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Florida Coast-to-Coast
October 10, 2008
From new resorts to classic golf and beach destinations, the Sunshine State has it all
By Edward Schmidt Jr.
Florida makes any incentive program checklist a breeze. A phenomenal tourism infrastructure. Check. Lavish, multi-amenity resort hotels. Check. Stunning beaches. Check. More than 14,000 golf courses and hundreds of spas. Check.
No matter your target group—from gung-ho, adventure-seeking twenty- somethings to spa-loving baby boomers—the Sunshine State is ideally suited to meet their wants and needs. In the past few years, luxury hotel properties like St. Regis, Mandarin-Oriental, Waldorf=Astoria and Four Seasons have joined The Ritz-Carlton in Florida to enhance the state's luxury appeal. Here's a peek at Florida's six major regions:
South & The Keys
A sunset-watching party at Mallory Square in the Keys, a sailing excursion on Miami's Biscayne Bay, a luxury yacht charter in Fort Lauderdale and an immaculately manicured Palm Beach golf course are just a few of the tropical images that come to mind when you think of South Florida.
Ron Kelly, general manager of TBA Global in Miami, a destination management, events management and marketing company, has executed numerous successful incentive programs in South Florida. "For a quintessential evening beach experience, a 'Barefoot & Black Tie Event' is always a hit," says Kelly. Set on a beautiful stretch of beach at John U. Lloyd State Park in Hollywood, midway between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, the "Great Gatsby" themed event requires evening jackets for men, cocktail dresses for women and bare feet for everyone. A bountiful buffet, large band playing swing music and fireworks accentuate the evening.
 In Palm Beach, Kelly says a private polo match for an incentive group, featuring Champagne, a stomping of the divots, big band music and a plated dinner, is a treasured and memorable event.
Palm Beach County, known for the Champagne and caviar lifestyle in tony Palm Beach, is actually a diversified destination with 47 miles of coastline, historic districts, ships that offer gaming, elegant historic hotels like The Breakers and Boca Raton Resort & Club, resort spas, world-renowned shopping avenues and more than 150 golf courses. Intriguing venues are at the heart of Palm Beach County's appeal to incentive groups; settings include Henry Flagler's 1902 Whitehall Estate, the Norton Museum of Art, the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
Shopping is one of Palm Beach County's most attractive incentive program activities, whether at classy complexes like West Palm Beach's CityPlace and Boca Raton's Mizner Park or on bustling, walkable streets like Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, with more than 250 stores, restaurants and galleries. World-famous Worth Avenue in Palm Beach is lined with stores like Chanel, Ferragamo and Neiman Marcus.
East Coast
Encompassing beachside venues like Daytona Beach, Titusville and Melbourne, the options for recreation and entertainment are diverse. Daytona Beach has undergone an impressive makeover in recent years, highlighted by its Ocean Walk Village, a $1 billion oceanside entertainment, retail and hospitality district ideal for incentives, meetings and conventions. At Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Titusville, groups can immerse themselves in the U.S. space program with an interactive astronaut training experience, a lunch-with-an-astronaut event and shuttle launch experience.
Other options for incentive groups include deep-sea fishing, sailing charters and cruises from nearby Port Canaveral.
West Coast
From subtropical urban centers like Tampa and St. Petersburg to culturally rich communities like Sarasota and Naples and a host of other barrier island, beachside and resort settings, this region specializes in venue diversity.
For a truly memorable experience dripping with an air of exclusivity, the NGALA Private Preserve in Naples, situated on a wooded, 42-acre site, specializes in customized events featuring encounters with exotic animals such as giraffes, camels, zebras, leopards, chimpanzees, alligators and Florida panthers. In April, a national auto manufacturer hosted its senior leadership and top dealers with a spectacular event highlighted by a lavish dinner in a climate-controlled and insect-free luxury safari tent brimming with teak and bamboo furniture, antique steamer trunks, crystal chandeliers and rustic lanterns. Guests were greeted by festively dressed drummers, dancers and stilt performers. The group of 500 dined on exotic cuisine. Among the menu items available at NGALA are Prime Buffalo Tenderloin, Safari Ostrich Picadillo and Kangaroo Bobotie. "Our flexibility and customization allows us to transcend any theme park animal experience," says NGALA President Donovan Smith.
 Central Florida
Seemingly everyone knows about Orlando's magnificent, world-renowned theme parks and more than 100 golf courses. Adding another dimension to Orlando's incentive appeal in recent years is the arrival of luxury shopping at the Mall at Millenia, with Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and Macy's, and resort properties such as The Ritz-Carlton, Orlando and J.W. Marriott at Grande Lakes. Set to debut in September 2009 is a Waldorf=Astoria, and a Four Seasons will open on Disney property in 2010, joining top hotels like the Walt Disney World Swan (a Sheraton) & Dolphin (a Westin property).
Also scheduled for 2009 is a major expansion of Disney's Contemporary Resort. The 15-story Bay Lake Tower's 295 two-bedroom villas will join the 655 existing rooms that have just completed a three-year overhaul. Aside from a new lobby and lush landscaping, the rooms' decor has been updated with oversize bathing areas and ergonomic workstations having built-in computers. Two concierge floors offer VIP services and two new restaurants offer expanded dining options.
Universal Orlando proved to be a superb site for a four-day/three-night incentive program for Charter Communications, a St. Louis, Mo.–based telecommunications company. The group of 230 people, comprising sales executives and company upper management, headquartered at the 650-room Hard Rock Hotel Universal Orlando. "For several months we sent out collateral material touting 'Everyone is a Rock Star,'" says Michael Farmer, vice president of group travel sales for Meridian Enterprises, a full-service incentive company in Hazelwood, Mo. "The Hard Rock Hotel was an obvious choice for our theme. The rooms are decorated with photos of rock 'n' roll legends." The opening-night event, a buyout of the Latin Quarter restaurant and nightclub in Universal CityWalk, a sprawling, on-site entertainment and dining complex, featured an awards ceremony, entertainment by a Latin musical trio and salsa dancing. "That fabulous, fun-filled night set the tone for the program, highlighted by theme-park hopping, golf and CityWalk passes."
Northeast
Featuring venues like sea-oat-speckled Amelia Island, the rapidly growing metropolis of Jacksonville, historic St. Augustine and golf havens like Ponte Vedra Beach and World Golf Village, this region has a strong appeal for the white dimpled ball set.
Ponte Vedra Beach, headquarters for the PGA TOUR, has luxury golf resorts like the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club and Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa. Near St. Augustine, the World Golf Village, a 6,300-acre resort/residential golf community, is home to the World Golf Hall of Fame, two championship golf courses, the PGA TOUR Golf Academy and the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village.
Citibank's Jacksonville, Fla., division recently staged a recognition ceremony for its sales department at the World Golf Hall of Fame. The evening kicked off with a showing of Everest at the on-site IMAX theater, to underscore the event's adventure theme. Following a plated dinner and award ceremony on an upper-level verandah with golf-course views, the 100 attendees participated in a scavenger hunt in the exhibit wing of the World Golf Hall of Fame. "The World Golf Village is obviously a great setting for golfers, but even non-golfers enjoy the venue, which is elegant and sophisticated," says Gina Cavalieri, a Citibank information systems specialist, who coordinated the event.
Northwest
In recent years, on a dazzling stretch of white sand and turquoise Gulf of Mexico waters between Destin and Panama City, several upscale coastal villages have been built giving incentive planners access to an elegant beach experience. Modeled after American coastal towns like Key West and Savannah, master-planned, walkable beach villages like Seaside and Rosemary Beach offer gourmet dining, private beaches, boutique shopping, bicycling and tennis.
For those seeking large, self-contained resorts with multiple golf courses and easy beach and deep-sea fishing access, Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort in Destin and Bay Point Marriott Resort in Panama City provide all that and more.
Send comments to feedback@incentivemag.com.
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