300 East New England Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
The Alfond Inn is a new Winter Park 112-room boutique hotel property coming August 2013. Owned by Rollins College, The Alfond Inn is being built with a $12.5-million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation and will open in August 2013. Net operating income from the Inn will be directed to The Alfond Scholars program fund, the College's premier scholarship fund, over the next 25 years or until the endowment principal reaches $50 million, whichever comes later.
The 112-room boutique hotel will have Hamilton's Kitchen restaurant, a pool and fitness center, and 10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.
The executive team that will run the property has been announced. See below for names and bios.
Deanne Gabel, General Manager
Deanne Gabel is the General Manager of The Alfond Inn. Prior to her appointment, she was a senior vice president with Wyndham Worldwide's Hospitality Division. She was formerly with The Walt Disney Company, where she served as General Manager of Disney's Yacht Club Resort and Disney's Beach Club Resort. Gabel also worked at the Disney Institute and Resort Villas, transforming that business, as well as other assignments. Prior to her Orlando residency, Gabel held positions with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Intercontinental Hotels, and Prince Hotels based in Japan. Gabel received her MBA from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College and has served on Crummer's Board of Overseers for several years.Chef J. Christopher Windus, Executive Chef of Hamilton's Kitchen
Chef J. Christopher Windus comes to The Alfond Inn fresh from his tenure as executive chef of Todd English's bluezoo at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel. Windus joined bluezoo in 2003 and under his leadership, the restaurant earned the AAA Four Diamond award annually, Fodor's Choice Award and the Culinary Hospitality Santé Award for Innovation. Chef Windus will bring his Floridian-inspired cuisine to The Alfond Inn's Hamilton's Kitchen and oversee the hotel's extensive catering for weddings, social affairs and meetings. Chef Windus has showcased his talents at some of the finest events and venues in the culinary world, including the Sundance Film Festival, the Aspen Food and Wine Festival, and the James Beard House in New York City. A native of Winter Park, Chef Windus has a certificate of food and beverage in hospitality management from Cornell University and an associate degree in culinary arts from the Capital Culinary Institute.
Debbie Potter, Director of Sales and Marketing
Debbie Potter was most recently with the Villas of Grand Cypress where she was named 2011 Group Sales Executive of the Year by Benchmark Hospitality International and inducted into the exclusive "Platinum Club", which recognizes the company's leading sales professionals. Potter has more than 20 years of experience in hospitality sales, marketing and operations and has held various national sales positions at The Peabody Orlando, PGA National Resort & Spa and , Disney's Vero Beach Resort where she served on the resort's Executive Committee. She began her professional career at Timacuan Golf and Country Club where she served as Director of Catering Sales and Operations. She is currently a member of Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Financial & Insurance Conference Planners (FICP) and Meeting Planners International (MPI).
Jane McLean, Wedding Specialist & Director of Social Catering
Jane McLean is the Wedding Specialist & Director of Social Catering at The Alfond Inn. McLean was most recently with the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, where she served as Assistant Director of Catering before being promoted to Director of Social Events. Prior to that, she spent nine years at the Walt Disney World Swan, where she was Assistant Director of Catering and Convention Services. McLean has an AOS in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York, a BS in Hospitality Management from Florida International University and has completed Hyatt Hotels Corporate Management Training Program at the Hyatt Regency Miami. McLean is a member of the National Association of Catering and Events, and past Alumni Board Member of the Culinary Institute of America.
James Gustafson, Director of Rooms
James Gustafson is Director of Rooms at The Alfond Inn. Gustafson began his career with Walt Disney World in 1997 as a restaurant manager at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and moved on to food and beverage, housekeeping and front office management roles at Disney. He was honored with Disney's Lifetime Achievement award, Partners in Excellence. His background also includes executive positions with Wyndham Resorts and Interstate Hotel Properties, most recently the Crowne Plaza Universal. Gustafson is a graduate of the Eli Broad School of Hospitality Management at Michigan State University.
Deanne Gabel is the General Manager of The Alfond Inn. Prior to her appointment, she was a senior vice president with Wyndham Worldwide's Hospitality Division. She was formerly with The Walt Disney Company, where she served as General Manager of Disney's Yacht Club Resort and Disney's Beach Club Resort. Gabel also worked at the Disney Institute and Resort Villas, transforming that business, as well as other assignments. Prior to her Orlando residency, Gabel held positions with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Intercontinental Hotels, and Prince Hotels based in Japan. Gabel received her MBA from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College and has served on Crummer's Board of Overseers for several years.Chef J. Christopher Windus, Executive Chef of Hamilton's Kitchen
Chef J. Christopher Windus comes to The Alfond Inn fresh from his tenure as executive chef of Todd English's bluezoo at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel. Windus joined bluezoo in 2003 and under his leadership, the restaurant earned the AAA Four Diamond award annually, Fodor's Choice Award and the Culinary Hospitality Santé Award for Innovation. Chef Windus will bring his Floridian-inspired cuisine to The Alfond Inn's Hamilton's Kitchen and oversee the hotel's extensive catering for weddings, social affairs and meetings. Chef Windus has showcased his talents at some of the finest events and venues in the culinary world, including the Sundance Film Festival, the Aspen Food and Wine Festival, and the James Beard House in New York City. A native of Winter Park, Chef Windus has a certificate of food and beverage in hospitality management from Cornell University and an associate degree in culinary arts from the Capital Culinary Institute.
Debbie Potter, Director of Sales and Marketing
Debbie Potter was most recently with the Villas of Grand Cypress where she was named 2011 Group Sales Executive of the Year by Benchmark Hospitality International and inducted into the exclusive "Platinum Club", which recognizes the company's leading sales professionals. Potter has more than 20 years of experience in hospitality sales, marketing and operations and has held various national sales positions at The Peabody Orlando, PGA National Resort & Spa and , Disney's Vero Beach Resort where she served on the resort's Executive Committee. She began her professional career at Timacuan Golf and Country Club where she served as Director of Catering Sales and Operations. She is currently a member of Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Financial & Insurance Conference Planners (FICP) and Meeting Planners International (MPI).
Jane McLean, Wedding Specialist & Director of Social Catering
Jane McLean is the Wedding Specialist & Director of Social Catering at The Alfond Inn. McLean was most recently with the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, where she served as Assistant Director of Catering before being promoted to Director of Social Events. Prior to that, she spent nine years at the Walt Disney World Swan, where she was Assistant Director of Catering and Convention Services. McLean has an AOS in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York, a BS in Hospitality Management from Florida International University and has completed Hyatt Hotels Corporate Management Training Program at the Hyatt Regency Miami. McLean is a member of the National Association of Catering and Events, and past Alumni Board Member of the Culinary Institute of America.
James Gustafson, Director of Rooms
James Gustafson is Director of Rooms at The Alfond Inn. Gustafson began his career with Walt Disney World in 1997 as a restaurant manager at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and moved on to food and beverage, housekeeping and front office management roles at Disney. He was honored with Disney's Lifetime Achievement award, Partners in Excellence. His background also includes executive positions with Wyndham Resorts and Interstate Hotel Properties, most recently the Crowne Plaza Universal. Gustafson is a graduate of the Eli Broad School of Hospitality Management at Michigan State University.