Orlando — Most first-class hotels have a full complement of staff, from chefs to concierges to bell captains.

But Grande Lakes Orlando, one of the newest full-scale resorts in this ever-growing city, has its own "citrus consultant."

Grande Lakes Orlando (ENLARGE)
There are no mouse ears in sight at the elegantly appointed bell desk of the JW Marriott Orlando, part of the Grande Lakes resort.
Grande Lakes Orlando (ENLARGE)
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando (left) and the JW Marriott Orlando hotels bookend a 500-acre setting that's well-removed from the area's sprawl of theme parks and attractions.
Grande Lakes Orlando/Contemporary Italian cuisine with an emphasis on fresh local produce is served at the JW Marriott's Primo, one of several restaurants and cafes at the Grande Lakes Orlando resort. (ENLARGE)
Contemporary Italian cuisine with an emphasis on fresh local produce is served at the JW Marriott's Primo, one of several restaurants and cafes at the Grande Lakes Orlando resort.
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IF YOU GO Getting there • Flying: Expect to pay about $150 round-trip airfare from Atlanta to Orlando. • Driving: Orlando is about 450 miles from downtown Atlanta, about a 7-hour drive. Take I-75 south to Florida's Turnpike South via Exit 328 toward Orlando, then merge onto I-4 west toward Sea World/Disney World/Tampa, then take the Fla. 528 toll east exit toward International Airport/Cape Canaveral and merge onto Bee Line Expressway/Fla. 528 east; take Exit 2 toward Orangewood Boulevard/Universal Boulevard and merge onto Orangewood Boulevard, then turn left onto Central Florida Parkway. About Grande Lakes resort • Ritz-Carlton Orlando, 4012 Central Florida Parkway, Orlando, FL 32837. 1-800-682-3665; room rates, $239-$1,299. • JW Marriott Orlando, 4040 Central Florida Parkway, Orlando, FL 32837. 1-800-682-9956; $199-$659. (Prices don't reflect special discounts or packages; rates can also go higher depending on season and room.) • More information: www.grandelakes.com. Florida Special Section Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando  South Walton getaways  Ft. Myers super spa treatments  Diamond prizes in Key Biscayne  Tennis tour in Florida  Deep exhibition on Napoleon in Tallahassee  History, sea help Apalachicola reel 'em in  King Tut's treasures cast spell in Ft. Lauderdale  Birds find haven at nonprofit center in Keys  Orlando resort just lays on the luxury  Renaissance city: Ft. Lauderdale         More southeastern destinations

Yes, an employee whose job it is to introduce "the benefits of citrus fruits throughout the property," according to the resort. That means you can partake of an orange-blossom soak at Grande Lakes' dreamily beautiful 40,000-square-foot spa. Or top your toast with the finest of citrus marmalades at one of the many high-end restaurants. Or even wipe your brow with a citrus-infused towel on the 18-hole Greg Norman championship golf course.

Not exactly what you'd expect to find in Orlando, is it?

But that's precisely the point behind the 2-year-old Grande Lakes, a $600 million resort that practically resembles a city unto itself, replete with two luxury hotels — the upscale, 584-room Ritz-Carlton Orlando (the first Ritz in the city), and the more convention-oriented 1,000-room JW Marriott Orlando — in a 500-acre setting that's well removed from the city's sprawl of theme parks.

It's not that Orlando has never seen a luxury hotel before: Walt Disney World has the Grand Floridian Resort, Universal Studios the Portofino Bay Hotel — both places where a room can easily set you back a few hundred a night. And both part of an overall movement in the last few years to broaden the city's huge base of visitors — a record 48 million in 2004 — beyond middle-class families. Now, Orlando also wants to court the jet set.

But Grande Lakes is still something decidedly new and different.

It's larger, for starters. Altogether, the resort's two hotels, situated a short walk from one another, have 11 restaurants and bars and about 140,000 square feet of conference and banquet facilities. Both also have lushly landscaped pools, the Marriott's with a kid-friendly lazy-river feature.

The Ritz-Carlton also has a "club" program, where guests receive extra privacy and service, including Spa Fresh toiletries, a complimentary shoeshine and a private lounge.

And then, there's the aforementioned spa, replete with 40 treatment rooms and a 6,000- square-foot fitness center, and the golf course, which has its own "caddie concierge" program, just in case you need someone to help you measure your yardage.

But size isn't the only thing that distinguishes Grande Lakes. While the stately resort has a vaguely Mediterranean feel — call it the Mizner influence — it's hardly Disney-esque. Rather, the design's goal is to send the message that you're far away from Disney.

"Orlando was in need of a luxury environment that is not thematic," says Marc Hoffman, resort vice president, who formerly served as general manager at the Ritz-Carlton in Manalapan.

Of course, luxury is not just about amenities or design. It's about service as well.

At Grande Lakes, that's obvious at every turn. In my brief midsummer visit to the Marriott, any concern I had about staying on the "budget" side of the resort was erased when the front-desk person offered a free upgrade without my asking (and no, he didn't know I was a reporter). Every other employee I encountered was quick with a smile or an offer to assist. Contrast that to my last stay at Disney, where I barely got an apology after my reservation was bungled.

Luxury is also about fine dining: You can eat very, very well throughout Grande Lakes. At the Ritz-Carlton, famed South Florida chef Norman Van Aken has established himself with Norman's, where the fare tends to reflect his inventive, Latin-influenced "new world" philosophy (chilled rock crab in basil mousseline with cucumber picadito, jalapeño, watermelon-cumin sorbet and watercress, to name one dish).

But a great meal can be had in a more humble setting: I enjoyed an excellent dinner at Citron, the Marriott's American brasserie, where the offerings range from chicken potpie to crème brûlée served with mango-strawberry-papaya salsa.

And best of all, the resort has its own in-house Starbucks.

But long before anyone was brewing those mocha frappuccinos, it took a bit of planning — and a lot of cash — to conceive of Grande Lakes, which was one of the largest non-casino hotels to open in the United States in 2003.

The project was the brainchild of the Thayer Lodging Group, a Maryland-based company that has invested more than $2 billion in the hotel market since 1991, ranging from a Rihga Royal in New York to a Fairfield Inn in Fort Lauderdale. Again, the company has said the idea was to bring a level of polish and panache to a city known more for its crash-near-the-theme-park accommodations.

"We've found a truly underserved niche market in Orlando and are looking forward to establishing a presence there," said Thayer executive Leland C. Pillsbury when the Grande Lakes project was announced in 2001.

Which is not to say that Grande Lakes is for everyone, especially given that rooms at the Ritz can go for as much as $1,400-plus a night (at least for an executive suite on Christmas Eve). Even at the more "affordable" Marriott, you can generally expect to pay a minimum of $200.

As hotel-industry consultant Dave Theophilus told the Orlando Sentinel just before Grande Lakes' 2003 opening, "These are not being built for John Q. Tourist."

But they were built for those who appreciate a measure of elegance, right down to the ice-cold lemonade, courtesy of the resort's citrus consultant, that awaits guests in the lobby at check-in. In theme park-congested Orlando, that's no small feat.

Charles Passy is a staff writer for The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post.