Destination Guides
Southern Florida Destination Guide
by Michael C. LoweMarch 1, 2013
Why Here?
As vibrant as it is varied, South Florida offers fun, sun and meeting
facilities from coast to coast. Of special note are new hotels like b2
Miami Downtown (above), which opens this month, and the Marriott Fort
Lauderdale Pompano Beach Oceanfront, to debut in July.
Lee County
The $150 million Fort Myers Riverfront Development Plan will add a
200-room convention hotel, a four-acre addition to the existing 10-acre
Centennial park and an 80,000-square-foot addition to the Harborside
Event Center.
The 454-room Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita
Springs recently completed a $14.5 million room renovation. The hotel
has about 70,000 square feet of meeting space.
The USS Mohawk, which saw action in World War II, now rests 28 nautical
miles off Sanibel Island and 90 feet underwater, and has become a
popular diving destination since it officially opened last July.
Miami Local Update
The 87-room Gale South Beach & Regent Hotel opened last December with three dining options and a 5,000-square-foot rooftop terrace.
The 243-room b2 Miami Downtown will open this month with more than 1,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa and a fitness center.
Kimpton's 411-room Epic Hotel, Miami, expanded its meeting space in January for a new total of 50,000 square feet.
Meeting Hotels
In downtown Miami and Key Biscayne are the 641-room InterContinental Miami; 612-room Hyatt Regency Miami; 402-room Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne; 300-room JW Marriott Miami, and 205-room Conrad Miami.
Properties near Miami International Airport include the 693-room Trump Doral Golf Resort & Spa and 500-room Hilton Miami International Airport.
In Miami Beach and North Miami Beach are the 1,504-room Fountainebleau Resort, 841-room Loews Miami Beach, 392-room Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, 263-room Courtyard by Marriott Miami Beach Oceanfront and 85-room Setai.
Convention Centers
Miami Beach Convention Center; exhibit space, 502,848 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 70; (305) 539-3071; miamibeachconvention.com
Coconut Grove Expo Center; exhibit space, 150,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, none; (800) 933-8448, ext. 3071; coconutgroveconventioncenter.com
Miami Convention Center; exhibit space, 28,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 34; (305) 579-6341; bit.ly/OnlHCe
Airport Transit
Miami International Airport, seven miles west of downtown Miami. Transfer cost by taxi to downtown, $25; by shuttle, $16 per person; by taxi to Miami Beach, $32; by shuttle, $21 per person; by taxi to Key Biscayne, $41; by shuttle, $24 per person
Taxes
Miami/Miami Beach: room tax, 6%; sales tax, 7%; total tax on hotel rooms, 13%
Group Venue
Lincoln Road newcomer Skydeck Miami offers 360-degree views of Miami Beach and the Atlantic Ocean from 3,700 square feet of rooftop event space. (305) 672-5010; skydeckmiami.com
Contact
Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, (800) 933-8448; miamiandbeaches.com
Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, (305) 673-7050; miamibeachvca.com