Beaches of South Walton: Sophisticated, relaxed and charming
Watch for:
- The boutique-style, 56-room Hotel Saba is expected to open in July 2008 in Rosemary Beach with small meeting rooms accommodating groups of 20-25.
- Vera Bradley has opened the “Inn by the Sea,” a nine-room restored B & B in Seaside
- At the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, a $3.4 million renovation is transforming 216 rooms to deluxe accommodations with flat-screen TVs, new furnishings, and a blue and green color palate. It’s also adding a media center and expanding its Gulf-side wooden deck to 3,000 square feet.
- Grand Boulevard is a new “shop, work, play and stay” mixed-use center at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort with convenient access to exclusive shopping and dining options, entertainment, professional services, corporate offices and lodging.
- Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort launched its complete meeting package, covering all lodging, food and beverage, meeting room, A/V, fitness center usage and transportation.
- Embassy Suites in Destin has a new online booking tool for 25 rooms or less.
- US Airways added three, daily nonstop flights to Okaloosa Regional Airport from Charlotte-Douglas [N.C.] International Airport.
“I love the area because of its pristine environment. We have so much green space and a four-story height restriction. South Walton is being a good steward of the land and the destination.”
— Pamela Watkins, Director of Sales & Special Events, Beaches of South Walton
Want to take advantage of the natural setting?
The mantra here is: “You don’t have to have a meeting within four walls.” The Rosemary Beach Town Hall can hold up to 100 with outdoor space, and there are several other outdoor venues in the community. Groups can charter boats for meetings, or fishing and dolphin watching outings; dinner cruises aboard the Solaris, dockside or out on the bay, can accommodate 150. The pavilion and grounds at Eden Gardens State Park are available for groups, which also can tour its antiques-filled, turn-of-the-century Wesley Mansion.
Want popular group activities?
At Hilton Sandestin, beach bowling, build your own boat and mullet tossing are popular team events. The Sandestin Resort offers cardboard boat regattas, photo scavenger hunts and wacky Olympics (including balloon chase, aqua blast, night golf and sandcastle building activities). An 18-mile biking/walking trail on 30A connects 10 of the beach communities; bike rentals are available. For spousal programs, there is shopping at Seaside boutiques, the galleries at Grayton Beach and Destin outlet malls, as well as cooking classes in Sandestin.
Want group dining?
Grand Boulevard has the newest walking community of restaurants, including Tommy Bahamas and Fleming Steakhouse. Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin Resort has informal, island-themed restaurants, many with outdoor seating. Award-winning Criolla’s at Grayton Beach, Seaside’s Bud & Alley’s (which has sweeping views from its roof bar), WaterColor’s elegant Fish Out of Water, and Stinky’s Fish Camp overlooking Oyster Lake, a coastal dune lake, are all outstanding local restaurants.
Want locally made items for gift baskets?
Seaside’s artist colony at Ruskin Village features jewelry and glassware from local artists. Route 30A, which runs close to the beaches, has a lot of artist shops. Slightly off the beaten track but worth the stop is Big Mama’s Hula Girl Gallery, a fun emporium of funky outsider art, jewelry, home and garden décor in Santa Rosa Beach. The Zoo Gallery, a contemporary American craft gallery at The Market Shops at Sandestin and Grayton Beach, has furniture, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture and blown glass. Frill Seekers Gifts in Baytowne Village can personalize any of its little luxuries, from beach towels to stationary.
Want nightlife and entertainment?
The Red Bar in Grayton Beach cranks it up a notch with its own jazz band after the dinner crowd thins. The Seering Piano Café has nightly entertainment in the funky little community of Blue Mountain Beach. At Grand Boulevard, your group can restaurant/bar hop, and mingle in the little park next to Tommy Bahamas.
