Macaroon-making, rooftop cocktails and sailing on Sydney Harbour were just some of the authentic local experiences enjoyed by Melbourne-based professional conference organisers (PCOs) during a recent famil with InterContinental Sydney.

Following the launch of its InterContinental Meetings events program last year, InterContinental Sydney flew a group of PCOs from Melbourne to Sydney with Virgin Australia to experience its Insider Collection of local venues, experiences and services designed to connect delegates with the destination.

A key highlight of the famil was a behind-the-scenes tour of the hotel’s kitchens and a private macaroon cooking class (pictured), lead by InterContinental Sydney executive chef Tamas Pamer and new executive pastry chef, Dhammika Hettiarachchi.

Making macaroons in InterContinental Sydney pastry kitchen; Emma Morris and Emily Friend.

Other memorable moments included twilight cocktails in the exclusive Club InterContinental rooftop lounge, a five-course degustation dinner in the hotel’s Harbour Room overlooking the Botanic Gardens, a gourmet food and coffee tour around Sydney’s Inner West, a sailing regatta on Sydney Harbour and a three-course dinner with matching wines at Justin North’s Etch.

InterContinental Sydney also showcased its in-house broadcast centre, the only Sydney-hotel based facility of its kind. It linked the group to InterContinental Park Lane London and a studio in New York via live satellite feed – a technology which PCOs can incorporate into their events and conferences.

A signature program of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts worldwide, InterContinental Meetings provides event planners with inspiring ideas for bringing professional interactions to life, while making their job easier with new web-based tools and services such as virtual tours, interactive floor plans and e-Proposals. For more information on InterContinental Meetings, visit www.intercontinental.com/meetings.