I have always enjoyed the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa at Walt Disney World, I haven?t always been able to afford the Grand Floridian but just walking through his lobby is a joy to behold on my frequent visits to WDW. ?The Grand Flo? it is nicknamed by a few cast-members or just ?the place you pass on your speedy trail to the Magic Kingdom?, as nicknamed and dismissed by the peeps zooming through on the Monorail.

A huge swave of guests look but don?t really stop when it comes to this elegant symbol of Disney marvel. Maybe it is the unspoken whispers of $950 a night rooms or the mighty magnitude of delight and mystery that surrounds it. Whatever your misgiving, The Grand Flo is a marvellous place to visit at least once and I can assure you the cast-members do not bite (except maybe Gus the Greater). So I hear what you are saying: So the average guest would look over this gem? The place must be empty at them prices in a global recession? Well no actually. The exclusive suites on their luxury members? only floor, high above the comings and goings of the lobby, are actually almost solidly booked every year. Surely not I hear you grumble. Well the truth is the Grand Flo is a living contradiction in terms. It has 5 star service without the pomposity and that is the secret to this hotel?s successful and subsequent bookings list. It might be out of reach but with a bit of fairy dust it isn?t that far out of reach.

Lets lay some thoughts to bed, firstly the pools. It has never been said that the pools here are worth writing home about; which is not true. The little known ?second pool? is my favourite pool in the whole of Florida. It is a pool of two halves; one half is especially for families and younger kids whereby it is fairly shallow and stepped. The second half deeps down to over 6ft, which if like me you?re 6ft1 and like to do a few lengths, then this is the pool for you. The other reason why this is the best pool on site is the fact that is never closes. I have so many fond memories just chilaxing back floating to the top and watching the fireworks from Wishes dodging the bright, night stars. Another rare treat is as the sun sets to the west, just laying back on your lylo looking over at the smart dressed couples at Victoria and Albert?s and wonder what their stories are. Of course come 11pm the ladies with the roses in hand demonstrate to everyone where they had the pleasure of dinning that night.

The rooms are small or so they say, not practical for a family of four I have heard. Nonsense. The rooms are only snug on the higher floors as they have the slopping ceilings but this adds to the charm of the resort. The buildings are designed to emulate the turn of the last-last century opulent Victorian mansions hotels that sprung up at various seaside tourist areas. Those buildings back in the day were designed with comfortable and convenience as the top of the their agenda and the Grand Flo mirrors this. You won?t bang your head on those ceilings and the rooms are light and bright; if you have a balcony this achieves the effect of making the room very airy and cosy. In fact it does have some of the largest rooms on Disney property!

Even the layout of the buildings surrounding the pool gives a gathered and welcomed feel to the visitor. We feel protected by the Grand Flo, pampered, it feeds us well and put us to bed each night, although Mousekeeping will not read you a bedtime story! Don?t ask how I know!

The restaurants are too expensive? Expensive yes, ideal for special occasions or that final family dinner, but not ?too? expensive that they are rendered totally unaffordable. You do pay for quality and Disney does deliver on quality. Take the shrinking violet of their line-up of restaurants: the Grand Floridian Café. On ordering breakfast you will be asked whether you want your eggs cooked in a whole plethora of different styles, which albeit is the American way, it is also totally perplexing to be asked whether I want my eggs cooked in 12 different styles when I have just stumbled from my bed. At that early in the morning I can hardly remember my name, let alone remember what the difference between sunny side up or down or what over-easy even is! And it doesn?t stop there, tea is another important decision. Most Brits will wrongly assume that the only tea you can drink at breakfast is the boring yet reliable English Breakfast Tea or Black Tea but no, on asking for ?tea? your waiter will respond with a list and for those who have still got theme park withdrawal symptoms and are still a little ?tired? the waiter will produce a tea chest for you to pick which of the 32 types of tea on offer is your preferred choice. When I was asked at 7.35am I replied by asking whether it was possible to ?go 50/50 or phone a friend.? So even here at the Grand Flo?s not-so-expensive restaurant the quality radiates through with every single cent.

The final thought to put to ?bed? is hotel hopping (excuse the pun). What?s that I hear you say: hotel hopping? Basically in a nutshell it is when guests book more than one Disney Resort, i.e. 5 nights at the Poly and then a couple of days at the Contemporary. So common is this new phenomenon that Disney now hunk your luggage around from resort to resort free-of-charge. So maybe that week at Sarrantoga Springs could be made extra special with an extra night at the Grand Flo? Which makes the Grand Floridian just that bit more reachable and besides, imagine the trip report you could write!

So as you can see whether you want a nice relaxing spa treatment, want to surf the Internet or just have some fine dining (albeit there is nothing just about it!) or just a comfortable bed, then this is the place for you (funds permitting!).