Venue


Marco Island Marriott

400 S. Collier Blvd
Marco Island, FL 34145
Hotel Web site

Need a room? To check room availability at the Marco Island Marriott, call them direct at 1-800-438-4373 and mention the SIM group.

Parking Fees at Marriott Marco Island
If you plan on parking at the hotel, please note there is a parking fee of $20 USD per day for Valet parking. The fee is $12.00 USD per day for Self parking.

Ft. Myers International Airport/Ground Transportation

www.flylcpa.com
For round trip ground transportation from Ft. Myers Airport to the Marriott Marco Island, contact Nancy Gorell in the Meeting Department at SIM for further details.

Suggested Tour: Shelling & Sailing

While in Florida, why not embark on an memory-making trip aboard a catamaran? You will likely see bottle nose Dolphins, Sea Turtles and Manatees as you sail to a remote sandbar or barrier island, where you can gather seashells. Reservations recommended. Family discounts available. Learn more about the Marriott Sailing & Shelling Tour.

About Marriott Marco Island

The Marriott Marco Island Resort Golf Club and Spa allows you to kick off your shoes and explore paradise, now celebrating the completion of a $225 million renovation and redesign. This one-of-a-kind, acclaimed resort was recently voted onto the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Top 100 list of large resorts on the U.S. mainland and onto the list of top 20 Florida Golf Resorts.

Nestled on three miles of pristine Southwest Florida beaches, the Marco Island Marriott features a lavish spa with Balinese-influenced treatments, a private champion- ship golf course, spacious accommodations with premier amenities, technology upgrades, and views of the Florida Gulf Coast. This Marco Island resort's amenities provide guests with an idyllic retreat just miles from Naples and Fort Myers. Nearby, guests can enjoy exciting water sports, parasailing, shelling cruises, and sightseeing adventures. Afterward, you can return to our Marco Island & Naples Beach resort, to enjoy a soothing massage, cocktails or one of our eight unique and outstanding restaurants. RAFT attendees receive complimentary internet access in sleeping rooms.

Marco Island and surrounding area

A sun-drenched jewel on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, Marco Island features six miles of beach and over 100 miles of waterways within its 24 square miles. Marco Island is the largest Barrier Island within Southwest Florida's Ten Thousand Islands area extending from Marco Island to Cape Sable. It lies within the subtropical to tropical climate zone and experiences a distinct wet and dry season with most of the rainfall occurring between the months of June and October. With a permanent population of 15,000 and a peak winter season population of 35,000, Marco Island's residents and visitors alike call this special island "paradise."

The City of Marco Island is well known for its high quality of life, natural resources, casual atmosphere, and friendly people.

History

Long before tourists roamed the island, the Calusa Indians, a society of fishermen and woodworkers, estab- lished a highly developed culture. The Calusas, assumed to be descendants of the Maya Indians, may have come to the island as early as 500 or 1000 AD, but by 1750 Spanish explorers bringing disease had wiped them out.

The famous expedition of 1896 by Smithsonian archeologist Frank Hamilton Cushing uncovered hundreds of Calusa artifacts, including the Key Marco Cat, which is currently housed in the Smithsonian, but the Marco Island Historical Society is fighting to bring it back to the Key Marco Museum.

In 1965 Marco Island was ready for its close up, and over 25,000 people came in January of that year to test the warm waters. It was a hit, and visitors have kept com- ing ever since. Today, a more traffic-friendly bridge has replaced the old wooden hand-operated bridge that had been the only way to reach the island.