Guide to Meeting & Event Planning in

St. Pete/Clearwater

Learn why you should host your next meeting, event or conference in St. Pete/Clearwater.

Why St. Pete/Clearwater for Your Next Meeting or Event?

Thirty-five miles of sugar-sand beaches - ranked among the world’s very best - create a stunning backdrop for this sunny meetings and events destination. St. Pete/Clearwater is also celebrated for its world-class museums, hundreds of street murals, and a thriving culinary and craft beer scene. Public transportation is plentiful and this destination has easy access from major U.S. cities.

Travel Essentials
Taxes: Pinellas County room tax, 6%; state and local tax, 7%; total tax on hotel rooms, 13%

CVB: Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, (727) 464-7200
 
Total Number of Hotel Rooms:
25,000 guest rooms in Pinellas County, which is made up of 24 communities including Clearwater Beach, St. Pete, St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island
 
Convention Center:
Sirata Beach Resort & Conference Center; exhibit space, 30,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 9; (855) 318-4768

Only in St. Pete/Clearwater

With the emerald-colored waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the sparkling blue of Tampa Bay to the east, St. Pete/Clearwater is one of the few coastal destinations where event attendees can see sunrise each morning and sunset at night. North Shore Park in St. Pete is a perfect location to watch the sunrise. In the evening, attend the nightly Pier 60 sunset celebration in Clearwater Beach or choose a quiet spot.

Area Transportation

Tampa International Airport, about 18 miles east of Clearwater and 20 miles northeast of St. Pete. Transfer cost by taxi, $50; by Uber, about $20
 
St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport, about 19 miles from downtown St. Petersburg and downtown Clearwater, which is served by low-cost Allegiant Airlines, as well as several charter airlines. Transfer cost by taxi, $50; by Uber, about $20

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport has rolled out the artificial turf carpet by unveiling two new “bark parks” for its canine visitors. The fenced areas — which feature anti-microbial turf, benches, hydration stations, trash receptacles and at-the-ready waste bags — are among a series of improvements completed at the airport over the past year.

2021 Stella Award Winners

2020 Stella Award Winners


PARTNER CONTENT

 

 

Meeting and Event Venues

New & Coming Soon to St. Pete/Clearwater

• In celebration of its 100-year anniversary, the St. Petersburg Museum of History is planning a $7.5 million, 10,000-square-foot expansion. Featuring a 360-degree view of the downtown waterfront and St. Pete’s Pier, the new building’s second level and rooftop terrace exterior, available for special events and gatherings, will be wrapped by an aluminum sculpture crafted by celebrated local artist Ya La’ford. Construction is scheduled to begin in February.

• St. Pete Beach’s 156-room Grand Plaza Hotel has undergone a major makeover and rebranding. Now known as the Bellwether Beach Resort, the cylinder-shaped, 50-year-old property reopened in August with a nostalgic, beach-chic aesthetic. Amenities include four restaurants, a revolving rooftop bar, a pool, three meeting rooms and 8,000 square feet of total event space.

• The destination's "Rise to Shine" campaign was launched to let visitors know what hotels, attractions, restaurants and destinations are doing to keep the public safe in the destination.  

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• The newly renovated and reflagged Hilton Garden Inn St. Pete Beach features 144 guestrooms with balconies or patios, the Coconut Charlie’s bar and grill, a fitness center, a pool and 900 square feet of flexible indoor meeting space.

• Coastal ecologist Dr. Stephen Leatherman, better known as “Dr. Beach,” has reviewed, evaluated and rated beaches and coastal areas throughout the world. In his latest rankings, Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin was ranked seventh, by virtue of its untouched, beaches, old-growth slash pines and live oaks, nature trails and the heavenly blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 

• Get an in-depth look at destination newcomers Grand Central Brewhouse and the Residence Inn by Marriott St. Petersburg, on these new videos.

• The destination has several recent accolades from travel site Tripadvisor: Clearwater is among the Top 10 Trending Destinations in the U.S. in 2021, while St. Pete Beach was named the Top Beach in the United States. Most recently, Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Things To Do voted Get Up and Go Kayaking’s singular Clear Kayak Tour on Shell Key Preserve as 2021’s top experience in the U.S. Get Up and Go utilizes clear single and double kayaks to effectively illustrate the preserve’s remarkable fauna — dolphins, turtles, stingrays, crabs and the like — plus its vast panoramas of mangroves, sandbars and beaches.

• The iconic 277-room Don Cesar Hotel has completed a three-year, head-to-toe restoration. The 93-year-old property has 22,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting and event space and more than 16,000 square feet of  outdoor event space .

• Following an extensive renovation, St. Pete Beach’s iconic Grand Plaza Hotel is now the152-room Bellwether Beach Resort. When it reopens in summer 2021, the property will feature refreshed guest rooms and suites, 8,000 square feet of redesigned event spaces and a 12th floor rotating restaurant and bar.

• TradeWinds Island Resorts completed upgrades to its two properties, the  211-room RumFish Beach Resort and 585-room sister property TradeWinds Island Grand, at a cost of $15 million. 

• Aficionados of artisan beers have a new destination to explore in St. Pete: Grand Central Brewhouse. Just opened in the city’s burgeoning Grand Central District, the two-story 6,000-square-foot brewery specializes in all styles of lager. It also offers a 4,000-square-foot courtyard, beer garden and event space that will be shared with neighboring LALA St. Pete, a restaurant and karaoke bar scheduled to open in late 2021.

• Who doesn't love dolphins? The Clearwater Marine Aquarium has a new 1.5-million-gallon dolphin habitat that showcases the aquarium's most celebrated residents, Winter and Hope and its newest high-profile resident. Hemingway, a 700-pound Atlantic bottlenose male dolphin.  And doubling down on its world-renowned efforts to save the Florida manatee, the aquarium has announced it will earmark $10 million to rebuild an existing exhibit into a rehabilitation and research habitat for the endangered mammals. 

• The 91-room Winter the Dolphin’s Beach Club Hotel, a five-story, marine-life themed property has debuted in Clearwater Beach near the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The property, part of Choice Hotels’ Ascend Collection, features two restaurants, an outdoor heated pool and a sundeck. Guests can rest easy at the eco-friendly, marine-themed hotel, which has banned single-use plastics and installed sea turtle–safe lighting as part of its sustainability initiatives. In partnership with the nearby Clearwater Marine Aquarium, the hotel charges a daily conservation fee of $9.95 per guest room to fund the rescue, rehabilitation and release of injured marine life.

• The 132-room Tru by Hilton St. Petersburg has opened in the Grand Central District, near Tropicana Field and the Dali Museum. The boutique property offers an outdoor terrace, a fitness center, complimentary WiFi and 500 square feet of meeting space. Enhanced cleaning and safety standards under Hilton’s new Event­Ready With CleanStay program give planners and attendees a safe event experience from start to finish.

• Southeast Florida’s newest waterfront attraction has opened in St. Petersburg. Located adjacent to the city’s vibrant downtown, the 26-acre St. Pete Pier and its impressive cultural and recreational offerings serve as a $92 million investment and major extension to the city’s burgeoning amenities. The wide-open space already hosts several public art installations from internationally renowned artists.

• A $44 million rapid transit project that will link downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach has taken another step forward. The newly dubbed "SunRunner" bus line will convey passengers via speedy signal-priority lanes, making the trip from the city’s downtown to its beaches in less than 35 minutes. Completion of the project is expected in 2022. 

• A revival of St. Pete Beach’s historic Don CeSar Hotel is more than two-thirds complete. Phase two of the refresh included updates to the lobby bar, meetings facilities, retail space, Uncle Andy’s Ice Cream Parlor and the award-wining Maritana restaurant. The National Historic Landmark property is now in its third and final phase of work, which is expected to finish in the fall, transforming the hotel’s 277 guest rooms, and revamping the Sea Porch Café and the Beachcomber Bar & Grill.

• St. Pete’s development review commission has green-lighted plans for a new $300 million mixed-use tower. Slated for a downtown 2.3-acre site with sweeping views of Tampa Bay, the project will include a 225-room, Marriott-branded hotel with a rooftop pool, casual dining and more than 15,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The 45-story skyscraper will also include 300 luxury condominiums plus 25,000 square feet of retail shopping and restaurants. Construction started in 2021. 

• A 161-room, Marriott-flagged Moxy Hotel, is coming to St. Pete’s burgeoning Edge District. Amenities will include a rooftop pool and bar, plus an outdoor wellness and meditation space. The property is scheduled to open in 2022.

• A 200-room Marriott Autograph Collection hotel is also being planned in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg. The 50-story mixed-used tower also calls for 325 condominiums, dining and retail space. At press time, details on other offerings — including meeting and event space — as well as a projected opening date have not yet been announced.

• North Clearwater Beach's Hotel Cabana is sporting a lavish new look following a total refresh and renovation. Accented by 29 Key West-inspired guest rooms and suites, property perks include a heated pool, complimentary Kahwa-branded coffee and WiFi, a landscaped courtyard, a sun deck and easy access to nearby restaurants, bars and beaches.

More Event Venues

Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement has debuted with nearly 2,000 works created between 1890 and 1930 in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.Founded and funded by local philanthropist and collector Rudy Ciccarello, the first-of-its-kind museum also showcases the Two Red Roses Foundation’s holdings — owned by Ciccarello and regarded as the most important private collection of its kind in the world — which includes furniture, pottery, tiles, metalwork, leaded glass, woodblock prints, paintings and photographs, some of which originated from Gustav Stickley, Tiffany Studios and Frank Lloyd Wright. The five-story building offers 40,000 square feet of gallery space, event space for private events, a restaurant and café, private dining rooms, a theater, a graphics studio and garden.

• The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg offers several event and meeting spaces, including a 250-guest ballroom and a 500-guest conservatory that overlooks Tampa Bay. 

• St. Pete’s famed Dali Museum features a collection of one of the world’s most celebrated surrealists, Salvador Dali. But mix in another Spanish master of the arts, and the experience becomes almost transformative. That’s the intent behind the museum’s next high-profile presentation, Picasso and the Allure of the South, which will appear Jan. 29-May 22, 2022. 

The James Museum features 30,000 square feet of gallery space housing an extensive collection of western and wildlife art from the private collection of Tom and Mary James, who invested nearly $50 million to create the museum. An extraordinary exhibit of Andy Warhol masterpieces is now on display at The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art. The venue offers 6,000 square feet of event space that can accommodate groups ranging from 20 to 750 guests. In addition, there is a 129-seat auditorium as well as a museum shop & cafe that can host gatherings.  

• Underscored by a nine-gallery, eye-candy collection of more than 500 pieces of American Studio Glass, the Imagine Museum accommodates private events for up to 150 people.

• The Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Pete accommodates groups and events in a 200-guest dining room and an intimate 30-guest meeting space. A critically acclaimed exhibit detailing Anne Frank’s tragic experiences is currently on display through January 2021.

• The St. Petersburg Museum of History offers an array of iconic exhibits, ranging from the world’s first commercial flight to the world’s largest collection of baseballs autographed by the game’s foremost names. The museum is nearing the completion of a three-phase, $7 million renovation and expansion project that will add 8,000 square feet of new space, including a new visitor’s center, a new rooftop terrace and a new exhibit gallery, that will showcase the history of the city and Florida.

• St. Pete's NOVA 535 is a meticulously renovated historic 1920 building with 7,000 square feet of event space, convenient interstate access, multiple full-service bars, VIP areas plus a private 4,000-square-foot brick and bamboo courtyard.

• Stay, meet and play at 362-room Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club. Located in the vibrant downtown district, guest perks include three restaurants, a spa, a health club, Ron Garl-designed golf and 60,500 square feet of total event space.

Things to Do in St. Pete/Clearwater

Getting Active & Outdoors

• Getting up close and personal with St. Pete’s resplendent marine life has never been more memorable since the recent launch of the M/V Discovery, a new eco-vessel owned and operated by the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center. Moored a short walk from the Discovery Center at the St. Pete Pier visitors’ dock,  45-foot catamaran books educational and environmental voyages that highlight the value, fragility and uniqueness of the Tampa Bay estuary. Activities include fisheries trawls, water-quality sampling, dolphin identification, bird spotting, and visits to seagrass beds and mangrove shorelines.

• A tropical oasis awaits in the heart of St. Petersburg. Growing in the 100-year-old Sunken Gardens are more than 50,000 tropical plants and flowers, and the park is home to flamingos and other bird species. 

• St. Peteis celebrated for its thriving arts community, including its vibrant area of outdoor murals.

• Just seven miles south of Clear­water is the Florida Botanical Gardens, the state’s largest. Among the areas are gardens for tropical fruit, succulents, palm trees and butterflies. 

• Why settle for pedestrian experiences when you can literally take your event to the clouds in a historic biplane originally owned by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst? BiPlane Rides offers Nikon-prompting, open-cockpit tours of downtown St. Pete, St. Pete Beach and a thrilling Ultimate Tour that features dazzling Egmont Key and more.

• Take a late-day stroll or jog along the waterfront park and Pier 60 at Clearwater Beach to catch the spectacular sunsets. Clearwater Beach is consistently ranked among the best beaches in the U.S. by TripAdvisor; it took the spot in their 2018 and 2019 annual rankings. Other noteworthy area beaches include Fort De Soto Park, Honeymoon Island, and Pass-a-Grille Beach 

• One of the best ways to experience the destination is to visit  one of the  scenic local parks. Two to check out: Weedon Island Preserve and Boca Ciega Millennium Park.

Extending Your Trip in St. Pete/Clearwater

St. Pete’s eclectic Grand Central District is an ultra-hip area that distinguishes downtown Central Avenue and neighboring streets with cafes and restaurants, breweries and bars, museums and art galleries, trendy stores and salons and more. Start at the epicenter — the 600 block of Central Avenue — and uncover a trove of independent treasures. Among them:

  • The Cider House Press Café, which specializes in award-winning vegan cuisine
  • Misred Outfitters, which headlines a stretch of irresistible, specialty-item boutiques
  • Salt-Light Art, handmade jewelry that anchors a slew of sophisticated shops known collectively as the Crislip Arcade
  • The Lure, a laid-back eatery famous for its exceptional sushi, tapas, tacos, flatbreads and medal-winning brews

Tarpon Springs is 30 north of Clearwater, but the experience feels like you've been transported to a coastal village in Greece. Head for riverfront Dodecanese Boulevard to shop for specialty gifts like natural sponges and olive oil soap. Then wander over to Tarpon Avenue, celebrated for its authentic Greek restaurants like Mama's Greek Cuisine (don't miss the live belly dancing show every Saturday night), Hellas, Parthenon and Mykonos.
 
• Take a tour on your own or with a guide of the more than 600 murals throughout St. Pete. Visitors. Travelers can use the the PixelStix app to read about each vibrant work of art.

Local Sports Scene

• The St. Pete/Clearwater area has been hosting Major League Baseball spring training since 1914, when the St. Louis Browns lost to the Chicago Cubs 3-2 at Coffee Pot Park. This generational tradition continues every season, beginning in February, with Grapefruit League matchups between 15 MLB teams including the Philadelphia Phillies, the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. The season runs from February through opening day of the regular season.  At press time, the 2021 schedule was posted; check the website for updates or changes due to the coronavirus.

•  St. Pete’s famed Firestone Grand Prix is scheduled to take place in March 5-7, 2021.

 

Best Breweries

In nearby Dunedin is Florida's oldest microbrewery, Dunedin Brewery, producer of the aromatic and scrumptious Apricot Peach Wheat Ale. Launched in 1996, the popular watering hole hosts group tours four days a week and headlines an anthology of 40 area craft breweries that collectively define the renowned St. Pete/Clearwater Craft Beer Trail. Among the breweries that can host large groups are Green Bench and Webb’s City Cellar and 3 Daughters.

Top Nine Restaurants in Clearwater

  1. Marina Cantina - Mexican
  2. Salty's Island Bar & Grille - American, Seafood
  3. Cristino's Coal Oven Pizza - Italian
  4. Rumba Island Bar & Grill - Caribbean 
  5. Sandbar Restaurant - American
  6. Wildflower Cafe - American
  7. Bait House - American
  8. Sea-Guini - Italian, Seafood
  9. Blinkers Beachside Steakhouse & Lounge - American Steakhouse

F&B Hotspots in St. Pete

New restaurants are all the rage in St. Pete, with locally owned concepts popping up at a dizzying pace. Following are three to try:

• The Brass Bowl Kitchen & Juicery: Eating healthy has never tasted so good. The Brass Bowl serves a chef-driven, fully organic menu featuring fresh gluten-free food bowls that burst with flavor.

• German Knodle: Open from breakfast to late night, the Knodle offers everything from bratwurst to paninis, but don’t leave without sampling one of its succulent knodles (small German dumplings).

• No Vacancy St. Pete: Once you check in, you might never want to check out of the retro Florida-themed No Vacancy. Its “everyday vacay” décor is a sweet complement to the dynamite tropical cocktails and island-style bites.