Top Venues for Meetings & Events in Sarasota County

Downtown Sarasota Hotels

In the vicinity of downtown Sarasota, seven properties, ranging from the 5-star, 276-room Ritz-Carlton Sarasota to the 89-room Sarasota Modern boutique hotel, are ready to host your meeting and your attendees.

The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota boasts approximately 60,000 sq. ft of indoor and outdoor event space, including a 12,000-sq.-ft. ballroom and a 26,000-sq.-ft. conference center. Fourteen event rooms and eight breakout rooms accommodate large conferences. Wow your guests with stunning Gulf and fairway views from the property’s outdoor spaces. The on-site spa is ideal for pre-gala preparation or as a reward for top-performing employees.

Overlooking downtown Sarasota and the Bay, the 255-room The Westin Sarasota offers more than 12,000 sq. ft. of event space, including seven event rooms and 12 breakout spaces. The Triton Ballroom, the largest event space, can hold up to 520 people. A spa and restaurants are also conveniently located in the hotel. 

For smaller conferences and corporate meetings, the Embassy Suites may be a perfect fit. It has 180 guest suites and five meeting rooms measuring a total of 3,646 sq. ft. The Ringling Ballroom hosts a maximum of 200 guests, while Snooty Boardroom’s intimate space accommodates up to 12 executives. The outdoor Pool Terrace can entertain up to 50 guests. 

Aloft Sarasota gives off a hip vibe on the edge of downtown Sarasota. Bring your company retreat or gather your remote team together here. The hotel’s three event rooms can host as many as 120 people, and an outdoor event space has fun photo opportunities. Plus, the indoor lounge area encourages bonding over the pool table and board games. 
Boutique hotel voco Sarasota welcomes petite retreats with 95 guest rooms and 1,166 sq. ft. of event space. The property has three venues that can hold from 10 to 50 people. 

Two unique, art-influenced hotels by Marriott, The Sarasota Modern and Art Ovation will inspire creativity. The Sarasota Modern, taking a cue from the midcentury style of the Sarasota School of Architecture, has 89 guest rooms and two indoor meeting rooms. The larger of the two can hold a maximum of 65 people. Both of the property’s outdoor spaces capitalize on the ideal Sarasota weather. Book the Secret Garden for intimate events and the Pool Deck, which has a capacity of 200, for receptions. The hotel also offers relaxing and playful amenities, such as yoga sessions and an outdoor deck outfitted with games. Art Ovation truly leans into its name, with rotating exhibits and art classes. It has 162 guest rooms and eight meeting rooms, totaling 25,105 sq. ft. The largest space can accommodate 500 people, and a rooftop event space looks out at Sarasota Bay and downtown.

Waterfront Resorts

If you want to incorporate Sarasota County’s waterfront allure into your event, look to our island resorts. 

The Resort at Longboat Key Club sits on 410 acres, including 300 feet of private beach. You’ll find 229 guest rooms and 12,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor event space for your conference needs. Or plan a team-building experience with the help of the resort staff. They can arrange a round of golf, wellness workshops and other invigorating programs.  
 

One of Sarasota County’s newest properties, the 168-room The St. Regis Longboat Key offers over 30,000 sq. ft. of event space, with more than half of it outdoors facing the beach. Designed with an elegant nod to the area’s circus heritage, the Gulf-front Astor Ballroom measures 8,000 sq. ft. and is one of 10 indoor meeting spaces. Outdoors, the Great Lawn can host up to 750 guests. When not in meetings, your attendees can enjoy the property’s spa, winding river and swimming pool. 

Lido Beach Resort’s versatile event spaces, totaling 6,000 sq. ft., give meeting planners a variety of options, from a theater-style meeting in the 3,000 sq. ft. ballroom to a banquet in the Sunset Sand Garden. The resort also has 222 guest rooms and suites, five breakout spaces, a private beach and Gulf-facing swimming pools.

Off-site Venues

A change of scenery can add excitement to your meeting or convention. Celebrate the end of your event, honor top employees with an awards ceremony, or hold a smaller luncheon or dinner for top executives at an off-site venue. 

The Ora, located just 10 minutes from downtown Sarasota, contains five meeting spaces, from the 1,100- sq.-ft. Gallery to the 9,500-sq.-ft. ballroom. An outdoor terrace can be booked on its own or with another meeting space. Catering is provided exclusively by the team behind 

Michael’s on East, one of the city’s most beloved restaurants. Michael’s on East has its own spaces available for rent. Book a private dining room that holds 40 people or rent out the entire 125-seat restaurant for lunch any day or dinner on Sunday and Monday nights. For larger events, restaurant’s adjacent ballroom has capacity for 425 seated attendees and 1,000 for a reception. An attached atrium is perfect for pre-event cocktails and photos. Michael’s Wine Cellar, evokes the cool, industrial vibe of a Soho loft, and has room for up to 100 seated guests and 250 standing guests.
 

One of Sarasota’s iconic destinations can also be a venue for your meeting or event. The Ringling, dating back to the 1920s, is a waterfront campus comprised of a historic home, art galleries, a circus museum, and a large courtyard. You can rent two outdoor spaces, the multilevel, statuary-adorned Museum of Art Courtyard and the Bolger Campiello at Ca’ d’Zan, the Ringlings’ 1926 waterfront mansion. Inside the Museum of Art, the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation Lecture Hall can host theater-style meetings and events.
 

The newest space in Sarasota County, Mote Science Education Aquarium (SEA) has several unique venues, most with special marine-life guests included. The Exploration Hall’s 10,000-sq.-ft. space boasts a 400,000-gallon aquarium featuring everything from graceful stingrays to majestic sharks and colorful tropical fish. It can accommodate 900 people in a theater-style configuration and 500 people for a seated dinner, and the Seagrass Point event lawn just outside offers a serene pre-event space. Back inside Mote SEA, three levels of Aquarium Galleries hold between 150 and 175 people. Each has a different theme and related animals in the oversized aquariums. The Florida Waters Gallery, for example, has manatees, otters, and turtles. The 4,400-sq.-ft. third-floor Quarterdeck is partially indoors and partially outdoors, with views of the Sarasota skyline and the neighboring Nathan Benderson Park rowing facility.
 

Whatever type of event you’re planning, you’ll find a perfect venue – or two! – here in Sarasota County.