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Photo by Daytona Beach Area CVB

Daytona Beach: Adventures on the Atlantic

By Kristi Casey Sanders

Want group dining?

Martini’s Chophouse is an elegant steak house with a private, indoor dining room (capacity: 35) and an outdoor garden lounge area with waterfalls and a tiki bar (capacity: 250). Stonewood Grill and Tavern and Hyde Park are upscale steak houses with private dining rooms. The Chart House is a steak and seafood restaurant with panoramic views of the Intracoastal Waterway. Located in the former home of Warren G. Harding, The Cellar serves fine Italian cuisine in Daytona Beach’s historic district. Private dining is available. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. can be booked for private dinners, lunches or receptions. The “Forrest Gump”-themed eatery is located in Ocean Walk Village

Want to meet green?

Designated Florida Green Lodging hotels include the Plaza Resort & Spa and the Shores Resort & Spa. Meeting amenities at the Plaza include 323 guest rooms, 32,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, a full-service spa, oceanview ballrooms and golf packages. Amenities at the Shores includes 212 guest rooms, oceanfront boardrooms, cloud-level meeting facilities and more than 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space.

Want to make the most of the beach?

Daytona Beach is known as the “birthplace of speed” because the first automobile races were held along its beaches. Oceanfront Park has a pedestrian-only beach, but there are other designated areas where planners can arrange dune buggy races; let the convention and visitors bureau help you acquire the proper permits. If you’re looking for unusual team-building, Surfari Surf School and the Daytona Beach Surfing School offer group surfing lessons on the beach. Take attendees on a scenic manatee cruise, charter a sailboat or teach attendees how to fish; kayak and canoe tours are other options.

Want unusual venues?

In Ocean Walk Village, the multi-plex movie theater has screens available for private meetings, seminars and screenings. The Daytona Lagoon Waterpark & Family Entertainment Center has a private conference room, and areas for corporate challenges and company picnics. Meeting rooms and charter boats for meetings, seminars and special events are available at the Inlet Harbor Marina and the Sunset Harbor Yacht Club.

Want to surround your group with culture?

The Museum of Arts & Sciences has a 2,000-sq. ft. banquet hall, a 266-seat theater, 86,000 square feet of gallery space and outdoor venues in a 90-acre nature preserve. The News-Journal Center is a $29 million cultural center with two theaters, rehearsal rooms, a catering kitchen, and several banquet and reception areas. The Southeast Museum of Photography on the Daytona Beach College campus has 9,000 square feet of gallery space, classroom and office space, a theater-style lecture hall, an atrium, banquet space, a screening room and a research library.

Want to rev things up?

Adjacent to the Daytona International Speedway, the Daytona 500 Experience has several meeting venues. The Bill France Room is an elegant banquet/meeting space (capacity: 160-200) that overlooks the Velocitorium, a 60,000-sq. ft. showroom full of race-related exhibits (capacity: 1,000). Venues located on the speedway’s infield area include the Boardwalk Club (indoor/outdoor capacity: 75-120/100) and the Daytona 500 Club & Lounge (club capacity: 400-450; lounge capacity: 130-160). Groups also can create tented corporate villages, reserve skyboxes for special events and race days, or team-build on the racetrack with the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Planners can arrange motorcycle tours of the area through Destination Daytona, a 150-acre motorcycle-themed facility with accommodations, retail, restaurants, and meeting and convention space in its 35,000-sq. ft. Coca-Cola Pavilion.

Want to shake up a meal function?

My Ohana Luau presents Polynesian food and shows featuring hula and flame dancers; the dancers also give hula lessons to audience members. Host a garden tea party, dinner or reception at the historic Tavern & Chapel. Attendees can customize and make their own pancakes tableside at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Grill and Griddle House at DeLeon Springs State Park.

Want golf?

Golf Daytona Beach can arrange golf tournaments and group packages. Daytona is the official home of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) International; banquet space, golf instruction, tournaments and accommodations are available on-site.

Want to meet in a place with history?

The Casements in Ormond Beach formerly was the home of John D. Rockefeller; now the historic home operates as a museum, park and cultural center. The Daytona Beach Bandshell and Oceanfront Park Complex was built in 1937 and accommodates groups of up to 5,000 people; it is nestled between the beach and Ocean Walk Village, and is across the street from the convention center.

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What you should know

The Ocean Center Convention & Civic Complex is across the street from the beach and Ocean Walk Village, a mixture of upscale convention center hotels, restaurants, shopping, entertainment and additional meeting space. The Ocean Center expansion project, completed in 2009, doubled the convention center's size. Daytona Live!, scheduled to open in 2010, will be a multi-use development located across from Daytona International Speedway. Amenities will include 200,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space as well as a 2,500-seat multi-screen movie theater and a 160-room hotel.

What will surprise you

Forget what you think you know if you haven't been here lately. Oceanfront properties are high-end with luxury condo units and plush hotel rooms, indoor/outdoor meeting venues and full-service spas. But, the prices are still family friendly. Cultural amenities are rich, and a nice contrast to the city's famous beach and race-themed attractions. Daytona Beach is both the official American summer home of the London Symphony Orchestra and the host of two annual bike weeks.

The 411:
  • 164,000-sq. ft. exhibit hall in the Ocean Center
  • 12,000 hotel rooms citywide
  • 400 feet between the convention center and the beach
  • 23 miles of beach
  • 28 golf courses
  • Best values in May and from September through December

For more information or planning assistance, contact the Daytona Beach CVB.