Daytona Beach, Fla.

The closing reception for the 2011 Florida Encounter, the trade show produced by Visit Florida, was held at The Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach this past November.

The hotel, the area's only AAA four-diamond resort, offers more than 20,000 square feet of function space, poolside cabanas and ocean­side fire pits for mingling or roasting marshmallows, and a spa with six treatment rooms.

The property's fine-dining restaurant, Azure, features regional flavors emphasizing fresh seafood, such as seared diver scallops with a fennel and citrus salad, and stone roasted black grouper in a corn butter sauce.