The Alfond Inn

Tucked a block off Park Avenue at 300 East New England Avenue, The Alfond Inn brings something Winter Park had not really had before, a hotel built from the ground up as a work of art in itself. Since opening in August 2013, the property has folded pieces from the Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art into its hallways, lobby, and guest corridors, turning a stay here into something closer to a small museum visit with a very comfortable bed attached.

The inn sits on the site of the old Langford Hotel, a Winter Park landmark that once hosted well known guests including Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan before it closed and was demolished in 1999. When Rollins College and the Harold Alfond Foundation stepped in with a twelve and a half million dollar grant to build something new on that site, they built it with an unusual mission. Rollins College owns the hotel outright, and by the hotel’s own account, all of its net operating income supports scholarships for Rollins students. That makes a night’s stay here a little more meaningful than the average hotel booking, since money spent on the room ultimately helps send a Central Florida student to college.

Inside, The Alfond Inn offers 183 rooms and suites across a range of categories, from Classic Queen and Classic King rooms up through Junior, Luxury, Signature, and Grand Suites, several with private balconies overlooking the pool courtyard or the surrounding oak canopy. The hotel has earned AAA Four Diamond recognition and belongs to the Preferred Hotels and Resorts LVX collection, distinctions that reflect the level of service and finish guests can expect throughout the property.

Guests have access to a pool framed by palm trees, a fitness center, and a full service spa offering treatments and its own small cafe. Hamilton’s Kitchen, the hotel’s restaurant, serves guests on site, and a nightly resort fee covers WiFi, fitness center access, pool access, and spa discounts for the length of a stay. The Alfond Inn is also dog friendly, a detail that matters to a fair number of Florida travelers road tripping with a pet in tow. For gatherings, the hotel hosts weddings and meetings in its event spaces, with staff who handle everything from small conservatory ceremonies to larger receptions.

What really sets The Alfond Inn apart, though, is its setting. Winter Park’s Park Avenue, with its brick sidewalks, independent boutiques, and sidewalk cafes, is an easy stroll away, as is the Rollins College campus and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, known for its extensive collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany glass and decorative art. For visitors who want a boutique hotel experience with genuine local roots, a serious art collection, and a mission that channels profits back into education, The Alfond Inn is one of the very few independently run lodging options Winter Park has to offer, and it makes the most of that distinction. Guests looking for a quiet weekend away or a base for exploring Winter Park’s museums, lakes, and shops will find the inn a fitting and thoughtful choice.