To get from Palm Beach to the Treasure Coast, you head north. But you're also taking a 180-degree turn from metropolitan verve into Old Florida charm, as the high-energy spirit of Palm Beach, the largest county east of the Mississippi River, gives way to the low-pressure vibe of uncrowded beaches and wildlife preserves found along the Treasure Coast.
Not that Palm Beach doesn't have its natural wonders. West of the more developed coastline toward the shores of Lake Okeechobee, wilderness expanses like the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge are commonplace. And it isn't all birding and fishing along the Treasure Coast, either. Indian River County, for one, is home to a symphonic association, a jazz society and multiple performing arts theaters.
These complementary regions set between Fort Lauderdale and Melbourne also share a wealth of unique cities and towns that entice groups to experience a variety of cultural, culinary and historical adventures.
Palm Beach
From Boca Raton in the south to Belle Glade in the west and the city of Jupiter on its northern end, Palm Beach County is larger than some states in the Northeast, a size that can add dimension to any visit.
"A group can come back three times and not have the same experience," says Steve Crist, vice president of destination sales for the Palm Beach County CVB, who points to distinct regions like West Palm Beach, the island of Palm Beach and to the north, Palm Beach Gardens, which is often referred to as the "PGA Corridor" and includes the massive PGA National Resort & Spa, host of the recent Honda Classic.
"It's really become a cluster of its own with the Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Marriott and Hilton, and they've got some great meeting space up there," Crist says.
To the southeast, West Palm Beach, one of the county's largest cities, is developing into a convention and entertainment district of its own, Crist says, with the Palm Beach County Convention Center set directly across the street from both the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and CityPlace, a shopping and dining enclave now connected by new trolley service to yet another shopping and dining enclave, Clematis Street. Meanwhile, downtown West Palm Beach recently welcomed a new Hyatt Place hotel, offering 165 rooms and 1,200 square feet of meeting space, while Segway tours of the area were recently launched as well.
"It's kind of created a buzz again to stay in downtown West Palm Beach, especially since we unveiled the new waterfront," Crist says, referring to the recent completion of a $24 million project to transform downtown West Palm Beach's once-overlooked waterfront into a 12.5-acre showplace of open green spaces, lush vegetation, an events pavilion and floating piers that stretch into the Intracoastal Waterway.
On the other side of that waterway is the island of Palm Beach itself, the county's original community founded by oil, railroad and hotel magnate Henry Flagler, whose former estate is now the Flagler Museum, a lavishly ornate Gilded Age mansion featuring floors crafted from seven varieties of marble, and rooms filled with magnificent works of art, including paintings, sculptures and statuary.
One of Flagler's original Florida hotels, The Breakers, still fronts the ocean on the island of Palm Beach, and it has been joined over the years by an impressive lineup of luxury brands, including Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, and elegant boutique properties like Brazilian Court, the Chesterfield and the Colony.
On Palm Beach County's southern end, the city of Boca Raton is coming on strong with a revitalized downtown area of shops, restaurants, galleries and cultural and entertainment venues, while the palatial Boca Raton Resort & Club, now a Waldorf Astoria property, remains one of the region's largest convention resorts, accommodating groups of up to 1,500.
Also in southern Palm Beach County, downtown Delray Beach, once considered a pass-through town, is now a must-see destination in its own right, boasting new restaurants, boutiques and art galleries as well as the four-star Seagate Hotel & Spa.
It all adds up to more group business, according to Crist.
"Our group pace is 10 percent higher for January and February of 2011 than the same time last year," Crist says. "For the first time, we're taking a cautious sigh of relief as people are realizing that meetings matter and that it's important to have the right location at the right time of the year. You want the right environment for your employees. You want them to look forward to attending."
Hoping to capitalize on renewed interest from convention groups, the CVB launched a new meeting planner microsite in April (www.palmbeachfl.com/meetings), offering "a lot more content and tools for planners, including meeting packages from our partners," Crist says.
Treasure Coast
Small towns and cities can have a big impact on groups meeting on the Treasure Coast, so named for the gold doubloons—left behind by long-ago shipwrecks—that occasionally wash up on the quiet sands from Hutchinson Island to Sebastian Inlet State Park.
Civilization encroaches only so far here, and the rest goes to the shorebirds.
"We still maintain that Old Florida feel in that we're not highly developed or overdeveloped," says Charlotte Lombard, manager of tourism development for the St. Lucie County Tourist Development Council, which includes Port St. Lucie and Ft. Pierce among its laid-back hamlets. While the former is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2011—a relative newcomer—the latter is one of the oldest communities on the east coast of Florida, once sustained by fishing and agriculture but today boasting a newly rejuvenated downtown set on the scenic Indian River Lagoon.
"Where the city marina is located, there are waterfront restaurants and shops. It's quite breathtaking," Lombard says.
Also in the neighborhood is the historic Sunrise Theatre, which dates to 1923 and is available for group rentals. Five minutes from downtown Fort Pierce is one of the area's newer meeting venues, the Havert L. Fenn Center, with room sizes ranging from 2,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet. Hundreds of hotel rooms are located within two miles of the center, Lombard notes.
Set a bit farther inland but right off Florida's Turnpike, Port St. Lucie is also home to a number of meeting venues, including the recently renovated Club Med Sandpiper; the PGA Village with a Hilton Garden Inn across the street; and the new Port St. Lucie Civic Center, which doesn't have an on-site hotel at the moment, though one is planned for the future, Lombard says.
"There are hotels within a few miles," she says. "You can always organize some sort of transportation package with the hotel."
North of St. Lucie, Indian River County, anchored by its main city, Vero Beach, is bordered by Atlantic beaches and cattle ranches, groves of oranges and grapefruit, and pristine nature preserves.
"The tranquility and natural beauty of the area helps people relax and let go of everyday stresses. [It] can really help open the lines of communication and get the ideas flowing," says Rosanne Socci, catering and conference services manager for Disney's Vero Beach Resort, which offers a 1,624-square-foot ballroom and a 300-square-foot boardroom.
Disney's size is fairly typical in Vero Beach, where meetings are held in more intimate venues like the Caribbean Court boutique hotel, with indoor space for groups of up to 75. Also serving smaller groups is the new Costa d'Este Beach Resort, owned by musical power couple Gloria and Emilio Estefan and hosting "one meeting at a time," according to Monica Smiley, director of sales and marketing.
"Most of the hoteliers here are like us," she says. "We really offer that exceptional customer service and dedication to the meetings we have. Some of those smaller meetings can get lost in the shuffle at a larger property."
In addition to 94 rooms and 1,170 square feet of meeting space, Costa d'Este prides itself on innovative team-building programs, including boot camps with celebrity trainers, kayaking treks and scavenger hunts. Groups can also mix up their own mojitos or learn how to prepare ceviche, while hamburger cook-offs are another popular option.
"It's all about being creative while playing to the group's needs," Smiley says.
Also playing to group needs—literally—is the Vero Beach Sports Village (formerly Dodgertown), where a conference center offers more than 14,000 square feet of meeting space and after-hours activities may include baseball, soccer, tennis and swimming.
"It's all-inclusive in one location—sleeping rooms, meals, meeting rooms and recreation," says Jeff Biddle, director of athletics and marketing at the facility. "You're not in a hotel where you have other transient business. When you're here, this is your place."
The Sports Village is one of many unconventional meeting locales on the Treasure Coast. Others include the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center and Capt. Hiram's Resort, a laid-back slice of the Caribbean straddling the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway in Sebastian. MFS
