A slight shock to the system coming straight from snowshoeing in Utah to green and humid Kissimmee, near Orlando in Florida. There’s worse places to go to an internal audit conference than Florida, I grant you that. But what to expect of a hotel flamboyantly named The Gaylord Palms? It’s right up there with, maybe even surpasses our local drinking establishment BJs (which we’re so used to now, it barely raises a titter). I’m not sure you could get away with it in the UK, at least not with a straight face – maybe with a nod and a wink and a nudge nudge, know what I mean, say no more.

The Gaylord Palms hotel has a super sized biodome thing going on – picture a US version of the Eden project but with just one dome. 


 Think expansive landscaping, with theming ranging from the winding waterways and lush vegetation of the Everglades to the laid back Key West boardwalks.  Complete with floating yacht type restaurant.


 And get this – they even have alligators. In the hotel. Well, in this biodome of an atrium. Admittedly small ones, officially called hatchlings. And turtles.

And then into this setting, insert 1,200 internal auditors. Even the alligators were scared!