Take your sweet time or stay up to speed—Southwest Florida sets the pace for both. From Port Charlotte down to Naples, endless natural gifts, including miles of blueway trails, subtropical forests and the wonders of the Everglades, are set within minutes of vibrant downtown districts brimming with restaurants, museums, galleries and shops.
Southwest Florida also takes meetings in stride, with convention and conference centers that make full use of waterfront views, nationally flagged resorts catering to large conventions and historic boutique properties that welcome board meetings and other small gatherings. Meanwhile, an enticing array of unique off-site venues are on hand to add imagination and creativity to breakout sessions and receptions, whether you're looking to get attendees out on the beach or on safari at the edge of the Everglades.
Following are eight great off-site options in Southwest Florida.
The Naples Zoo & Caribbean Gardens
www.napleszoo.com
A wild retreat with the bustling city just outside the front gates, the
Naples Zoo & Caribbean Gardens combines animal habitats and exhibits
with experiences like the Primate Expedition Cruise, a guided
journey through islands populated by monkeys, lemurs and apes,
along with shows featuring snakes and alligators, and opportunities to
meet the keepers.
The zoo offers team-building programs and venues for a variety of events, including a picturesque pavilion, or groups can take over the entire zoo for an evening of exotic dining and animal encounters.
"Anything we do during the day, we can replicate during the evening, including the primate cruise," says Courtney Armen, director of group sales at the venue. "We can even station a keeper at the enclosures and allow guests to come up at their leisure. You have the whole zoo from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., and basically do what you want. One recent group put in a tent and subflooring for dancing and had wine and food stations."
Palm Cottage & the Norris
Gardens, Naples
www.napleshistoricalsociety.org
Naples' oldest residence is also one of its
finest off-site venues. Listed on the National
Register of Historic Places, the 3,500-squarefoot
Palm Cottage dates back to 1895 and is
noteworthy for its Tabbie Mortar construction
using concrete handmade from sand,
shells and water. Surrounding the hometurned-
museum are the Norris Gardens,
where palms, edible plants, exotic foliage and
grasses frame a classic oval lawn.
Both the home and gardens are available for group events from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., says Ellen Fischer, program coordinator at the venue.
"For groups, we'd do private tours as well," she says.
von Liebig Art Center, Naples
www.naplesart.org
Art-centric Naples is home to a variety of
galleries and museums, many doubling as
off-site venues, including the von Liebig
Center, which boasts a collection of mid- to
late-20th century paintings, sculpture, works
on paper, photography and mixed media.
Groups can gather in the main gallery, which
holds up to 250 reception-style or 125 for a
sit-down event. Meanwhile, smaller studios
and a library are available for more intimate
events, and almost all groups include a tour
of the gallery on the agenda, notes Aimee
Schlehr, the center's executive director.
"We do quite a few of those type events, bringing groups in for a tour before they have a reception," she says.
Other groups delve further into the art world by scheduling some type of interactive art event, including a class or a session with an artist, Schlehr says.
"We have a new class called Wine and Dezine, for which we allot three hours," she says. "Everyone starts with a blank canvas. The instructor shows people how to apply the paint, and everyone leaves with their own masterpiece." PageBreak
Art of the Olympians, Fort Myers
www.artoftheolympians.org
Art and athletics combine at a new museum
in downtown Fort Myers: Art of the Olympians,
which made a major splash when it
opened in March 2011 with Prince Albert II
of Monaco in attendance. The new venue features
artwork created by such famed Olympians
as figure skater Peggy Fleming, sprinter
Florence Griffith-Joyner and four-time
gold medalist Al Oerter, an Olympic discus
thrower who, upon retiring, started using
the discus to paint and was instrumental in
conceptualizing and founding the museum.
In addition to the art gallery, Art of the Olympians houses a sports gallery of Olympic memorabilia, including equipment, uniforms, Olympic flags and other artifacts.
Available for group events of up to 150, the museum sits on the Caloosahatchee River, which is on shimmering display through floor-to-ceiling windows, or groups also can gather on tented outdoor space, says Jessica Siegel, digital media officer.
"You get the entire building, including the outside space," she says. "We're right on the water. It's beautiful."
Art of the Olympians also has a prime location directly across from the Harborside Event Center, the city's main convention venue, with 42,000 square feet of exhibit space.
Lovers Key State Park,
Fort Myers Beach
www.floridastateparks.org/loverskey
Off-site goes way off the beaten path at Lovers
Key State Park, so named because back
when the island was accessible only by boat,
its remote and solitary beach was thought
to attract lovers looking for privacy. Today,
most visitors are busy falling in love with the
park and its pristine 2.5-mile beach, not to
mention its wealth of activities—fishing, hiking,
bicycling, viewing manatees, bottlenose
dolphins, wading birds and bald eagles,
and canoeing or kayaking through miles of
waterways leading to several uninhabited
islands throughout the park, which sits on
Estero Bay south of Fort Myers Beach.
A 100-seat, turn-of-the-19th-century pavilion, located directly on the Gulf of Mexico, is available for group events, including dining functions.
"We can comfortably fit about 64 for a sit-down event," says Lindsey Thompson, event coordinator for the park's concessionaire, Nature Recreation Management. "We can also set up a larger tent on the beach. We had 350 people here not long ago, or you can do picnics and team building. One company recently had a huge pig roast on the beach. That's what you want down here. You want the beach." PageBreak
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre,
Fort Myers
www.broadwaypalm.com
Now in its 20th anniversary season, the
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers
combines high-energy entertainment—
Singin' in the Rain, Grease, High School
Musical and Shrek the Musical have all taken
the stage—with appetizing buffet-style dining.
The facility includes the 418-seat dinner
theater, a 98-seat "black box" theater called
The Off Broadway Palm Theatre, a 120-seat
dining room and a 30-seat cafe just off the
main lobby, all available for group rentals
depending on the performance schedules.
"We do rent out the facility for meetings, luncheons and breakfasts," says Kathy Bernier, director of sales and catering at the theater. "Dinner and a show is also an option."
Charlotte Sports Park,
Port Charlotte, Fla.
www.charlottecountyfl.com/communityservices
Home of the MLB Tampa Bay Rays spring
training and the Florida State League Charlotte
Stone Crabs, Charlotte Sports Park has
a seating capacity of 6,000, along with several
options for private gatherings, including
hospitality suites that can host up to 60 when
combined.
Meanwhile, outdoor events can be hosted on the stadium's 360-degree pedestrian concourse, which includes a tiki bar.
"Groups can rent the entire boardwalk, bring in food and beverage or entertainment, whatever they want," says Maureen Broderick, the stadium's recreation program supervisor. "You'd be in the outfield area, and the views are pretty great."
Kingsway Country Club, Lake Suzy
www.kingswaycountryclub.com
If the way to your group's heart is through a
fairway, you may want to consider Kingsway
Country Club, set just off Interstate
75, minutes from Punta Gorda and Port
Charlotte. In addition to an 18-hole, par-72
championship course designed by Ron
Garl, Kingsway boasts an 18,000-squarefoot
clubhouse with a dining room and
outside veranda. Function space includes
the 100-person Grille Room, the 75-person
Magnolia Room and the 40-person Augusta
Room, enhanced by in-house catering, audiovisual
services and equipment, a screen
and wireless microphones.
"If you're sending 60 folks out for two days of meetings and golf, let's say, we could set them up on the course and they would use one of the rooms for their meetings," says Adam Hauck, event coordinator and director of membership at the facility. "Although we get plenty of groups who just want to use the meeting space with no golf involved at all. I get most of my referrals from local hotels, when either the party size is too big or the dates don't work."
