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From the moment it opened in 2013, The Alfond Inn at Rollins College has experienced tremendous success, regularly operating at peak occupancy while funding millions in student scholarships, serving as a popular destination for community social events, and earning perennial recognition in state, national, and global travel awards.

Now, The Alfond Inn—America’s only hotel that serves as a formal extension of an art museum—is undergoing a two-year expansion that will multiply its impact for decades to come.

Scheduled for completion in summer 2023, the Inn’s new wing will feature 71 guest rooms, a four-story atrium, luxurious amenities, more meeting space, and new opportunities to showcase rarely seen pieces from the Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art. In addition, the current lobby, library and bar, and private dining room were renovated over the summer, and the existing 112 guest rooms are up next.

“This is an exciting time for The Alfond Inn and for Winter Park as we embark on the much-anticipated next phase of the hotel’s evolution,” says general manager Jesse Martinez. “Thanks to the tremendous support from Rollins College, the Winter Park community, partners throughout Orlando and, of course, our treasured guests, we will be able to deliver an unprecedented, contemporary experience.”

Thanks to its pioneering business model that funnels profits to the Alfond Scholars program, Rollins’ premier academic scholarship, the hotel has funded approximately 90 full and 900 partial scholarships by contributing $10.8 million to the Alfond Scholars endowment.

Post-expansion, from fiscal years 2024 to 2033, The Alfond Inn is projected to generate another $19 million toward the endowment and $21 million toward athletic scholarships.

Here’s a closer look at what we’re most excited about as The Alfond Inn launches a new era of growth.

New Guest Rooms

In harmony with the original hotel, 71 new guest rooms and suites will be bold, bright and colorful, featuring tropical motif rugs over hardwood floors, yellow and blue accent walls, and carved white headboards with decorative hanging lights over the sideboards. Windows will be intentionally large to let in the Florida sunshine.

Communal Cafe

A light-filled lobby cafe will serve coffee, crepes, and light bites and transition to beer and wine in the evenings. The cafe is designed to be a welcoming open space, with long sight lines, warm wood, and midcentury-modern furnishings, high-top communal tables, and inviting private seating areas perfect for impromptu business meetings or quiet reflection on the Inn’s growing contemporary art collection.

Wellness Spa and Fitness Area

Wellness is at the forefront of the expanded hotel, with a new spa that will feature seven treatment rooms, steam and sauna, a new fitness area, and luxury locker rooms. The design is clean and minimalist, tempered by a palette of soothing, understated tones.

Second Swimming Pool

On the second floor of the new wing, the spa will open onto a new amenity deck that features a second swimming pool, private cabanas, a neo-classical fountain, and a shaded canopy covering an extensive outside living room. The amenity deck will also be available for private events.

Contemporary Artwork

The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art has grown to over 500 pieces, yet only 112 are currently on display at The Alfond Inn. The expansion will provide significant space to show more of the collection in common areas. “We have works that have not yet been shown, or that have not been shown in several years,” says Ena Heller, Bruce A. Beal Director of the newly minted Rollins Museum of Art. “We will continue to rotate works in thematic installations after the expansion opens.”

Meeting and Function Space

While the Inn already features a generous amount of customizable meeting and event space—making it a prime social hub and top choice for weddings and C-level meetings—the expansion will introduce a new meeting room and a new boardroom, providing an additional 2,400 square feet to the existing meeting and functions rooms.

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Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

The expanded Alfond Inn is part of Rollins’ new Innovation Triangle, a hub of philanthropy, art, and entrepreneurship at the nexus of campus and the Winter Park community.

The plan includes new buildings for the Rollins Museum of Art and Crummer Graduate School of Business, both of which will be located north of Fairbanks Avenue, between The Alfond Inn and Park Avenue on land owned by Rollins.

Through The Innovation Triangle, the museum will be even more closely aligned with Rollins’ curriculum and culture, Crummer will improve its competitive advantage as Florida’s No. 1 MBA program, and The Alfond Inn will be positioned to fund more scholarships for Rollins’ brightest students.

• The Alfond Inn |
• Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art |
• Alfond Scholars |
• Innovation Triangle |
• Rollins Museum of Art |
• Crummer Graduate School of Business |
• Brighter Together