BRIGHTLINE'S ROLLING GATED COMMUNITY?

That was my impression of the service from the beginning.  Now comes confirmation from a foodie.  "Brightline: A Florida train tour with cultural and culinary highlights."  Read on.

Our four-day press trip visited Orlando, West Palm Beach and Miami -- all cities that Brightline's trains serve -- and included one-night stays in unique and artsy hotels within a short walk or ride away from the stations.

We dined at innovative and award-winning restaurants on our trip, a couple of which have earned Michelin stars and recognition in the past year, and we also took advantage of neighborhood walking tours and riding the free community shuttles via what I think might be Florida's favorite kind of vehicle: golf carts.

For "innovative and award-winning" read "upscale" and "unconventional."

Since it's only a quick 7- to 10-minute drive from Orlando International Airport, which is where the new Brightline Orlando station is located, Lake Nona Wave Hotel should be on your radar when looking for places to stay near the airport and the train station.

You might think you landed in Wynwood, one of Miami's most popular art neighborhoods, instead of central Florida, given the presentation the Wave Hotel offers upon walking inside -- and that's probably the point.

Whether you're lounging in the art-stacked lobby, sipping drinks in the indoor amphitheater under the LED-lit cherry blossom tree or roaming through the giant sculpture garden outside, the Wave Hotel launches guests elsewhere into their own pop cultural bubble and offers a kind of vacation continuity on your travels while you're waiting to catch your flight or Brightline train.

Our press group didn't stay overnight at the Wave Hotel (unfortunately), but we certainly feasted at the hotel's restaurant, Bacan, a Michelin-recommended restaurant in the Orlando area serving boldly flavored dishes inspired by cuisine of the Americas. And every dish we had was delicious, from the grilled octopus to the smoked pork belly and steak tartare to the creatively crafted desserts.

Look, that's all good, one way to have more people becoming railroad-aware is to have Passenger Rail service that doesn't put one in mind of being resettled by some totalitarian European dictatorship.

Onboard the Brightline train, I suddenly felt like I was in Europe or Japan. The interior layout looked just like the trains there with nice comfortable seats that are assigned, complete with personal foldout tables and set beside large windows so you don't miss a thing. I loved the food and beverage cart service onboard, too.

I wish I had known when I had an hour's layover in West Palm how walkable downtown was. It's also useful for intrepid travellers to know about culinary and aesthetic departures from what a city is most popularly known for.  Oxtail beignets and Michelin stars, forsooth!

The upcoming professional basketball tournament will feature contrasting approaches to Commuter Rail and Regional Rail service.  Brightline and the Miami Heat have a partnership, and fans will be able to get to Heat games either on Brightline or the city's more traditional Commuter Rail operator that terminates at Amtrak's former Seaboard Air Line station.  The opponent will be Denver, where the Commuter Rail service is a hybrid of the limited tram line and traditional interurban service.