Amazing venue for weddings, birthdays or any event you can think of. Beautiful views of Lake Dora,…read moreand private parking. A must for a successful event!

I agree with Yelper Janene who said: "he building is dated but the location is great" And it really…read moreis dated but being right on the water, has wonderful views. A lot of it looks like it's the same as its 1913 establishment date. The claim to fame is that the Mount Dora Yacht Club is Florida's oldest inland Yacht Club. But guess what it doesn't have? It doesn't have any yachts; hence a yachtless yacht club. So, about the only use of the place is as a rental facility for weddings, etc.

William John Howey (January 19, 1876 - June 7, 1938) was an American real-estate developer, citrus…read moregrower, and Republican politician from Florida. He founded and served as mayor for the town of Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida where he developed and sold citrus groves, becoming one of Florida's greatest citrus developers. He was one of the first citrus growers to send fruit from Florida to England. In 1921 he opened Florida's first citrus juice plant. He ran for governor on the Republican ticket in 1928 and 1932. Mr. Howey's prominence led to many distinguished guests visiting the Howey mansion, These included Lord Bathhurst of England, H.B. McNeal, publisher of Golfer's Magazine, golf master Chick Evans, Kansas Governor Alfred Landon, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Phillip's of petroleum fame, and President Calvin Coolidge who was guest of honor at an all-male dinner party in February 1930. Mr. Howey's former home near Lake Wales, Florida became the site of Florida's Bok Tower at the Bok Tower Gardens. In 1925 Mr. Howey commissioned a 20 room mansion in the town he founded. The architect was Katherine Cotheal Budd. During WWI she designed temporary lodgings known as hostess homes for women who were visiting their husbands at military training camps. Budd is credited for creating 72 lodgings with a homelike atmosphere and the Howey House is one of a few existing examples of her work. The Howey Mansion was designed in the popular Mediterranean Revival style. The house is set back on a wide lawn with wrought iron gates and a long horseshoe drive. The entrance to the home features an elaborate, two story bas relief frontispiece .The massive front door and the woodwork on the first floor is made from peaky cypress. Leading to the second floor is a graceful curving stone stairway with a wrought iron banister. Other features of the home include three large fireplaces, a ballroom-size drawing room, enormous beamed ceilings, and a servant call-bell phone system. There is even a hidden passage behind a sliding bookshelf panel in the library. The original 15 acres grounds of the mansion were called The Park and included many botanical plants and shrubs. On March 6, 1927 The Park was the host site for an open air concert performed by the New York Civic Opera Company bringing the top opera singers of the day to the mansion for a concert for the community. The mansion was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Place on January 27, 1983. On April 12, 2017 it was listed for sale at $480,000. The new owners are Brad and Clay Cowherd, Orlando real estate investors who have made period-accurate restoration of the house. I visited the Howey Mansion for the Founders Day Festival. Admission for tours of the home was discounted to $10. The Howey Mansion is available for private rentals like weddings while historical tours are also available Monday through Friday at 11am. The Founder's Day event included a local market, food trucks, live music, and family activities. I enjoyed visiting the tents and touring the mansion including the hidden bar in the basement that was created during prohibition. Behind the mansion, is a trail through the woods that will take you to the Georgian marble mausoleum where the Howey family is interred including William J. Howey (1938), daughter, Lois Valerie Howey (1941), and Mary Hastings Howey (1981). This year Centennial Founder's Day Celebration, marked100 years since the town's founding in 1925.

What an incredible place! We really enjoyed the tour Fran and Mercy gave us. They were extremely…read moreknowledgeable about the property and you can tell they love what they do. The property itself is gorgeous. If you're looking for an event space, you're in luck they rent it out for weddings and other events.

I was here recently for a wedding reception during the summer. We parked in the playground parking…read morelot and walked over to the venue. The playground was cool; it had water features. When we walked in downstairs, there was a bar on the side and tables and chairs. We got a drink and went outside for the view of the lake. It was cool to see the seaplanes taking off. The receiption took place upstairs. The bar in the middle was a good location and the line never got too long. They encouraged holding on to our wine glasses if we wanted a refill. The wedding wasn't too large so there was room for tables on both sides and a dance floor. The couple also set up a screen to project video during dancing; there was room for all of it. The food buffet was delicious and refilled generously. It was in all a great experience. Only one terrifying thing worth mentioning was at the end of the night, it was dark outside and light inside so all of the mosquitoes were attacking the windows and anywhere there was light. The staff said these were the type of mosquito that only lives one day. Still terrifying because there were so many of them (biblical amounts) and when we walked outside, we had to go through them. This is nature and not the venue's fault but be aware!

This is a beautiful event venue. The theme is antique. It's so gorgeous ! There's an amazing view…read moreof the lake because you are literally on the lake. It was so serene and made you appreciate nature. I recently worked at a wedding at this venue and I have only two complaints which makes it 4 stars instead of 5. 1. I was constantly up and down the stairs because dinner was upstairs and dancing was downstairs. 2. They also have specific rules about some of the antiques which can be difficult to comply with when you have people placing their wet cups on an antique table! It may be beneficial for them to maybe place some glass over the wood to preserve it better. Other than that the staff was helpful and made the event perfect for the bride and groom along with the wonderful coordinating staff, caterers, etc. 67/100 for the Review Challenge

Beautiful venue for your events! So much courtyard space with the chapel, saloon, viewing deck, and…read morehall! The possibilities are endless! 10/10

I had such a wonderful time at the Hidden Barn!! The venue was stunning!!! The entire staff and…read morecrew were so sweet and helpful!! The animals were so adorable!! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone, it's the perfect place for a wedding or any event!!!

5 stars. My wife and…read moreI celebrated our 17th anniversary on the Dora Queen and it was exactly the kind of evening we wanted. The paddlewheel boat on Lake Dora is comfortable, the upper deck has a great view, and the staff made it feel personal without hovering. They even put a "Welcome Kerr Aboard" tag on our charcuterie board, which was a fun surprise. We sat outside with a bottle of wine, watched the water, and didn't have to rush anything. The weather looked stormy, but the cruise still went and the covered deck kept it easy. Nice mix of indoor lounge seating and open air if you want both. Easy to book, friendly crew, and a memorable way to spend an anniversary. We'd do it again.

Definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Mount Dora/Tavares. The new owners could not have…read moremade this trip any more perfect for me. From the second, I got on the boat until I got off the boat two hours later I was beyond well taken care of. The live music was engaging and the perfect compliment to the boat ride itself and just being on the water. The charcuterie board was yummy and completely worth the $25 it cost. I would 100% recommend doing the sunset cruise to anyone looking to enjoy their time Tavares on the lake.

Fantastic location for local community members to use. The pool and spa were clean and very…read moreinviting in this scorching Florida summer. The picnic tables were in the shade! You can attend as a guest which I did. I attended a baby shower there and it was inside the clubhouse. Excellent building that was spacious to have many guests. It also had a full kitchen to prepare necessary food items. Loved the fireplace and how cozy the place was. Check it out if you get invited. Very cool place!

Playground and pool and fishing dock. The playground has a big jungle gym and swings. There is a…read morebig pool and a hot tub. The clubhouse building has bathrooms as well. It over looks a lake which provides nice views. They have a lot of holiday events and you can rent the clubhouse for private parties.

Hands down the best choice we could have made! Ty & Craig were both so wonderful and helpful…read morethrough the whole process. The venue is drop dead gorgeous. My wedding day was perfect because of them! They host several open houses throughout the year which helped me pick all my other vendors. Ty is so kind and wonderful, and has built really good friendships with a lot of other people in the industry. The inclusive package is wayyy worth it. We saved so much getting the Rose package! The getting ready suites were spotless when we arrived. Perfect areas for getting ready photos. Literally the whole property is a dream and they have done a lot of work over the last year making it even better! I will never stop recommending them!!

We came to a wedding and the place couldn't be more beautiful. Lots of room to spread out and the…read morecovered areas with market lights was romantic once the sun went down. The food, catered by 4Rivers was excellent. The only negative was the food wasn't hot because of the cold weather and 17 mph winds--no fault of the venue. It was hard to find, but following Waze instead of Google maps made all the difference. Plenty of parking too.