Boca Raton Travel and Things to Do Guide

High-flying and posh, Boca Raton sets the standard for Palm Beach County glamour. A millionaire’s retreat since the 1920s, the city has, in the past few decades, enlarged its "season" by establishing itself as a base for year-round, high-end meetings. Boca Raton event venues, which include two Waldorf-Astoria properties, world-class restaurants and fabulous, nearby estates, may dazzle attendees as much as the Florida sun. Groups fly into Palm Beach International Airport, which is approximately 40 minutes away in West Palm Beach. The airport's 560,000-square-foot main terminal holds 28 gates for arrivals and departures with the potential for expansion of up to 24 extra gates. Chief among meeting venues, Boca Raton Resort and Club, a Waldorf-Astoria Resort, boasts 1,047 rooms and nearly 146,000 square feet of meeting space. This includes the 128,000-square-foot Mizner Center, a stand-alone conference center that features 80,000 square feet of flexible meeting space plus outside reception space on the Great Lawn and Spanish Terrace. The sprawling resort, which is the city’s only AAA 4 Diamond Resort, features Spa Palazzo, which is a Forbes Travel Guide 4 Star spa. Nearby in West Palm Beach, the Palm Beach County Convention Center can be used for citywide meetings. The center offers 350,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space, including a 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 25,000-square-foot ballroom and 23,000 square feet of breakout space, which is divisible into 23 individual rooms. Other hotel venues in Boca Raton with large meeting space include the 263-room Embassy Suites Boca Raton, with 15,000 square feet of meeting space; the 189-room Renaissance Boca Raton, also with 15,000 square feet; and the 212-room Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center, with 14,000 square feet. Also available is the 212-room Boca Beach Club, which sits on a private beach across the IntraCoastal Waterway from the Boca Resort Club (accessible by water shuttle) and has 14,000 square feet of meeting space. For special events, venues in Boca Raton range from the 4,200-seat Mizner Amphitheater, owned by the city and available for event rental; to the Sports Immortals Museum, which is available for parties. Also available are cultural institutions, such as the Boca Museum of Arts and the Boca Raton Historical Society and Museum. Locations Extraordinaire, a local off-site venue service provider, can help connect groups with private clubs and estates.