A new locally and eco-inspired roster of activities at Kimpton’s Vero Beach Hotel & Spa draws from the oceanfront setting and natural surroundings. Known as the “Beyond the Boardroom” program, it is available for all groups looking for creative after-hours experiences.
Popular for the foodie crowd is an evening teambuilding event presented Iron Chef-style. Groups team up at a beachside station to cook a local catch infused with the exotic flavors of South Florida, with help from the hotel’s chefs. Also inspired by the ocean is the Moonlight Turtle Walk, which is offered seasonally, where groups don night vision goggles and head to the beach to watch the nesting turtles.
For more lighthearted fun, the program offers a cardboard Pirate Ship Regatta teambuillding competition, where participants build their own life-size cardboard ships. Once complete, one member from each team takes their ship and races 20 yards out, around a buoy and back to the beach.
Vero Beach Hotel is one of only two in Florida to receive the silver level Green Seal Certification for its sustainable practices. All Kimpton hotels are also Green Key certified.
As part of the Kimpton brand, the hotel also offers the “Signature Meetings” program, a menu of themes that include props, food and beverage and even music. In keeping with the spirit of the locally inspired activities, planners could choose an “Earthcare” theme for the meeting itself, where the focus is eco preservation and a portion of the proceeds go to the Trust for Public Land. Mood music might include nature CDs, the meeting room could be decorated with mini-Zen gardens and agendas could be printed on paper that could then be planted to produce wildflowers.
The 113-room Vero Beach Hotel & Spa offers a variety of meeting venues, including the Shoreline Room, an oceanfront banquet space and patio for up to 70 guests; an executive boardroom seating 10; and the Cobalt Restaurant, which has a private dining room that can accommodate up to 35 guests. It is located between Orlando and Palm Beach.