Financing a college education can be immensely challenging. Endowing scholarships for worthy students is commendable. Did you know a Florida hotel exists for that purpose?
You can enjoy a stay at one of Florida’s finest inns, and know that your spending could help educate future scientists, economists, and writers.
The Alfond Inn in Winter Park near Orlando opened in 2013 with a $12.5 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation. Nearby Rollins College owns the hotel. Profits from the inn fund financial aid for some of the 3,000 students who attend Rollins. This arrangement, while unusual, tends to bolster quality and level of service. Rollins is a highly rated private university where tuition, room & board and books cost about $70,000/year. Many academically qualified students need help paying that hefty tab.
In addition to the scholarship endowment, The Alfond Inn also is connected to Rollins’ art collections. It serves as an extension of the school’s Cornell Fine Arts Museum. According to the website, it is the only hotel in the United States that doubles as an art exhibition.
Guided Happy Hour Tours are conducted the first Wednesday of each month to show off the contemporary holdings and several stained glass windows on the property. But you are free to wander the hallways and common areas to admire the art. Fans of the avant garde will enjoy the offerings here, which you can peruse, towel in hand, on the way to the pool.
Art and Winter Park go hand-in-hand. A few blocks away you’ll find the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. It houses the world’s best collection of works related to Louis Comfort Tiffany. The woman who founded the museum was married to a former Rollins president and avid art collector. Art brings visitors to Winter Park just as thrill-seekers head to Disney World or Universal Studios.
The emphasis on style helped The Alfond Inn acquire a local reputation for hosting weddings, exhibitions or small conferences within 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Despite spacious grounds and extensive facilities, they have a policy of accommodating only one wedding at a time. The idea is to assure that nothing distracts from the bride and groom on their day. The brunch at Hamilton’s Kitchen, the hotel’s upscale restaurant, also has gained local notoriety.
In 2018, this place made Conde Nast Traveler‘s prestigious Readers’ Choice Award list for hotels. With that level of quality in play, and a AAA Four-Diamond Rating, don’t come here looking for the least expensive stay in town. In fact, a nightly rate below $250 for one of the 112 rooms will difficult to book. This is a destination for people who either don’t really care about the room rate, or are willing to splurge for a few days of rest and relaxation. When bargains become available, they are posted in the Packages & Specials section of their website.
Although only about 30 miles from Disney World, you won’t see large numbers of vacationing families here. Winter Park seems much more removed from tourist-themed Orlando than geography would suggest. This is a town that started as a winter retreat for wealthy New Englanders. It is an area dotted with small- to medium-sized lakes and estate homes. But it is also a pedestrian-friendly town where downtown caters to those who enjoy shopping, art, and small cutting-edge restaurants. You can reach Winter Park by SunRail (which runs from Sanford to the north, through downtown Orlando and then south to Kissimmee), and via Amtrak’s Silver Service/Palmetto. Both operations use the same station (at Morse Blvd. and Park Ave.), which is a short walk from The Alfond Inn.
Arrive to a surprising travel find in a Central Florida location where people book familiar chain hotels. Leave knowing your spend is reducing debt for a worthy student you’ll never meet.
If You Go