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.

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!!!

Absolutely venue! The outside area was the setting for a wedding overlooking the lake. The various…read moregathering areas housed a cocktail area, dinner seating, and a coffee/dessert station. Another covered area served as the cocktail bar and buffet. The venue has beautiful gardens, a cog pond and several seating areas. The staff ensured that everything ran according to the bride and groom's schedule. They even had bug spray on hand as needed.

August 2025 - The Villages Miata MX-5 Club toured the mansion today. We had a fantastic tour of…read morethis historic mansion. The place is spacious and nicely furnished with items from around the world. We also had a wonderful tour guide. Check it out, you'll like it.

If you are looking for the perfect venue for your wedding or reception then this is the place you…read moreneed to book! The ceremony area is absolutely beautiful and has a large tree branch that hangs over the area that the bridal party that you can decorate. The reception area is located in the barn and is just as amazing! The Hitching Post Barn has more decorations than you could ever imagine and are so helpful with making it look exactly how you want it to. When it comes to the day of the wedding Suzie and her staff are miracle workers and will literally do everything to make sure your day goes off without a hitch; and if it does, they are just as good as fixing whatever may pop up. I cannot say enough about how great these people and this venue is. If you're looking for a beautiful venue, that will also make your day a breeze, then contact them immediately. Thank you guys for being so amazing!

I am the mother of the bride. My daughter had her wedding at Saxon Manor in December 2025, and I am…read morewriting this review because what happened to our family needs to be known. The catering failures on her wedding day were numerous and inexcusable. We had carefully selected a menu after going through TWO tastings, the first of which was so unsatisfactory that we actually asked to bring in our own caterer. We were persuaded to give them a second chance after being told a new chef had been hired. We went back, had a second tasting, and selected our menu: chicken skewers and a dip and cheese platter for appetizers, and for dinner, caesar salad, plain rice pilaf, steak bites, au gratin potatoes, and salmon. Here is what was actually served at my daughter's wedding: * Instead of salmon, they served chicken. * Instead of au gratin potatoes, they served green beans and zucchini, something no one wanted or enjoyed. * Instead of plain rice pilaf, it came out with cranberries in it. * They ran out of chicken skewers during the appetizer hour. Many of our guests did not get any. That is three wrong dinner items and a shortage on the appetizers, on my daughter's wedding day. The manager on site (Nick) acknowledged the mistakes and apologized, and told us the owner would call to make it right. When the owner called me, I was shocked by his behavior. He tried to justify serving green beans by saying they had received a large shipment and had extras lying around, as if my daughter's wedding was a place to use up surplus produce. He claimed he personally witnessed plenty of skewers and suggested our guests may have been overeating. He made an insinuation that my daughter was somehow at fault by saying "I don't want to say your daughter was at fault, but." He stopped there and gave no reason whatsoever how or why the bride would be at fault here (because there is none). When I asked him what do you mean my daughter is at fault, he changed the subject. And when I calmly said this appeared to be a breach of contract, he became loud, aggressive, and belligerent, repeatedly yelling "you played me." I was so uncomfortable with his conduct that I ended the call and told him all future communication must be in writing or with a male (attorney) family member. I then sent a detailed email to the owner and the venue documenting everything and asking for appropriate compensation. They never replied. Not once. Months went by in complete silence. It was only after my daughter filed a BBB complaint and posted a review that they acknowledged any of this, and even then, their response only mentioned one of the four problems and offered no compensation whatsoever. If you are considering Saxon Manor for your wedding or any event, please think carefully. When things go wrong, and they may, this is how they handle it.

The BoHo venue at Saxon Manor is beautiful, but my son and fiancé were disappointed by several…read moreimportant details and limitations that were not disclosed before booking. They later learned the BoHo package operates very differently from the Barn and Garden weddings, including a different vendor list and additional restrictions that were never clearly explained upfront. Throughout the planning process, it felt as though the Barn and Garden weddings were the priority, while BoHo couples were given less flexibility and importance despite paying significant deposits and costs. The bridal suite information stated it was available beginning at 9 AM on the wedding day. However, after booking, we were informed that practical getting-ready access would only be for approximately two hours before the ceremony. It also was not disclosed that the bride and guests would need to walk through the reception area in order to access the ceremony aisle and seating area. Before booking, we were told there was a larger gate entrance that could be used, but after booking we were informed that was not an option. This took away from the private and traditional ceremony entrance experience we believed we were reserving. They were also asked to select dishes and glassware during planning, only to later be told those selections were not guaranteed if needed for the larger Barn or Garden weddings. Additional décor restrictions were also disclosed after booking, including that candles could only be used if rented directly through the venue, and we were not permitted to modify the sweetheart table setup. Unfortunately, despite these concerns and the lack of upfront transparency regarding several operational details, Saxon Manor is still keeping our $1,600 deposit. Transparency matters when couples are making major financial decisions, and we wish these details had been clearly disclosed before signing and paying a deposit.

From the moment we discovered The Pinery on Instagram, we knew it was something special. My husband…read moreand I live in Naples and wanted a wedding that was completely outdoors but not at the beach. We scheduled a visit about a week after getting engaged and made the trip to see it in person, and the moment we arrived, we knew this was it. We didn't even bother looking at other venues after that. We chose their elopement and catering package for 20 guests and had our wedding on a Thursday, which was perfect for the intimate experience we wanted. Christina and Jeremy are wonderful hosts, and their daughter Ruby is the sweetest. They make you feel so welcome and truly care about the couples who get married there. The venue itself is beyond words; magical, peaceful, and surrounded by beautiful forest and nature. Honestly, you don't need to do much decorating because the venue itself brings the magic to life. My husband and I are both from up north, so being surrounded by the pine trees made the day feel even more meaningful and nostalgic for us. We loved the different package options they offered. When we booked about a year ago, they didn't yet have the all-inclusive package, but knowing how attentive and thoughtful they are, I would absolutely recommend it because I'm sure they go above and beyond with every detail. On the day of our wedding, Jeremy was already ahead of everything, even monitoring the weather for us. He let us know there was a chance of rain and walked us through options just in case. We decided to trust our gut and move forward with the outdoor plan. In the end, it started to rain right after we finished dinner, and it actually became another sweet and memorable moment from our magical day. Our family was beyond impressed with the venue, and we couldn't have imagined a more perfect place to celebrate such an important moment in our lives. Thank you again, Christina and Jeremy, for sharing such a beautiful and special place with us!

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.

I got the opportunity to play this private club on a crisp, cool, sunny March day…read more The pro said the greens were measured by a stimpmeter the day before we played at 14.1. On the PGA tour, fast greens are 10.5. So these greens were much faster than the pros are used to. Think putting on your garage floor! If you are a true golfer, this is a must play course

We came for a golf scramble that included a continental breakfast and lunch. The clubhouse is…read morebeautiful. The Quarry course was in excellent shape. We had such a good time playing this unique Florida course, famous for its elevation and challenging holes.