his travel article began summer 2003 and ended last Christmas! Not our usual M.O. But we thought it would be of interest to feature the quaint, easily accessible and delightful Mt. Dora in the summer and winter seasons.

      What a great little getaway destination this area is for us on the west coast. Our feature covers two historic inns, The Lakeside Inn and the Mt. Dora Historic Inn situated in the center of Mt. Dora and, as a complete contrast, the fabulous Portofino Bay Hotel in Universal Studios.

THE LAKESIDE INN

Our first night’s stay was at The Lakeside Inn, member of Historic Hotels of America, quietly nestled against the gentle shady shores of Lake Dora. This Inn was established in 1883, as a ten room hotel and is the oldest continually operated Inn in Florida. In the center of the state, just 25 miles north of Orlando, it is located five miles from the junction of US 441 and State Road 19. The locals, tourists and history lovers alike all enjoy the Inn’s environs and facilities. It now has 89 guest rooms and suites as well as five meeting rooms and a huge lobby area for groups of up to 200. It grew to this size by the 1930s with honoured guest Calvin Coolidge to dedicate the Gable and Terrace wings.

The charm of Mt. Dora includes the 1883 Lakeside Inn, clever arts and crafts and peaceful shopping ­ particularly for antiques

This charming, peaceful refuge is warmly appointed in the (old) English Country style. The Inn’s classic architecture, sweeping verandas and landscaped grounds typify the feeling of Old Florida. The Inn also has an Olympic size swimming pool with a pavilion, night-lit tennis courts, boat rentals and croquet. The Old Trolley parks right on-site for guests and the public to enjoy a local tour. As you can imagine, the Inn does a great wedding and catering business. Helpful and friendly Managing Director Peter Sharp works hard at keeping this grand dame ticking over.

      Having deposited our luggage in our suites we set off for some welcome walking and sight-seeing round town. Neal opted for the very informative one hour trolley tour,  while mum and I did some fun shopping and browsing in the plethora of antique shops and boutiques. We were then ready for our evening meal.

      The Beauclaire Dining Room is large and spacious, rather faded glory and unfortunately situated at the back of the hotel without views of the lake. The very long front porch with 30 white rocking chairs has the view!

      Our waiter Diego, was very helpful and sweet and took good care of us.We shared an   appetizer, the Baked Brie. This was delicious with a pecan and brown sugar topping over a raspberry coulis. Plenty for a three tasting! Another couple loved it so much they had it again instead of dessert! We decided to share the Salad Caprese, layers of locally grown tomatoes and mozzarella drizzled with the house vinaigrette over infant greens, and the Hearts of Palm and (huge!)Shrimp salad. Both fresh and tasty.

      Our entrees were the Seafood St. Jacques, the Pork Loin Filet and the Rack of Lamb. The Pork was stuffed with spinach and blue cheese, a nice different slant and all were enjoyed by us.

      The desserts were tempting and we tasted the Tiramisu, Chocolate Corruption and the Lemon Coconut Cake, all were delicious and low-carb and calorie! Ha! I wish.

      After all this dining, a gentle rock and chat on the porch was called for, the breeze serving us well as a night-cap.

      A lazy and very good breakfast (included in the room rate)), of hot or cold cereal, eggs or omelettes and waffles or French Toast was had by all, including family groups, couples, mothers and daughters, all enjoying the sun-filled dining room and hearty comforting fare.

      We spent the next few hours walking the town again and we also tried to get a cruise on the lake going. However, summer hours are rather casual and this sadly didn’t work out timing-wise for us.

      Skipping lunch we opted for an early English Afternoon Tea (please note:  High Tea is more of a light meal and commonly confused with AFTERNOON TEA!). The very well known Windsor Tea Room, owned and run by friendly Englishman Richard Phillips, is filled with great memorabilia as well as English food items and gifts for sale. The menu consists of a great choice for a light lunch and the traditional tea, as well as offering beers and Guinness. It’s really worth a visit.

HOTEL PORTOFINO BAY Having collected our bags and checked-out we were on our way for something completely different, namely the very smart and new Portofino Bay Hotel, in Universal Studios, Orlando. Only about half an hour’s drive from Mt. Dora, it was fun to experience such a difference overnight. The small quiet, quaint, historical Inn and now the buzzing, modern high- tech, high-end, Portofino.

The Hotel Portofino Bay, inspired by the Italian village of the same name, features lush rooms and cascading pools

      Although it was summer and mid-afternoon, check-in was very busy. We made a mistake by valet parking. It would have been much quicker, and near-by, to self-park and check in immediately. The staff and hotel made up for a slow start though and we loved the whole concept, architecture and special touches of the place.

      Inspired from the Italian village of Portofino, the Ligurian fishing village that became a favourite getaway for Europe’s rich and famous, the hotel was built as a replica. It is so clever and all the hotel rooms were in the style of the tiny narrow houses lining the bay in the middle of Orlando! A few hundred years of wear and tear and aging and it may even feel a bit like the real thing! But this was great being a Loews Hotel, and a lot less expensive than going to Italy!

      Our suite was fabulous, large and well-appointed, in the west wing overlooking the bay and comings and goings of the water taxi and promenade. This was pampering!

      Having settled into our luxurious surroundings we were off to explore. The hotel comprises 750 elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites, eight restaurants and lounges, a 12,300 sq.ft. Greenhouse Spa three swimming pools, two bocce ball courts and a full service business center...as well as being a peaceful and tasteful respite from the hot and crowded craziness of Disney and Universal! All the rooms attend to you every comfort and need and have several different views. Campo Portofino is a supervised children’s activity center.

THIS WAS PAMPERING

      There is a 42,000 sq.ft. meeting room space, which includes two ballrooms, six function rooms a boardroom, six hospitality suites and outdoor function areas. There’s also a beach pool with white sand and shallow end for toddlers, a gorgeous villa pool with cabana rentals with internet hook up for those who for some reason cannot do

without, a hillside pool,  three whirlpools and children’s wading pool and a jogging, walking and biking path.This is a world class destination and you don’t even have to go to Disney! We didn’t, but we did enjoy the water taxi, on hand every ten minutes for a pleasant ride to other areas, City Walk and Universal hotels run by Loews, such as the Royal Pacific and Hard Rock, all different, all great.

      General Manager Paul Leclerc has over twenty years of experience in the hotel industry and much understanding of the operations at such a luxury property. Recently, the Portofino Bay was named in Conde Nast’s 2003 “Gold List” and in Travel and Leisure’s top 500 Hotels of the World.

      At this time during our stay we enjoyed a fabulous meal at the Delfino Riviera Ristorante. Unfortunately it has since closed so we thought it would be a tease to print what we enjoyed. Hopefully another restaurant will open up in its place. There are many other fine and casual dining places at the Portofino, many around the stunning piazza.

       We had to give ourselves time to digest so made the most of the late-running water taxi and took a lovely ride to City Walk where the young and not famous were making the most of the place. I must be getting old, it was all a bit noisy and brash for me. So it wasn’t long before we all agreed that we were staying in the best spot in Orlando and to get back there!

      Following a wonderfully comfortable night we enjoyed a slow morning at the hotel, in the courtyard with cappuccinos noticing all the details that the owners went to trouble to include, such as the tiny Italian Fiats and Vespas, dotted around for some great photo opps. and all the little boats and fishing gear scattered in the bay to add to the authenticity. Just great.

      The idea for the hotel was born when Steven Spielberg, who was a consultant for the Islands of Adventure theme park suggested an authentic recreation of the Italian seaside village of Portofino. Complete with cobblestone streets, sidewalk cafes and all the artistry like the faux aging, and in some places faux windows and mouldings on the buildings, not a detail or expense has been missed. With the assistance of excellent PR person Jennifer Hodges who helped us put this mini trip together, it was definitely a great find!

MOUNT DORA HISTORIC INN En route to a second visit to Mt. Dora, we couldn’t resist a browse and lunch at Mall of Millennia. This very smart mall just outside Orlando is worth a visit and right at the turn off for Mt. Dora.
	The charming and centrally located Mount Dora Historic Inn with its sunny breakfasts and welcoming rooms and parlor

      Returning to Mt. Dora again, this time for a getaway at Christmas we were delighted to see the little town lit up to the nines for the festive season. We timed our arrival at the city park perfectly to see the daily lighting, and truly spectacular it was. A ‘great find’ and worth going just to see the lights.

The spectacular Christmas lighting in the park is renowned and absolutely amazing

      Our stay for the night was reserved at the delightfully quaint Mount Dora Historic Inn.  Generous Innkeepers Lindsay and Nancy Richards have lovingly restored the Inn, originally built in 1880. They made us all very welcome and were full of interesting information about the town, its history and goings-on.

      Having four romantic guest rooms with private baths, all full of antiques and decorated individually, the Inn was a great place to find some friendly banter, to meet other world travellers and to sample the delicious breakfasts. The Inn is just steps from the town center yet is set in a tranquil, shady setting ready for your relaxation.

GOBLIN MARKET RESTAURANT

	The Goblin Market­full of character and fine cuisine

Our dinner reservation was at the Goblin Market. From the outside, deceptively small, this place has expanded upstairs with a handsome bar and lounge area and has outside courtyards for a total of 88 seats. It was was full of character, with books lining the walls, as well as book wallpaper and poetry references, such as the unique name, from a Christina Rosetti poem, chosen by owner Vince, an English Literature major.

      The seating areas were all on different levels,  with dark woods and rich toned upholstery for a cosy and inviting effect.

      The soup of the day was a delicate Ginger and Carrot and a delicious start. I hadn’t had Coquille St. Jacques for ages and was glad I ordered it, divine, whilst mum and Neal had the Mushroom Tartar with a goat cheese parfait. Our entrees were the Filet Napoleon, layered with spinach, shallots and sun-dried tomato with a gorgonzola demi-glaze, and the Cumin and Coriander spiced Mahi Mahi while dad had the Dorado Key West, Atlantic Mahi, sauteed and crowned with avocado, tomato and lime in a Chardonnay cream sauce. Dan our server was great, very helpful and efficient. Goblin serves lunch and dinner year round. At this festive time, the office parties were in full swing and the place was buzzing.

      The daily desserts selection sounded very good too, the Chocolate Orange Creme Brulee, Cranberry Cheesecake, Pumpkin Caramel Layer Cake and a Jack Daniels Chocolate Layer Cake!  But it was time to walk off  the spoils of the evening and to be further enchanted with the magical lights dancing in the cool breeze of the night... supping a coffee and night cap later.

      Our final treat on this trip was the delicious and generous freshly made breakfast prepared by the Richards at the Inn. Their home-made muffins, breakfast breads, souffles, chutneys and jams were indeed a treat. They even have a recipe book compiled after all the guest requests for their recipes!

      Yes, Mt. Dora is also a great find and a great little break destination from anywhere in Florida as well as a welcome calm and respite from the hustle and contrast of Orlando and its parks. Enjoy them both.

Snaps by Neal Finelli