10 Out-of-the-Box Ideas for Your Next Meeting in the Palm Beaches

The Palm Beaches, Florida are a first-class destination known for delivering a one-of-a-kind, unrivaled meetings experience.  The experience you and your group will encounter here is produced by a community that knows how to deliver on your meeting and event goals. 

Planners working with Discover The Palm Beaches will be impressed with our award-winning sales team’s ability to anticipate every need. It’s in our DNA to treat each guest as if they are a VIP—because they are. Your meeting or event will be treated with the white-glove service it deserves. All of our hotels and resorts, restaurants and other venues are out to impress you at every turn.

What’s become obvious in recent years is that attendees are not going to settle for cookie-cutter experiences. Turnkey is nice and easy, but customization is how to distinguish your event. In The Palm Beaches, your event will stand out for what the experiences and partners we help you bring in Between-The-Sessions, within the meeting and outside of it.

The Palm Beaches have a host of out-of-the-box activations and activities sure to wow your crowd, whether it’s an intimate boardroom meeting or a large corporate event. Read on for 10 ideas to make your event unique with experiences you can only find in The Palm Beaches.

1. International Polo Club

Sometimes, it’s good to get on your high horse. There is simply no venue like the National Polo Center elsewhere in the country. Experience the lap of luxury every day here. On-site event spaces make for exquisite off-site functions, including award ceremonies, galas and receptions. Have some fun by organizing polo lessons for your group to see who is king or queen of the mallet.

Pro tip: Springtime corporate events can take advantage of the competitive polo season by watching a match or engaging with the Winter Equestrian Festival, which takes place at the nearby Wellington International.

2. The Kips Bay Decorator Show House

In another case of taking advantage of seasonal offerings, planners with springtime events would be wise to set up a tour of Kips Bay Decorator Show House. The top names in fashion and interior design set up shop here, with the exclusive offering benefiting the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. This is a natural for events in the fashion industry, but groups of all types will marvel at the power of creativity and presentation.

3. Oceana Coffee Bar

When is a cup of coffee more than a shot of caffeine? When you enlist a local company with a distinct flair for the dramatic. Oceana Coffee, a popular local shop, can be mobilized for a fun coffee bar at the Palm Beach Convention Center or other locations you’re using. All of a sudden, a traditional coffee break transforms into a true mixer where ideas are shared and buzz builds around your event.

4. Mangroves and Mansions Tour

Blend The Palm Beaches’ remarkable architecture with near-perfect weather during this two-hour kayak tour. Local landmarks along the way include The Society of the Four Arts Gardens, the historic Everglades Club, The Breakers Palm Beach resort and the Flagler Museum. Upon arrival at the mangrove islands, the views turn toward the marine life and birds. Attendees will row away with a true sense of place while getting some exercise that will power them through the next set of meetings.

5. Rent Out a Food Hall

Grandview Public Market in West Palm Beach is a popular option with live music adding to the atmosphere, and an option to buy-out the space for private events. The food hall is home to 12 food vendors, including poke and sushi, Caribbean food, ramen, pizza, hamburgers, tacos and more. Indoor and outdoor seating is available.

6. Eco-Friendly Projects

Better than enjoying a true sense of place is the chance to give back to a host destination. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are plentiful in The Palm Beaches. The one that will truly get attendees out of their shell is found at Loggerhead Marine Life Center, a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of our water-based friends. Have your group assist in a beach cleanup project or host a fundraiser on-site for the organization. The release of rehabilitated turtles to the sea is truly heartwarming—an event that will last in attendees’ memories.

7. A New Way to Golf

For some people, it’s impossible not to think about golf when venturing into the region. But even with this traditional option for corporate tournaments and fundraisers, we’ve raised our game. The iconic PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens has introduced The Match, which changes the game by playing with the rules. Don’t worry: Lowest score still wins. One of the notable variations is that the winner of a hole selects the next hole’s tee location to add some strategy and additional competitiveness. How often can planners offer a new way to play a classic game?

8. Hotel Dining Experiences

Not only are the local hotels nice to look at, but they also come with chefs who are just as eager to turn a meal into an experience as you are. At The Ray Hotel in Delray Beach, Michelin star chef Akira Back, serves a blend of modern Japanese cuisine with authentic Korean flavors, at his first namesake restaurant in Florida. Akira Back Delray is available for large groups & buyouts of all sizes.
At the Hilton West Palm Beach, the hotel’s Galley restaurant offers a unique twist on classic fare and a dash of international cuisine. The restaurant has a lush outdoor patio, an expansive fire pit, and an artful dining room for an unforgettable dining experience steps away from the convention center.

9. Farm-to-Table Dining

With many farm-to-table restaurants in The Palm Beaches from which to choose, attendees have a plethora of options that offer carefully cultivated mouthwatering dishes with ingredients straight from the garden. For example, at Avocado Grill, just one block off popular Clematis Street, Chef Gremaud specializes in serving ultra-seasonal, eco-conscious dishes and sources most of his ingredients locally. Swank Specialty Produce in Loxahatchee supplies produce to nearly every farm-to-table restaurant in South Florida, and the products are grown free of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Farther south in Boca Raton, Farmer’s Table offers what they call “feel-good food.” The restaurant sources exceptionally clean ingredients from the best local farms and seeks to make dishes that are nutritious and nourishing to the body, while still providing flavor satisfaction.

10. Moving Around with Brightline

Your attendees can hop on the Brightline’s high speed train and explore The Palm Beaches effortlessly! The Brightline station in downtown West Palm Beach is a gateway to city-centric exploration. Nestled amidst the cityscape of West Palm Beach, this station is a bustling hub of connectivity, convenience, and modernity. Additionally, the area around the station is pedestrian-friendly, so event attendees can easily explore it on foot. The Boca Raton Brightline station is also in a central area. The station offers an exciting gateway to the city’s cultural epicenter – Mizner Park. As they disembark at the station, passengers will find themselves just a short walk away from Mizner Park’s upscale boutiques, art galleries, delectable dining options, and a vibrant entertainment scene.

The Brightline station in Downtown West Palm Beach is just about 2 hours from the Orlando station, while the Boca Raton station is less than an hour’s train ride from Miami.