This is Disney's grandest hotel, and its spa and health center ensure everyone is pampered. Forsaking the animated artifice ubiquitous at Disney, this florid late-19th-century belle commands 40 acres and a powder-sand beach by the lake. But keep in mind that swimming is not permitted. The service here, like its dining options, is noticeably superior to any other resort at Walt Disney World, and the closest competition outside the hotel is the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes.
This resort is as well-designed as any in the U.S., with flowering hedges echoing the lines and curves of this white clapboard Victorian. Bellhops dressed as caddies welcome arrivals at the monorail stop by the entrance and unload luggage under the porte cochere. The attractive vanilla-white lobby shines with chandeliers and stained glass, and Florida sunshine pours through the skylights. Guests enjoy the dazzling flower arrangements, Victorian aviary, antique piano, elaborately carved woodwork and even the wicker and wingback seating. A grand staircase rises to the mezzanine, where a Dixieland jazz band plays.
Maintenance is excellent, with updating done as needed. Each of the six restaurants is interesting. Victoria & Albert is Disney's, perhaps Orlando's, most elegant dining room, serving expensive but delicious American and Continental specialties and afternoon tea with near faultless panache. Citricos' sharp Mediterranean decor and menu contrast with those of the Gasparilla Grill and Grand Floridian Cafe. Locals and guests alike head to Narcoossee's for steaks, seafood and wonderful views of the Magic Kingdom and the lagoon, and 1900 Park Fare leavens the solemnity with visits by Disney characters. If tea is your bag, there is an entire period room dedicated to the English ritual, with Devonshire creams adding to its authenticity. Even more casual is the 24-hour cafeteria with a game room.
The landscaped court harbors a massive pool with a 27-ft waterfall, a huge whirlpool on a riser, and a sundeck. The health club was planned with children in mind, but the spa's exotic health and beauty treatments are strictly for adults. Like the dining options, both are expensive. Watersports are on the man-made beach, and the marina offers rental boats 
and launches to the Polynesian Resort and the Magic Kingdom. A 44-ft yacht serves guests, too.
The modest 18,000-sq-ft ballroom ensures groups are small and dignified. "Magical" weddings frequently take place in a spidery pavilion overlooking the lake. Buses, boats and the monorail shuttle guests to the parks, and a kennel club hosts their four-legged friends. Self-parking is free but mobility-challenged guests do well to unload first or to take advantage of the valets for a nominal fee. Walks between the parking lots and guest rooms are frequently grueling—especially in the heat of summer. The hotel also has a well-equipped business center.
The beautiful accommodations have some lessons to teach the Disney World Swan about understated elegance. They feature neutral tones, Victorian accents, ceiling fans, thermostats and energy-saving devices, stenciled tables, large-screen TVs, plants, daybeds suitable for children, bed ruffles ringing two-posters and furnished balconies.
Baths boast dual basins set in marble counters, hair dryers, robes and toiletries. The main building houses the majority of the expensive Club Level rooms, where guests access a private lounge for four complimentary food presentations. To minimize the racket from the pool, guests should book rooms with peaceful lanais and balconies facing the lagoon, with those in Conch Key wing the top picks. Sago Cay units are closest to the convention center.
Room service never stops, turndown is offered nightly, and maintenance and housekeeping are impeccable. Pets are not permitted, nor is smoking.
Staff turnover is high, and at any given time, some of the crew will be very green, but smiling. Nevertheless, this is truly a grand Floridian.