Panama City Beach
Top Spring Break Spot in Florida
The waves lapped the beach and the sun went down over the Gulf of Mexico as Kenny Chesney sang "On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful" from Spinnaker's Club in Panama City Beach, Florida. The fitting tribute to the personal spring break destination of the country star capped a March 2008 week in the most popular college hot spot in the United States, and perhaps only second to Cancun, Mexico, in the western hemisphere.
The Summit Condominiums
Flourishing as a beachfront destination since the mid-1990s, when it replaced Daytona Beach as Florida's premier spring break locale, Panama City Beach is the vacation destination of tens of thousands of spring breakers every March. The most popular hotel on the beach, The Summit Condominiums, lies situated in the middle of a twenty mile stretch of beaches.
Filled with 15 floors of spring breakers, over 3,000 per week, The Summit is located next door to both of the huge mega-clubs of Panama City Beach. Spinnaker's, the bar and outdoor concert destination, offers a wide menu and multiple decks and bars, accomodating over 2,000 partiers every night. Next door, Club La Vela, the largest club in the southern United States, offers an indoor party experience of flashing lights and dance music.
Celebrities and Concerts
On the beach in front of The Summit, along the shore from other top hotel destinations, is the stage set up by MTV and MTvU since 2004. The stage features MTV hosts, kinky contests, concerts, and celebrities. Among the celebrities present in 2008 were various Real World/Road Rules cast members, and countless performers and DJs.
Popular concerts in 2006 and 2007 included Lupe Fiasco, the Ying Yang Twins, Paramore, Fergie, and Flo-Rida. These concerts are set up by MTV and are performed free on the beach, just steps from the Gulf of Mexico. Other popular performers and celbrities in Panama City Beach have included Hulk Hogan and Brooke Hogan in 2008, who hosted Hammerhead Fred's popular weekly foam party. Featuring waist-high foam shooting from ceiling vents and a pina colada aroma, the foam parties of Hammerhead Fred's are a highlight each week for the incoming breakers.
Party Atmosphere
Filled with 20-something students from the beginning of March until the middle of April, Panama City Beach vacations are offered through such organizations as StudentBreaks.com. The Panama City Beach experience, a college break in 75 degree sun, ranges from bathing suit-clad foam parties to late-night 4 a.m. night cappers, as PCB and The Summit offer party opportunities for most students, and things to do for most vacationers.
Panama City Beach
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