Here's a look at new Orlando/Central Florida eateries, drinking spots, hotels, conference areas, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this winter. The new and renovated venues are available for corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, and more.
In late May, two new venues opened in Orlando’s Ivanhoe Village neighborhood. M Lounge is an upscale 10,000-square-foot rooftop space with views of downtown Orlando. For a buyout, it accommodates 320 people. Smaller groups can reserve a section in the back for as many as 120 people. On the building’s first floor is M Bar, a more casual space with more than 60 classic cars on display, arcade games, and exposed brick walls. M Bar can hold 230 people for a buyout. M Lounge is open Wednesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. M Bar is open Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Topgolf opened its third Florida location October 20 across from the Orange County Convention Center. The 65,000-square-foot venue has three levels each with 34 high-tech, six-person golf bays. For buyouts, the facility can hold as many as 1,500 people. Private spaces include a rooftop terrace for 178 people, the Chairman’s Suite for 70 people, and the 3,000-square-foot Signature Room for as many as 200 people. The facility has a full-service restaurant and bar that provides catering for events, and golf instruction is also available. The venue’s event staff can also provide live bands, DJs, photo booths, and more. Topgolf Orlando opens daily at 9 a.m. and closes at midnight Sunday through Thursday and at 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The former Fiat dealership in downtown Orlando is now Orange County Brewers. The brightly colored, 3,400-square-foot space has seating for 70 people inside and 40 outside. The venue also holds 135 people for a reception. Led by head brewer Amanda Roberts, Orange County Brewers produces a variety of beers, including ales, lagers, pilsners, stouts, IPAs, and more. It also has a full-service craft pizza kitchen with a wood-burning oven that serves pizza, wings, salads, and sandwiches. Roberts offers tours and educational activities for private groups. Orange County Brewers opened August 24; service begins daily at 11:30 a.m.
This month the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld opens its new Palms Conference Center and Palm Promenade outdoor space, creating nearly 100,000 square feet of multipurpose event space at the hotel. The largest space in the new facility is a nearly 20,000-square-foot ballroom that seats 1,450 at round tables or holds nearly 2,000 people for a reception. There are also two smaller ballrooms of 10,000 and 3,200 square feet. The new 24,000-square-foot event lawn holds 2,300 people for a reception or it can be divided into four distinct spaces for smaller events, including one section that is covered. In addition to the new venues, the renovation project included updates to the existing event space and to the hotel’s more than 1,000 guest rooms.
International Drive has a new hotel that’s just a few miles from the Orange County Convention Center. The Holiday Inn Express and Suites Orlando at SeaWorld opened September 28. The hotel has 181 rooms across six floors. A 1,740-square-foot meeting room accommodates 165 people for a reception or seats 72 at round tables, and audiovisual equipment is available. The hotel also has a business center, zero-entry outdoor pool, fitness center, and complimentary shuttle to nearby parks.
South Florida’s American Social Bar & Kitchen has expanded to Tampa with an October 30 opening on Harbour Island. The 12,000-square-foot restaurant seats 450 people, with about 250 of those seats inside and the rest outside overlooking the water. For a buyout, the venue holds about 800 people and there is a private dining room for as many as 24 people. Management describes the menu as “American comfort food” with everything made in-house. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily and brunch on weekends.
In August, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort completed construction of a new 2,800-square-foot meeting space called the Lake View Room. The new venue is located on the Swan side of the resort and has floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the resort’s private lake and the Dolphin section. The room is divided into two spaces connected by doors. The larger side holds 277 people for a reception and the smaller side holds 119. The new space is part of the resort’s multi-year $140 million redesign project that included updates to all of the resort’s existing 332,000 square feet of meeting space
BaseLine Tap House is a new drinking and dining outlet in Disney’s Hollywood Studios park. The venue has the feel of a neighborhood pub with exposed brick walls and wood accents. It holds 60 people inside and 100 on a patio, where bright red-and-orange umbrellas and large trees offer shade and fans provide additional cooling. The extensive beverage menu is focused on beer and wines from California and the small food menu offers spiced almonds, a charcuterie board, and a Bavarian pretzel with mustard and beer-cheese fondue. BaseLine Tap House opened September 29.
Bocas Grill opened September 7 just off Restaurant Row on Sand Lake Road. The restaurant is the first Central Florida location for the casual South Florida-based chain that serves Venezuelan and Peruvian cuisine such as arepas and croquetas along with gourmet burgers and massive milkshakes. The 2,200-square-foot restaurant has seating for 78 inside and 40 on a covered patio and is available for buyout. Groups can also arrange catering for breakfast, lunch, and dinner events. The restaurant opens at 8 a.m. daily and closes at 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights.
By the end of this year, Rosen Centre will complete renovations on all of its 1,334 guestrooms. Every room is getting a new gray and teal color palette, modern furniture and décor, and tech-friendly amenities such as a multi-outlet connectivity bar. The hotel, which is connected to the Orange County Convention Center via a covered walkway, has 150,000 square feet of meeting space and nine dining outlets.
