This spring, I had the pleasure, once again, of staying at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando. Though my older daughter--who follows a gluten-free diet for celiac disease--did not travel with us this time, I did not let that stop me from discovering what celiac-friendly goodies were available.

Discovery #1: Trattoria del Porto. Our favorite place for breakfast both for its great selection of gluten-free and “regular” buffet items--as well as its outstanding staff. (Wish more people were that friendly first thing in the morning!) I found gluten-free muffins, pancakes, and toast at the buffet, as well as Chex cereals and the “usual suspects”--yogurt, fruit, etc. I tried the muffins and pancakes; both were quite good.

Discovery #2: Bice Ristorante, which offers Northern Italian cuisine in an upscale atmosphere and has gluten-free pasta on its menu. What a treat for those looking to enjoy a fine dining experience without having to dissect the entire menu in order to find a suitable gluten-free option. No worries here and, again, another restaurant on the Loews property with outstanding service. Our server was from the Northeast, and we had a great time ribbing each other over the Red Sox and Yankees. (I'm the Yankees fan.)

Discovery #3: Sal’s Market Deli, which sells Hilltop Hearth Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. While pretty pricey (about $4 for a .74oz bag), the cookies were delicious and my to-go stash never even made it home. Lots of fruit and salad options at Sal’s, too.

Discovery #4: Gluten-free muffins on the hotel’s room service menu. Eureka! This is something I had never seen when traveling and was a real treat.

For my gluten-free skincare find at Portofino, see my post from June 5. 2014 on PURE factory Naturals Flip Flop Foot Repair. (Then hurry up and buy some before the summer’s over!)

The information in this blog post is based on my own personal experiences while vacationing at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. These are discoveries I made on my own while at the resort and are by no means intended to be an exhaustive list. I received no compensation for this post. Just made some great gluten-free discoveries and thought I’d share them with you so that you, too, could be “CeliacSavvy”—because it’s a great time to be gluten-free!

For further information, check out the following websites: