Attendees who need a South Florida-style recovery from winter’s chill will find the therapeutic retreat they’ve been seeking in Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast, Florida’s dynamic duo of sun, sand, ocean and golf, as well as more golf.
In fact, between the nature preserves, eco adventures and incredible dining, you might even see what you thought was
impossible: people tossing their cell phones and powering off their Blackberrys—at least for a little while.
Palm Beach
Boosted by an annual temperature of 78 degrees, 16,000 luxury and budget-conscious hotel rooms and a 47-mile shoreline fringed in golden-sand beaches, Palm Beach County covers 2,500 square miles of diverse terrain that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Okeechobee, second-largest freshwater lake in the U.S. and site of fishing, boating and hiking excursions.
Other activities run the gamut from the sport of kings to kings of the jungle, and everything in between. Polo (sport of kings) is played in Palm Beach from January to April, but never fear—golf is available year-round on over 160 courses, while 1,100 tennis courts and a croquet center also keep the ball rolling.
A day at the links may be followed by a night on the town, and attendees can join the natives in this culturally conscious enclave, taking in ballet, jazz or a Broadway show at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts or one of 25 other performing arts venues. Palm Beach County is also home to scores of museums, including the prestigious Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach and the Morikami Museum of Japanese Culture in Delray Beach, where 200 carefully cultivated acres include garden paths, small lakes teeming with koi, nature trails and a tropical bonsai collection.
Things go from genteel to wild at the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach, where birds and alligators congregate and visitors observe from canoe and bike trails, observation towers and walking paths. People stay in the car, but the wildlife’s just as exciting at Lion Country Safari, a drive-through preserve where hundreds of animals roam free, including the king of the jungle.
Back in civilization, groups are congregating, too, many gathering at the county’s centerpiece venue, the 350,000-square-foot Palm Beach County Convention Center, offering a 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 25,000-square-foot ballroom and 23,000 square feet of breakout space. With 3,000 guest rooms within three miles, the center is also part of an entertainment hub that includes the adjacent Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and CityPlace, an open-air dining and shopping complex where delegates can gather for drinks, meals and strolls during breaks or after sessions.
“We are great partners with CityPlace,” says Maria Walker, the convention center’s director of sales and marketing. “We inform each other consistently about upcoming events for better preparation in the restaurants for overflow business. Bookings at the center have been very good, despite the economic situation,” she adds. “We are on target to possibly have our best year yet, ending Sept. 30, 2009.”
Meanwhile, resort-based meeting space is copious in Palm Beach County, home of legendary showplaces like The Breakers, offering 45,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space; and the Boca Raton Resort & Club, which can accommodate groups of from 10 to 1,500.
Groups can stay beachside, close to the fairways at the PGA National Resort & Spa, when gathering at the Four Seasons Resort and the Resort at Singer Island, or within walking distance of Palm Beach shopping and dining at boutique properties like Brazilian Court, the Chesterfield and the Colony.
New on the boutique hotel scene is the Omphoy Ocean Resort, the first new hotel development on the island of Palm Beach in nearly 20 years. The property features 5,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including a ballroom and four conference rooms, along with a restaurant featuring cuisine by James Beard award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein.
Known for its luster, Palm Beach has its value side, too, and even the most opulent properties offer lower rates from April 15 to Dec. 15. Then there’s an entire universe of more moderate properties with meeting space, from the 268-room Delray Beach Marriott to the 100-room Hilton Garden Inn West Palm Beach Airport.
Value-conscious travelers also will appreciate the Palm Beach County CVB’s annual coupon book, $1,000 Worth of the Palm Beaches for Free, offering savings on area attractions, cultural venues, dining, festivals and special events.
Treasure Coast
If Spain’s 17th century galleons could ply today’s waters, they would undoubtedly sail to the Treasure Coast—Palm Beach’s neighbor to the north—in search of their many gold-filled predecessors that sank offshore hundreds of years before. And while they might chance upon an occasional doubloon or two, what they’ll actually discover is treasure of a different sort: resort retreats, championship golf and plenty of open spaces that have remained virtually untouched over the centuries.
Groups can commune with nature at McKee Botanical Garden, an 18-acre tropical oasis also available for group events, or head to nearby Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge—designated by President Teddy Roosevelt as the nation’s first official wildlife refuge—which is home and nesting grounds to more than 90 species of birds, including brown and white pelicans, wood storks, white ibis and American oystercatchers.
Unspoiled beaches are a given on this slice of Old Florida coastline; however, St. Lucie County is one of the few places in Florida that also allows horseback riding on the beach. Horses and riders trek along the pristine shore of the county’s incredible South Hutchinson Island beaches while taking in the beauty of the surf, bountiful seashore wildlife and natural habitats galore.
Not the outdoorsy type? Check out local history and pick up a box of oranges at the Indian River Heritage Center and Citrus Museum in Vero Beach, preserving artifacts, photographs and memorabilia surrounding Florida’s famed citrus industry, which has been going strong for over two centuries. The center also has a main hall, available for group events, featuring an open-beamed cathedral ceiling and coquina stone fireplace.
Other meeting facilities can be found at local hotels and resorts, including Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, the Vero Beach Inn Resort and the Hilton Garden Inn at PGA Village/Port St. Lucie.
New on the scene is the 94-room Costa d’Este Beach Resort, which is owned by singer Gloria Estefan and her producer husband Emilio Estefan and features a 1,170-square-foot function room with space for up to 120.
Indian River Chamber of Commerce 772.567.3491 www.indianriverchamber.com
Palm Beach County CVB 561.233.3000 www.palmbeachfl.com
St. Lucie County TDC 772.462.1539 www.visitstluciefla.com
