[ON LOCATION] LISA SIMUNDSON
What a difference a year makes. In the fall of 2023, Prevue took a hard hat tour of the developing Conrad Orlando, part of Evermore Orlando Resort. In fall 2024 we were guests of the property—which opened in January 2024—and sampled superior event facilities paired with amenities filling down time in complete luxury and relaxation.
Set just three miles from Walt Disney World, the Conrad Orlando is a world away with its location next to a nature preserve and onsite recreation including a private white-sand beach and two Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses. It may not sound that easy—creating a secluded haven so close to the bustle of Orlando attractions—but Conrad Orlando and Evermore make it look easy.
“It takes the staff to put the soul of the property together,” Conrad GM Sean McCarron told us. “A lot of what we do is look for the right team members.”
The team’s efforts have more than paid off, from the attentive servers at onsite restaurants Sophia’s Trattoria and the poolside Papaya Club to the expert technicians at the Conrad Spa Orlando, where luxe treatments are followed by soaking in two private pools in the spa’s Water Garden.
That theme of “water” carries over into the Conrad’s 65,000 sf of innovative new meeting and event space, where color schemes recall the ocean and sand, lighting treatments flow across ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows let in the brilliant Florida sunshine.
Meanwhile, a 9,000-sf lawn hosts everything from outdoor dinners to teambuilding events like glow-in-the-dark cosmic golf.
“We can create any type of group experience or activation,” notes Melissa Gregoire, Assistant Director of Sales at Conrad Orlando. “We also have beach event space for up to 350 guests.”
Meeting outdoors is a given on the 1,100-acre Evermore campus, which includes the Conrad, and whose centerpiece is the magnificent, aquamarine Evermore Bay, fringed by beaches and traversed by paddlers.
Groups are welcome to host events on the beaches and lawns surrounding the bay as well as at one of several indoor options, including the lakefront Boathouse, offering a 2,300-sf ballroom, pre-function space, a dockside boardroom and—for maximum effect—a 1956 Chris-Craft Capri to ferry CEOs and VIPs across the bay to their meetings.
Also beside the bay are 4-bedroom flats as well as private homes hosting up to 30 in oversized common space with monitors for presentations, optional media rooms and private outdoor space. We enjoyed brunch—prepared on site by Executive Pastry Chef Joshua Cain—at a banquet table that fit easily in the living room and in fact, barely took up a third of the space.
“Retreats and executive boards are perfect in this type of environment,” says Lisa Crosby, Evermore’s Director of Sales, also noting that the resort’s unique inclusive design with onsite golf, beaches and watersports is adding to its popularity among incentive planners.
“We’re putting incentive programs together in 2025,” she says. “We also have a medical association booked.” Also on site for larger association and corporate meetings is the nearby Evermore Meeting Center, a stand-alone facility housing 10,000 sf of meeting space.
We stopped at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) to find out more about their upcoming expansion, but something else was growing there as well—a thriving indoor vertical farm with 81 aeroponic towers split between two locations. The farm isn’t new—but might be to your group—and is tended by the center’s Sustainability Coordinator Katerina Chagoya, who also oversees the center’s energy and water conservation, an environmentally friendly supply chain and greener experiences for OCCC events.
During an overview of FY 23-24 with the center’s Deputy Director Eric Blanc, impressive numbers were shared—189 total events hosting 1.7 million, with an economic impact of $3 billion, translating to $2,536 in economic impact per attendee.
Though they’re still climbing out of the “Covid hole” as Blanc put it, “our numbers are up,” he said, giving two major reasons: “Doing business here is more cost effective and you can bring your family with you.”
On the horizon for the OCCC is the Phase 5A Expansion Project, which will add a grand concourse, a ballroom, flexible space for greater capacity and a new entry to the North-South Building. Blanc says construction will start Q2 2025, with a 2029 projected opening date.
An additional benefit? Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe will be just across the road from the OCCC. “Epic Universe will transform the spot where we’re sitting right now,” Blanc says.
Orlando’s entertainment and dining districts open new worlds of experiences and facilities for groups, and our group sampled a few.
Adjacent to the OCCC, Pointe Orlando is now Live! at The Pointe Orlando, an indoor/outdoor entertainment district creating a block party atmosphere with an open-air plaza surrounded by new venues—Palm Tree Club dining and nightlife; Sports & Social, with multiple games broadcast via a state-of-the-art LED media wall; PBR Cowboy Bar, featuring live music and of course, a mechanical bull; Houndsmen Lounge, a low-key but spirited cocktail lounge; and for a retro surf feel and late-night partying, Shark Bar.
“We tried to create an environment that is friendly to the local community, so it’s always vibrant and busy here. For groups, buyouts are available with full catering offered,” says Director of Sales John Pilkinton.
Downtown Orlando, meanwhile, continues its astonishing ascent as a center for entertainment and the arts. Both combine at the newest addition to the spectacular Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts—Judson’s Live, a 150-seat, cabaret-style music space where our group enjoyed specialty cocktails and a seasonal menu of shareable bites.
The band performing that night, Steeln’ Peaches, bill themselves as an “Allman Brothers Revue” and lived up to the name with an electrifying jam session.
orlandomeeting.com; evermoreresort.com/meetings-events; hilton.com/en/hotels/orlcici-conrad-orlando/events; occc.net