Unveiling an Icon

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Confirmed less than 24 hours before the ribbon cutting, the appearance of Governor Charlie Crist at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando (waldorfastoriaorlando.com), the first to open outside New York City, surprised guests and signaled just how important tourism is to Florida. But then who wouldn't adjust their schedule to be among the first to walk on the hotel's polished-to-perfection marble floors and hear the iconic Waldorf clock chime the exact same peal as its sister clock in Manhattan? After all the movers and shakers sampled hors d'oeuvres, I meandered around the full Bonnet Creek property, which includes the Waldorf tower and two neighboring Hilton versions, all on the edge of Walt Disney World. I loved the golf course with its wooden bridges, deep amoeba-shaped bunkers and five tees for golfers who don't always drive the ball far enough (that's me). Elegance is in the art deco details and black-and-white themes accented with silver metallic. But the best part was breakfast this morning at Oscar's (yes, the same as the one in Manhattan). When my waiter, Juan, presented the Flaky Frenchman - two puffy, inch-thick slices of bread coated in cornflakes with a banana sliced lengthwise and drizzled with warm, almost crystallizing, caramel (think bananas Foster or Werther's originals) - my taste buds thought they went to heaven. Nope, it was the Waldorf, but it comes pretty close.

Tags: orlando | Waldorf Astoria