islands clinging to the coastline off Fort Myers, and are loved for their tropical resorts and kick-off-your-shoes informality. Drive slowly along Sanibel’s main thoroughfare, Periwinkle Way, because you won’t want to miss the interesting shops and restaurants dotting the road, but keep going so you can stop at the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum.
Back on the mainland, Fort Myers—known as the “City of Palms” thanks its many palm-lined streets—is a busy hub of restaurants, clubs, shops, and historic attractions like the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, former winter residences of auto maker Henry Ford and inventor Thomas Edison, which is available for group functions. In addition, the property’s newly restored Caretaker’s House recently opened to groups for the first time.
Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf Islands
In a region where nearly 85 percent of the terrain is preserved land, an eco-friendly experience is almost a given here. And indeed, Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf Islands is an environmental oasis of more than 70 parks, preserves and recreational areas, where visitors are invited to stroll and explore, hike, bike, and paddle while enjoying the relaxed pace of picturesque towns like Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.
With the $16.7 million Charlotte Harbor Events and Conference Center still in the works, groups are served by a 16,000-square-foot “tent-atorium,” complete with hardwood floors, lighting, air conditioning, and seating for 2,200. Meanwhile, hotels and resorts with meeting space include the Best Western Waterfront Hotel in Punta Gorda and Palm Island Resort in Cape Haze.
Paddling along the Myakka and Peace rivers and around the tiny islands dotting Charlotte Harbor is a favorite pastime of many Charlotte County visitors, as are kayaking and canoeing along 200 miles of “Blueway Trails,” getting close to birds and animals without disturbing them.
The county’s 830-mile shoreline is also fringed by unspoiled beaches offering nature trails, shelling and fishing.
But if the group wants a bit more excitement beyond these tranquil pastimes, Babcock Wilderness Adventures—operated on the massive 90,000-acre Crescent B Ranch—will take them on a swamp buggy tour through unspoiled pinewoods and freshwater marshes to view Florida cracker cattle, birds, alligators, wild turkeys, and even the elusive Florida panther.
