Meeting Focus: Daytona Beach
Two things should be nobed by the present-day area once known as "The World’s most famous beach." it is "Not your dad’s Daytona Beach," as noted by Meetingsnet, and it is fulfilling its lastest slogan: "Take your business to the beach.""
The spring breakers are mostly gone from Daytona Beach, in part because of a local effort to focus more on family vacations and meeting-goers.
Visitors can still drive on some of the 23 miles of sandy white beaches, at least from sunrise to sunset. And there are still reminders that this is the birthplace of speed with such venues as the Daytona International Speedway, home of many NASCAR events.
"But what escaped this writer—and I would venture many of the other guests at Site Florida’s Spring Break, Incentive Style two-day event in April—for a very long time is that this resort town is more than adult enough to offer some of the best in group travel award incentives," wrote MeetingsNet.
The Shores Resort & Spa, the only beachfront AAA Four Diamond property in a sea of many mom and pop smaller motels, hosted the conference that reflected the many things to do here: skydiving, eco-cruises on the Intracoastal Waterway, golfing at various places including the Legends Course at LPGA International, and many others. And that’s just in the city itself.
St. Augustine, the US’s oldest city, is less than a half hour away. And the Orlando area, with its various theme parks and other family-oriented attractions is also just an hour’s drive.
Ocean Center (which is a stone’s throw from the Atlantic) can accommodate a variety of events, from national conventions and their breakout sessions, to gala ballroom events and tradeshows. The facility doubled in size after a $76 million expansion, which was completed in February 2009. The facility has 164,000 square feet of exhibit space and a 12,000 square foot banquet hall that can seat 850.
What is now called the Daytona Beach resort area offers more than 13,000 guest rooms in all price points, including some of the US’s top brands such as Hilton and Marriott.
Several hotels have undergone multi-million dollar refurbishment projects, including the 742-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort ($20 million) and The Plaza Resort and Spa ($70 million).
By David Wilkening
David
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