The Florida Keys have always been a popular
destination for corporate incentive groups, thanks to the fact
that they offer planners the remoteness and laid-back attitude
of a Caribbean destination, yet can be reached without leaving
the United States.
This year, groups looking for meeting and event space in the
Upper Keys have a new option, says Jack Meier, sales manager
for Florida Keys & Key West, the convention and visitors
bureau.
In January, the Islander Resort on Islamorada unveiled its new
Florida Keys Conference Center, doubling its meeting and event
space to 4,000 square feet.
A separate building on the Islander's 25-acre property, the new
conference center's 2,760-square-foot Blue Marlin Ballroom
holds 290 banquet-style and can be divided into three sections.
The foyer overlooks the beach.
Other indoor spaces include the 430-square-foot Eye of the
Storm Theatre, which can seat up to 40, the 340-square-foot
Captain's Boardroom and Library seating 12, and the
550-square-foot Atlantic View Verandah for up to 80. Next to
the conference center is the 2,760-square-foot Tarpon Terrace,
which can accommodate up to 200 banquet-style.
Down on Key Largo, the Ocean Reef Club has added a naturally
lit, 20-person boardroom that opens onto a patio overlooking
the marina. Ocean Reef also refreshed two conference rooms: the
5,040-square-foot Everglades Conference Complex and the
3,750-square-foot Key Largo Building, which can be divided into
three 1,250-square-foot ballrooms. The A/V in the
11,000-square-foot Town Hall now has drop-down screens and
video projectors.
Ocean Reef has also significantly expanded its spa, which now
measures 8,000 square feet with 10 treatment rooms and a
couples' suite with private Jacuzzi, as well as new sauna and
steam rooms, a relaxation lounge, and spa cafe. The fitness
center has also been expanded. Ocean Reef's two championship
golf courses now house an academy of golf with two digital
swing-analysis and club-fitting bays overlooking the range.
Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key, located between Marathon and
Islamorada, spent $1 million last year re-doing its culinary
options. The resort has 177 rooms, 225 two- and three-bedroom
villas, and more than 20,000 square feet of waterfront meeting
space. Two new restaurants are open: Ocean, a
Mediterranean/sustainable seafood restaurant that can seat 110
inside and 50 outside; and Tio's Cantina, a Mexican-inspired
eatery that holds 90 inside and 60 outside. A third restaurant
will be added later this year.
The 38-room Glunz Ocean Beach Hotel & Resort on Key Colony
Beach at Marathon was set to reopen in early March after a
total renovation. By the end of the year, Tranquility Bay Beach
House Resort on Marathon will be adding 11 more beach houses to
its existing 87 one- and two-bedroom water-view units, spread
across a 12-acre beachfront property.
Serious Fun
When the senior executives of BB&T, the Salem, NC-based
Fortune 500 financial services corporation, came to the Florida
Keys for a three-day board meeting in October, business wasn't
the only agenda item.
"One thing that I kept saying to my CEO is, you don't go to the
Florida Keys unless you love the water," says J. Moore
Bannister, liaison to the chairman and CEO of BB&T.
On a Sunday, the small group and their spouses arrived at
Cheeca Lounge on Islamorada, a 212-room luxury resort with
4,600 square feet of meeting space, including the newly
renovated Chart Room. At a welcome reception that night,
attendees signed up for activities the next day, followed by
two days of meetings. Representatives of the various choices,
including kayaking and fishing, were on hand to answer
questions. Among them was a representative of the Dolphin
Research Center (DRC) on Grassy Key, near Marathon.
"The person they sent to my event was bright, energetic, and
engaging, so I ended up having 12 people [visit the DRC] - and
that's good because my group is not that large," says
Bannister. "I visited it myself and I was impressed. It wasn't
kitschy - there weren't murals of mermaids painted on the
walls."
While attendees did have a dolphin encounter, "it's not just
the fun," says Bannister. "They talk about how they engage the
animals. We saw the scientific work they do."
The DRC offers a variety of teambuilding and corporate group
experiences, ranging in length from two hours to the new
Fantasy Dolphin Day, a buyout that includes an introduction to
the DRC's dolphin and sea lion families, a lecture on topics
ranging from cognition research to daily care, a swim with the
dolphins, and a Signal Session in which the dolphins respond to
attendees' instructions. That's capped off by a catered dinner
and musical Sunset Celebration dolphin show.
One demonstration really stood out, Bannister says. "They
talked about the extraordinary ability dolphins have to sense
everything around them," she recalls. "They put suction cups
over the eyes of one dolphin [and] gave hand signals to the
other dolphin. Whatever that dolphin did in the water, whatever
jumps or turns, the dolphin that had its eyesight covered was
able to perform simultaneously right alongside. That's really
pretty cool."