Usually I don’t blog much about the work conferences I attend, but the resort/convention center that I stayed at this week was just too good not to post about! I mean there were alligators and a boat restaurant inside the hotel – definitely blogworthy, no?
Kind of reminds me an elaborate hotel you’d find in Las Vegas, but the Gaylord Palms is actually located in sunny Orlando, FL. They bring Gatorland to a whole new level!
The boat restaurant was awesome looking. We didn’t end up eating there, but I had to take a photo of it.
And the rooms weren’t too shabby either…
I spy at least 5 bags in this photo… you can call me the bag lady. I don’t mind.
Definitely nice accommodations, although the room decor was a little “dark” for my tastes. I like brown and all but the room was in need of a little color.
Once our team arrived we all went to one of on-site restaurants, Cantina Del Sol, for lunch. Inspired by my friend RVAfoodie’s recent post about fish tacos, I thought I’d try them for the first time.
Sadly, they were just okay. The fish was a over cooked making it a dry and tough (pet peeve), but the coleslaw and strawberry salsa were tasty and I was hungry, so both tacos were eaten!
We attended the evening reception in the exhibit hall and then moved on to the Dessert Martini Party that we hosted. The photo is of me and my boss after we set everything up!!
The party was a huge success!! Originally we expected to have around 25-30 people attend but we ended up with over 170 guests!! I guess the s’mores martinis had more of draw than we thought they would. Luckily the room we reserved was large enough to accommodate the extra party goers. It was fun hanging out and getting to chat with our customers in a relaxed environment.
And P.S.- out of the dessert martinis served (espresso, banana split, B-52, and s’mores) the smores with Baily’s, Kahlua, vodka, and cream was the guest favorite. I didn’t order one, but had a sip of someone’s and it was phenomenal. Definitely a good one to recreate at home if you like sweet drinks.
After a late night dinner, we all crashed and woke up early for our first full day at the exhibit hall. Breakfast was definitely needed to get our bodies ready for a long day of standing.
I went with Special K cereal (topped with a spoonful of granola) and some fruit.
Then hung out by the kid’s pool while sipping some ginger peach tea until the exhibit hall opened.
How cool is this octopus sprinkler with slides?
A kid’s dream land!
Here’s our booth – equipped with a videographer for a new video campaign we are doing.
Lunch was served for the exhibitors and I have to admit that this show had some of the best work conference food I’ve ever had! They had lots of veggie options and everything tasted decent. Success!
The exhibit hall closed at 2 and those of us that were coming home early had a bit of time to hang out before catching our flight. I really wanted to get some pool time in, but unfortunately a storm was brewing when I went to the (adult) pool so it was closed. :/
So we did the next best thing and did a hotel scavenger hunt. I’m pretty sure it was designed for kids but we had fun finding all the mini guitars hidden around the hotel and they weren’t super easy so it kept us moving and searching.
Twas a fun way to explore the hotel.
Definitely one of the nicest hotels I’ve stayed at! Now I want to go back strictly for vacation so I can enjoy the pools, hot tubs, and awesome fitness center (which I did get to visit once) a bit more. 
Currently, I’m on the plane flying back home! It was a quick but successful trip- both the events that the marketing team played a big part of turned out to be quite successful! It’s always great to have an event you’ve been planning for several months come to fruition!
Do you travel for work? Do you like it? I like traveling for business purposes but the conferences we attend can be hard work! Also, it’s sad because I don’t really get to explore the cities I visit because I’m too busy with work related stuff. Although, I have been able to extend work trips and stay with friends for the weekend a couple times! I love it when that happens.
-Brittany
Brittany Mullins, HHC
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
i get to travel a lot for work – it’s a blast!!!
What a lovely hotel! I love traveling but I also hate it…especially when it is hard to find good food. It seems like you had some decent choices…I always end up bringing lots of bars when I’m on the road (and I always try to find the local Whole Foods)
your living in the lap of luxury right now my dear! and look pretty as ever! <3
xoxo
I don’t travel for work, but sometimes I wish I did. I’d love to stay in some nice places!
Such a great trip! My husband travels for work and I get to go sometimes (when he goes to fun places like NYC, Phoenix etc.). I was a third grade teacher so I obviously never traveled. Now I am a stay at home mom and working on being a personal chef – no work travel in my future!
Have a great day!
What a great business trip. I don’t get to travel too much with my job but my hubby does. If he goes anywhere fantastic, I always find a way to go with him. Last year, it was California. He is on the list for Hawaii but that may be many years!
Glad you had a wonderful trip.
what a fun vacation/ I mean job you have!!! Looks like you had a great time! Looking forward to grabbing that drink with ya when you get back!
a tradeshow! what field are you in? i attend trade shows for the pharma industry, and this reminded me so much of it haha! i went to monaco in march which was FANTASTIC, but, like you said, i didnt really get to see much of the gorgeous country! then we went to DC in june. the shows are always exhausting, so after dinner it’s usually time to head to bed
s’mores martinis sound yummy 
Wish I traveled for work more often! Looks like you had a great time
And I don’t normally drink martinis but… those you mentioned sound ahhmazing!
I used to travel alot more for work than I do now but I’m okay with that! A few years back our company had a big divestiture that I was a part of and we got to take the corporate jet on our business trips — now that’s what I’m talking about! Makes flying commercial such a pain in the you-know-what after that haha
Almostttt Fridayyyy!!
I would love to travel for work. I have gone to a few events and conferences for work and I LOVED IT! I think it would be hard for me to find a good way to have a healthy balanced diet and get my workouts in.
Ahhh… I’m so sorry I didn’t get to see you
I ended up staying late at the office anyways. Next time com to orlando for vacation and I will show you around!
I’ve only been to Gaylord Palms Once for the exhibit ICE they do every year. That place is HUGE!
http://graduatemeghann.com/2009/12/18/ice/
Very nice post Brittany. I enjoyed seeing pics of all the things I hear about. The booth looks fantastic. Glad it was a success!!!
Wow – looks super nice! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
wow that looks awesome!! I hope you enjoyed yourself!!!
Impressive lunch, indeed! looks delicious.
YAY for Gaylord Hotel, we have been there a few times and loved it. It is a great hotel and conference center. Glad you had a great time.
That sounds awesome! I really hope to be traveling internationally for my job (I am in International Development) but if there is one thing about traveling on business, its that the amusement can wear off! I hope that I can get a job where I have a little flexibility to explore the places I am working in and not just sit at an office…
I have similar feelings to you when it comes to traveling for business. I like seeing different places, but at the same time I hardly get to SEE them because like you, I’m usually working hard and in meetings. However, whenever I can tack on a little bit of fun I love it. I will also say though that now that I have a dog I enjoy traveling a little less because I hate being away from him.
I have similar feelings to you when it comes to traveling for business. I like seeing different places, but at the same time I hardly get to SEE them because like you, I’m usually working hard and in meetings. However, whenever I can tack on a little bit of fun I love it. I will also say though that now that I have a dog I enjoy traveling a little less because I hate being away from him.
That place looks AWESOME. I want to play in the Octopus playground!
I’ve seen this hotel so many times but I’ve never actually been here – it looks like a lot of fun though! The scavenger hunt is such a cute idea.
I just got to go on my first work trip last month; I LOVED it! I love hotels to begin with, so staying at a Hilton in a major city on my company’s tab was absolutely awesome!
I don’t travel for my job but I would love a jobthat involved traveling! I think it would make life a little more interesting.
That hotel is so worth blogging about!
I’ve really only traveled twice for work and the first time was sooo cool b/c it was in Montreal. I wish I was blogging then, but it was actually the month before I started so I don’t have any real photographed memories since I’ve never been much of a photographer (term used loosely) until now.