Black Meetings & Tourism - The Renaissance Resort At World Golf Village Resort And Convention Center In Jacksonville/St. Augustine, FL Adds New Board Room

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The Renaissance Resort At World Golf Village Resort And Convention Center In Jacksonville/St. Augustine, FL Adds New Board Room To Meeting Offerings
AAA Four-Diamond Resort Also is Nearing Completion of a Major Renovation/Expansion of its Outdoor Event Space & Recently Added a UPS Store, New Coffee Shop & Destination Services Department The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center in Jacksonville/St. Augustine, Florida has added an additional board room to its meeting offerings. The new 450-sq. ft. Masters Board Room features an impressive sound system and advanced technology, and can accommodate up to 20 people conference-style. The AAA Four-Diamond resort also features the 515-sq. ft. Royal Melbourne Board Room, in addition to its 26,450-sq. ft. St. Augustine Ballroom, 6,845-sq. ft. Legends Ballroom, and other meeting rooms. Together with the adjacent World Golf Hall of Fame, the resort is the largest combination hotel and convention center between Atlanta and Orlando. The resort just completed a dramatic renovation and expansion of its outdoor patio area, which now is able to accommodate groups of over 500 guests. With the completion this project in August, the resort will have added 15,000 sq. ft. of new function space, bringing the resort’s offerings to 101,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space. The new outdoor function space was named La Terrazza. To coincide with the enhanced meeting and event space offerings, the resort has unveiled its new Intriguing Meetings program. Designed to provide distinctive and inspired programs for groups, the resort’s Intriguing Meetings program includes unique and intriguing tablescaping in the meeting rooms that are designed to be visually appealing and to inspire creativity. Additionally, the program features R Meeting Experts who are ambassadors dedicated to catering to planners’ needs and to ensuring an exceptional program. These new offerings follow other recent enhancements at the 301-room resort. The resort recently opened a new The UPS Store and Business Center, designed as a “one-stop shop” to assist groups meeting at the resort. The new store provides such services as professional printing and binding, packing and shipping, and computer rental with Wi-Fi and internet, and also offers an assortment of office supplies. Additionally -- and of great appeal to meeting professionals, conference exhibitors, and business travelers -- the new store enables you to ship large displays, heavy boxes and/or luggage to the store to await your arrival, and then be shipped back, without the stress of having to lug the cumbersome baggage or displays across the country. The resort also opened a new coffee shop in August 2011 named Caffeina’s Marketplace, which serves Starbuck’s Coffee and an assortment of pastries and breakfast fare. This new café is in addition to the resort’s existing 500 South Restaurant & Lounge, which is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, the resort recently added a new destination services and event planning department, which is under the direction of the newly-appointed Director of Catering Sales & Destination Services Kristin Thompson. Also, the resort launched its innovative White Glove Meetings Services which includes complimentary White Glove transportation to and from Jacksonville International Airport in its own passenger vans for new group business booked in 2011 and beyond. To qualify for the complimentary airport transportation a group is required to contract for a minimum of 50 rooms per night for 2 nights and 2 banquet meals daily. The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort also is now offering a complimentary shuttle for individual guests (based on availability) to and from historic downtown St. Augustine. This new service enables guests to easily visit such sites in St. Augustine, which was founded in 1565, as the historic Castillo de San Marcos fort, The Fountain of Youth, and shopping on the charming, brick-paved St. George Street. Additional options in downtown St. Augustine include the Old Town Trolley Tour, The Old Jail, The St. Augustine History Museum, The Spanish Quarter, The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Whetstone’s Chocolate Factory, Lightner Museum, Flagler College, and a variety of water activities. “We continue to enhance our already-designated AAA Four-Diamond resort to best accommodate the many needs of all of our groups and guests,” said Jeffrey Oliasami, general manager of the resort. “We look for ways to enhance the experience of our groups, planners, and guests, and then find a way to make it happen.” Oliasami continued, “That is one of the reasons we introduced the innovative White Glove Meetings program, as it impacts everything we do – not only the services we offer, but the way we provide them. Any of our competitors can stage a Florida meeting, but none can offer the extraordinary meeting space, transportation services, group amenities, and impeccable attention to detail that a group will find at The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort.” Located within the lush 6,300-acre World Golf Village, The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center is the only Northeast Florida resort and convention center to receive the prestigious AAA Four Diamond rating, which is an honor achieved by less than 4% of the AAA approved properties. Additional awards recently bestowed on the resort include Successful Meetings magazine’s acclaimed “Pinnacle Award.” Featuring a picturesque setting overlooking a lake, the resort completed a $10 million resort-wide renovation in 2008, which included the complete remodeling of guest rooms and suites, a dramatically-renovated lobby, newly-remodeled guest room corridors, an expanded fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment, enhanced meeting space, and the opening of 500 South Restaurant & Bar. As part of the renovation guest rooms and suites received new furniture, soft goods, window treatments, lighting, 37” flat-panel screen LCD HDTV televisions, and the Marriott JackPack, which provides complete connectivity to the guests for laptops, MP3 players, digital cameras, and video game players. The rooms and suites feature a contemporary design with an Asian feel, which includes rich red bed coverings, crisp white linens, along with a color scheme of warm neutral gold. In-room offerings also include high-speed Internet access, two telephones with data ports, a wet bar and refrigerator, an in-room safe, and in-room coffee. The resort also boasts a dramatically remodeled nine-story atrium lobby, featuring a Colonial/Asian theme with lush foliage and a colorful 7-story modern hanging sculpture. Recreational offerings at the resort include two championship golf courses: the popular Slammer & Squire (just steps from The Renaissance Resort), and the renowned King & Bear (co-designed by Arnold “The King” Palmer and Jack “The Bear” Nicklaus). Guests also have access to four additional golf courses within 15 minutes of the resort, for a total of 108 holes of golf. Additional offerings at the resort include a sauna, pool, hot tub, and full-service concierge. Guests also are an easy walk to The World Golf Hall of Fame’s 18-hole real grass putting course, a 132-yard Island Challenge Hole, an IMAX® 3D Theater, and the Walk of Champions. In addition, guests can take golf lessons at the renowned PGA TOUR Golf Academy. When visiting the resort, guests and groups have the opportunity to visit nearby pristine Atlantic beaches, take fun eco-tours and chartered fishing trips, enjoy exceptional shopping at two large outlet malls, and explore historic St. Augustine. For information on The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center, call (888) 740-7020 or (904) 940-8000, and visit www.WorldGolfRenaissance.com.

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The Renaissance Resort At World Golf Village Resort And Convention Center In Jacksonville/St. Augustine, FL Adds New Board Room To Meeting Offerings

AAA Four-Diamond Resort Also is Nearing Completion of a Major Renovation/Expansion of its Outdoor Event Space & Recently Added a UPS Store, New Coffee Shop &
Destination Services Department

The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center in Jacksonville/St. Augustine, Florida has added an additional board room to its meeting offerings. The new 450-sq. ft. Masters Board Room features an impressive sound system and advanced technology, and can accommodate up to 20 people conference-style. The AAA Four-Diamond resort also features the 515-sq. ft. Royal Melbourne Board Room, in addition to its 26,450-sq. ft. St. Augustine Ballroom, 6,845-sq. ft. Legends Ballroom, and other meeting rooms. Together with the adjacent World Golf Hall of Fame, the resort is the largest combination hotel and convention center between Atlanta and Orlando.

The resort just completed a dramatic renovation and expansion of its outdoor patio area, which now is able to accommodate groups of over 500 guests. With the completion this project in August, the resort will have added 15,000 sq. ft. of new function space, bringing the resort’s offerings to 101,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space. The new outdoor function space was named La Terrazza.

To coincide with the enhanced meeting and event space offerings, the resort has unveiled its new Intriguing Meetings program. Designed to provide distinctive and inspired programs for groups, the resort’s Intriguing Meetings program includes unique and intriguing tablescaping in the meeting rooms that are designed to be visually appealing and to inspire creativity. Additionally, the program features R Meeting Experts who are ambassadors dedicated to catering to planners’ needs and to ensuring an exceptional program.

These new offerings follow other recent enhancements at the 301-room resort. The resort recently opened a new The UPS Store and Business Center, designed as a “one-stop shop” to assist groups meeting at the resort. The new store provides such services as professional printing and binding, packing and shipping, and computer rental with Wi-Fi and internet, and also offers an assortment of office supplies. Additionally -- and of great appeal to meeting professionals, conference exhibitors, and business travelers -- the new store enables you to ship large displays, heavy boxes and/or luggage to the store to await your arrival, and then be shipped back, without the stress of having to lug the cumbersome baggage or displays across the country.

The resort also opened a new coffee shop in August 2011 named Caffeina’s Marketplace, which serves Starbuck’s Coffee and an assortment of pastries and breakfast fare. This new café is in addition to the resort’s existing 500 South Restaurant & Lounge, which is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, the resort recently added a new destination services and event planning department, which is under the direction of the newly-appointed Director of Catering Sales & Destination Services Kristin Thompson.

Also, the resort launched its innovative White Glove Meetings Services which includes complimentary White Glove transportation to and from Jacksonville International Airport in its own passenger vans for new group business booked in 2011 and beyond. To qualify for the complimentary airport transportation a group is required to contract for a minimum of 50 rooms per night for 2 nights and 2 banquet meals daily.

The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort also is now offering a complimentary shuttle for individual guests (based on availability) to and from historic downtown St. Augustine. This new service enables guests to easily visit such sites in St. Augustine, which was founded in 1565, as the historic Castillo de San Marcos fort, The Fountain of Youth, and shopping on the charming, brick-paved St. George Street. Additional options in downtown St. Augustine include the Old Town Trolley Tour, The Old Jail, The St. Augustine History Museum, The Spanish Quarter, The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Whetstone’s Chocolate Factory, Lightner Museum, Flagler College, and a variety of water activities.

“We continue to enhance our already-designated AAA Four-Diamond resort to best accommodate the many needs of all of our groups and guests,” said Jeffrey Oliasami, general manager of the resort. “We look for ways to enhance the experience of our groups, planners, and guests, and then find a way to make it happen.”

Oliasami continued, “That is one of the reasons we introduced the innovative White Glove Meetings program, as it impacts everything we do – not only the services we offer, but the way we provide them. Any of our competitors can stage a Florida meeting, but none can offer the extraordinary meeting space, transportation services, group amenities, and impeccable attention to detail that a group will find at The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort.”

Located within the lush 6,300-acre World Golf Village, The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center is the only Northeast Florida resort and convention center to receive the prestigious AAA Four Diamond rating, which is an honor achieved by less than 4% of the AAA approved properties. Additional awards recently bestowed on the resort include Successful Meetings magazine’s acclaimed “Pinnacle Award.”

Featuring a picturesque setting overlooking a lake, the resort completed a $10 million resort-wide renovation in 2008, which included the complete remodeling of guest rooms and suites, a dramatically-renovated lobby, newly-remodeled guest room corridors, an expanded fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment, enhanced meeting space, and the opening of 500 South Restaurant & Bar.
As part of the renovation guest rooms and suites received new furniture, soft goods, window treatments, lighting, 37” flat-panel screen LCD HDTV televisions, and the Marriott JackPack, which provides complete connectivity to the guests for laptops, MP3 players, digital cameras, and video game players. The rooms and suites feature a contemporary design with an Asian feel, which includes rich red bed coverings, crisp white linens, along with a color scheme of warm neutral gold. In-room offerings also include high-speed Internet access, two telephones with data ports, a wet bar and refrigerator, an in-room safe, and in-room coffee.

The resort also boasts a dramatically remodeled nine-story atrium lobby, featuring a Colonial/Asian theme with lush foliage and a colorful 7-story modern hanging sculpture. Recreational offerings at the resort include two championship golf courses: the popular Slammer & Squire (just steps from The Renaissance Resort), and the renowned King & Bear (co-designed by Arnold “The King” Palmer and Jack “The Bear” Nicklaus). Guests also have access to four additional golf courses within 15 minutes of the resort, for a total of 108 holes of golf. Additional offerings at the resort include a sauna, pool, hot tub, and full-service concierge.

Guests also are an easy walk to The World Golf Hall of Fame’s 18-hole real grass putting course, a 132-yard Island Challenge Hole, an IMAX® 3D Theater, and the Walk of Champions. In addition, guests can take golf lessons at the renowned PGA TOUR Golf Academy. When visiting the resort, guests and groups have the opportunity to visit nearby pristine Atlantic beaches, take fun eco-tours and chartered fishing trips, enjoy exceptional shopping at two large outlet malls, and explore historic St. Augustine. For information on The Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center, call (888) 740-7020 or (904) 940-8000, and visit www.WorldGolfRenaissance.com.