Palm Beach development has long been associated with Henry Flagler, who built The Breakers hotel in 1896 and East Coast Railroad that transported vacationers to the area, and also Addison Mizner, known for the Mediterranean architecture found in historic buildings like The Everglades Club and The Boca Raton resort, which opened as the Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn in 1926.
These days, names bandied about in Palm Beach include Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Miami Dolphins owner Steven Ross, Salamander Hotels & Resorts’ Sheila Johnson and Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell–-all notable investors in the area. Ellison purchased Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, Johnson acquired PGA National Resort and Dell owns The Boca Raton. Ross is developing West Palm Beach into a business and financial hub, with projects adding office space, hotel rooms, condos, retail and restaurants.
As Kelly Cavers, chief sales officer, Discover the Palm Beaches tells it: “It’s not just an investment in development, but the evolution of Palm Beach as a brand. We’ve evolved from a tourism destination to a world-class travel brand, a premier hub for business, culture, education, lifestyle and social and economic development. We’re a collection of communities—39 to be exact—all with different personalities and experiences that are endless and new.”
One new experience is Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), a tech-infused golf league founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley, combining traditional golf with simulated indoor golf played in the Palm Beach Gardens’ SoFi Center, which holds 1,600 spectators. It kicked off its first season in January.
“Going to a TGL experience as an attendee gets people motivated. It might get them asking, ‘How can we incorporate technology in my meeting or business plan?’ It’s motivating to be the first to experience something so cutting edge,” Cavers said.
The reason so many successful businesspeople and sports celebrities are coming to Palm Beach to invest in the community is simple, Cavers says.
“Many of them call Palm Beach or surrounding areas home and they want to share it,” she said. “Palm Beach offers everything a first-tier destination has like top hotels and accessibility that is unmatched. We have three airports, and we include Orlando as an option now because of Brightline.”
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Major Property Investments in the Palm Beach Area
With a vast collection of hotels in every price point, Cavers notes that no two visits will be the same.
“The experience at Boca Raton Marriott will be different than The Breakers experience. The Wyndham Grand Jupiter will be a different experience than that of Eau Palm Beach. And we have so many independent hotels like the Amrit, Tideline and Opal Collection resorts,” Cavers said. “We did a white paper with the Incentive Research Foundation and one of the hotels that stood out to our overseas visitors is the historic The Colony Hotel, for those who want a Palm Royale (AppleTV+) type of experience.”
Teams will be motivated just by the destination’s eagerness to welcome groups, says Cavers, citing upgrades to attractions, Palm Beach International Airport and many hotels.
"Nearly $1 billion in area investments have increased the appeal of our welcoming and accessible destination, and recent upgrades in state-of-the-art meeting spaces and the upcoming additional headquarter hotel in the convention center district enhance the region as a competitive hub for conferences and events.”
Notable new and renovated properties include:
- The Amrit Ocean Resort is a newly opened beachfront wellness resort on Singer Island, with 10,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and 20,000 square feet of flexible outdoor space in addition to 300 feet of private shoreline. Amrit’s indoor meeting space includes five main areas: Hibiscus, with 4,300 square feet; the 860-square-foot Lotus Room; Jasmine Room, featuring 800 square feet of meeting space; Magnolia Room and Iris Room. Other amenities include The Amrit Wellness & Spa, with 103,000 square feet of wellness and spa facilities spanning four floors; 155 wellness-inspired guest rooms; and three distinct dining concepts with two more slated to open.
- Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, with 309 guest rooms and suites in Manalapan, plans to invest in future updates that will elevate the guest experience. Featuring 30,000 square feet of meeting space, the resort opened the iconic Nobu Manalapan in October.
- The Seagate in Delray Beach offers guests exclusive access to a private beach and has debuted the first phase of a property transformation. Newly redesigned, 157 guest rooms are open and ready for visitors, and new dining options will debut this year, including Bourbon Steak restaurant helmed by Michelin-star chef Michael Mina. The resort has 24,000 square feet of meeting space.
- The Boca Raton Beach Club, with 210 rooms and 10,000 square feet of meeting space, has reopened following a $130 million transformation. Guests and club members will discover an entirely redesigned arrival area, new restaurants, cocktail lounge and cafe, a new fitness facility and a transformation of the hotel's guest rooms and suites overlooking a half-mile stretch of private beach along the Atlantic Ocean.
- The Breakers Palm Beach has a newly transformed 104,000-square-foot racquet center, a $12 million investment in luxury recreation and introduces 16 state-of-the-art, open-air courts. The hotel has 534 rooms and 80,000 square feet of space.
- On Jensen Beach, Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa has brought a unique boutique experience to the resort’s comfortable oceanside accommodations. The resort has 178 rooms, 8,000 square feet of meeting space and a world-class spa.
- The newly reimagined Marriott Hutchinson Island Beach Resort, Golf & Marina, with 274 guest rooms and suites, completed a $50 million renovation that blends modern sophistication with the natural beauty of Florida’s Treasure Coast. The resort has an 18-hole executive golf course, 13 tennis courts, miles of unspoiled beaches, deep-sea fishing, a 77-slip marina and 30,000 square feet of versatile indoor and outdoor spaces.
- PGA National Resort & Spa was acquired by Salamander Collection and South Street Partners with the resort officially joining Salamander Hotels & Resorts. The resort has 339 rooms and offers 40,000 square feet of indoor meeting and event spaces and more than 20,000 square feet of outdoor options. PGA National Resort went through an extensive $100 million transformation including the addition of Lakeside Lawn for up to 280 guests.
- The Singer Oceanfront Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton is a newly renovated resort nestled on four miles of pristine beach on Singer Island. The Singer Resort offers a coastal escape with 223 renovated guest rooms and suites and multiple onsite dining concepts including the island’s only beachfront bar—Top Shell—and a signature restaurant Caretta Caretta. In total, the resort is home to more than 10,000 square feet of function space that can accommodate events up to 250 outdoors and 200 indoors with dedicated group programming.
- Palm House opened in November, offering 79 spacious guest rooms and suites and 4,000 square feet of versatile space including a ballroom, prefunction atrium space and an outdoor garden terrace with views of the pool. Custom-designed Murano glass chandeliers, coral-and-white accents and a sea-inspired carpet infuse the space with Palm Beach’s signature style.
- The Ben Hotel in West Palm Beach, with 208 rooms and more than 17,00 square feet of meeting space, is now offering state-of-the-art visual technology in collaboration with technology leader Cisco. Through this technology, virtual attendees can clearly see all participants’ facial expressions, discern multiple conversations and be heard as clearly as if they were in the same room.
- The 134-room Tideline Palm Beach Ocean Resort and Spa has unveiled a $20 million new design. The refurbishment has touched all areas of the resort, including flexible indoor and outdoor spaces with customized layouts, directly facing an expansive white, sandy beachfront. The resort has 7,000 square feet of meeting space.
- The 189-room Renaissance Boca Raton Hotel now offers more than 15,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. Among the standout features is a stunning 30,000-square-foot resort-style pool deck, complete with the WET by Meat Market poolside bar, as well as covered and semi-covered areas ideal for cocktail receptions or casual meetings.
- Delta Hotels West Palm Beach opened last September and features 199 rooms and 6,000 square feet of versatile event space. The hotel offers a signature restaurant and bar, The Dive Bar, as well as a grab-and-go cafe, a state-of-the-art fitness center and pool. The property also boasts convenient business “huddles,” which are strategically placed workspaces near the lobby that are conducive to productivity.
- The Belgrove Resort & Spa, West Palm Beach, Autograph Collection, along Lake Mangonia and minutes from the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, is a 150-room hotel with five dining concepts. It also features Spa at the Belgrove, three pools and extensive meeting space. Guests have access to the exclusive Dutchman’s Pipe golf course, featuring a recently renovated Jack Nicklaus signature course. The resort has more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space.
- Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort & Spa, with 276 guest rooms including 89 suites and eight luxury villas, is a luxury getaway in Delray. Completely reimagined as a contemporary coastal escape, the luxury accommodations, thoughtful design refresh, buzzworthy new dining experiences and peaceful holistic spa are available to leisure and business travelers alike. With more than 22,000 square feet of modern indoor and outdoor venue options, the property can accommodate up to 1,000 guests. The rooftop Elevate Skye Bar & Lounge offers inventive handcrafted cocktails, a modern light bites menu and views of both the Atlantic Ocean and “The Ave.”
Additionally, at Palm Beach International Airport, several multimillion-dollar projects are in the works including a refresh of Concourse B, Central Airfield improvements and maintenance of the bridges and parking spaces.
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Case Study: A Meeting at the New Amrit Ocean Resort Amazes
Just this past February, Nancy Schoeck, director of field and events marketing for Tampa-based Deepwatch, hosted a group of 60 at the all-new Amrit Ocean Resort in Palm Beach. Most attendees hadn’t been to the area, so Schoeck was happy she chose Palm Beach.
“When I came across Amrit Ocean Resort, I immediately thought the spirit and vibe of the property would resonate with my attendees,” she said. “The description of a transformational wellness resort was a particular factor since I was looking for a unique and out-of-the-ordinary experience.”
“Deepwatch was a fun group! They did have a teambuilding activity that was very lively,” added Amrit’s catering sales manager, Alex Morales. “They broke into teams, each wearing their team’s colored flag, and each team had a limited time to build a ‘boat’ out of common materials. The challenge was to make a boat that would successfully race across the resort pool. When all teams came to the pool for the races, it was a riot! Everyone was laughing, it was great friendly competition.”
Prior to the boat races, the teams also did a resort-wide scavenger hunt and the group had a “Glow Up” dinner party in Taaza. Everything was a glow theme, including decor, glow sticks, glow lawn games and blinking glow glasses for cocktails.
The reviews of the event came back and were extremely positive.
“The stunning location of the Amrit Ocean Resort is what our attendees enjoyed the most,” Schoeck said. “Our group experience at Amrit was nothing short of extraordinary, thanks to the impeccable guest service that we encountered. From the moment we arrived, the staff went above and beyond to ensure every detail was flawlessly executed, making us feel truly valued. Their attentiveness, professionalism and warm hospitality created an unforgettable experience for our attendees. Amrit sets the standard for exceptional service, and I can't wait to bring more groups here so they can experience this special resort as well!”
The fact that the hotel is brand-new was also a plus, she says.
“It's not very often groups get to experience an almost brand-new property like this,” she said.
