Mount Dora Historic Inn and Cotteges

I grew up in Mt Dora, in the summers of my childhood and was excited about spending my 26^th anniversary at the historic Mt. Dora Inn. We made the decision to stay despite our disappointment in the inn. There was no living area to relax, or outdoor living area. Only your room to stay in. It is a bit run down and in need of redoing. The plumbing was installed backwards in the shower. The best part of the inn was the wonderful hired host who made our nice breakfast each morning. They were truly wonderful to us and the only reason for the two stars. It is deceitful to advertise the owner as a professional chef and there accomplishments as if they are on site when they live in Miami. The leaf blower for the town of Mt Dora starts at 6am. The noisy Mexican restaurants parking lot is under our bedroom window and they power wash at 11pm. It was a nightmare of noises.

Would have given them 5 stars if the a/​c hadn’t stopped working on our last day. I made the phone call to the office at 11 pm and they were nice enough to send someone. However, it didn’t help and this is Florida! Let me start out by saying the staff is awesome, very friendly and kind. We loved our cottage, «Tin Roof» very clean, cozy, comfortable bed and wonderful balcony with rocking chairs. Has full kitchen and they provide all the basic things you need. Walking distance to shops. Nice getaway, would recommend and definitely return!

My wife and I stayed for a couple of nights this past weekend. It was our first time at the inn and in Mt. Dora and it is safe to say that we would visit both again.
The location of the inn is excellent, walking distance to the lake and downtown.
Debbie and Lydia were a pleasure to talk with and an absolute delight during breakfast both mornings we were there.
Breakfast was fantastic both days; Polynesian soup (blended fruit and yogurt, basically a smoothie in a bowl) was an energizing and refreshing starter, followed by French Toast stuffed with strawberry and cream cheese with sausage on the first day, and crustless quiche with potatoes and sausage on the second day. Coffee and tea are both available but Debbie is nice enough to offer decaf and even made iced tea each morning for one gentleman who requested it.
Our room (we stayed in Mr. Charlie’s room) was quite spacious and charming with a comfy bed. The only complaint I have about the our stay, as well as the only reason I’m not giving them 5 stars, is the air conditioning situation in our room. The Inn doesn’t have central air, which isn’t a problem as long as it is in good working order, which it seemed to be in the lobby. The one in our room was quite loud, it kept us up both nights and it also took a very long time to cool the room; we turned it up a few degrees when we left for the day and it was very stuffy when we came back as well as when we first entered the room upon arrival.
I’d give 4.5 stars if I was able, and if we find ourselves visiting the area again we will definitely stay here again, but will probably choose a different room.

I stayed at the Inn on Memorial Day weekend, and was very happy with everything.
Debbie was a most gracious host, and the breakfast was awesome.
This was my first experience at a B&B and I will definitely being doing it again.
Thank you for a great stay!

A good week ago, when I visiting the area to take part in a group meetup around the bend, the group I was traveling with pre-​paid the fee for me to stay in the Ivy Cottage. Although the Ivy Cottage is the Mt. Dora Historic Inn’s cheapest cottage they rented, it actually did the trick. I only had to stay there for two nights.
Yes, there was no phone anywhere in the cottage, but when I had my own cellphone, I wouldn’t have needed one (maybe that’s why the phone was removed). The only remnants of the placement of such a phone existed in the kitchen, and was proven by the empty unused phone «outlet» sitting unguarded by the table.
The rest of the place was immaculate. Nice and clean, and very well kept up.
Although I definitely didn’t like the idea that there was no Wi-​Fi onsite, I had alternate forms (that I only knew about late into the stay) from my cellphone. Grrrrr!
I did like the fact that there were no cleaning employees who came around and cleaned the apartment while I was there. Though the place was shown to be spiffy to me, I didn’t like that some of the magazine choices in the one magazine collection bin, were more then 4 years old (some dated back to 2010– I decided to «band them together» and stick them in the front part of the bin.
Another downfall was the flashlight in the master bedroom (which contained, of all things a Queen-​sized bed). It’s light was super weak. had I had better batteries, I think I would have changed them the moment i got there. When was the last time these emergency-​use only items were ever checked? Jeez!
If that’s not enough, not even the alarm clock/​radio worked the way it was supposed to.
I did like the fact that there was a full-​sized kitchen complete with almost everything a normal house could ever need or want. It had cups, dishes, silverware, you name it. It even had a dishwasher with dishwasher detergent balls. For the time I spent here, I never had to use anything like that.
I did like the fact that they had two full trays of ice cubes in the freezer of the full-​size refrigerator, but since the water smelled of heavy sulfur, I didn’t want to make myself sick and use them. Nice try!
I liked that there was a door in the kitchen, along with the fact that the windows actually had a way to open them. Some of the windows I couldn’t actually open. Between the venetian blinds that had no opening/​closing mechanisms and for the ones that did, they were hard and heavy, this was a problematic thing.
About the only thing that worked here, was the television. But with so much stuff at the alternate location the group used, I wasn’t able to use this device efficiently. It got the job done for those times it was used.
Anyways, bargain shop around. It had it’s positives, but if I was paying the bill myself, I would have done more research and settled elsewhere.

I had the good fortune to discover the Historic Inn on a recent visit to Mt. Dora.
I was on a motorcycle trip from Miami to St. Augustine, and I wasn’t sure how far I was going to make it the first day because the weather was unpredictable, so I didn’t have a reservation.
I had always heard that Mt. Dora was a charming town, so after riding 300 miles up the back roads through lake country, I rolled into town and saw this postcard perfect inn just 2 blocks from the center of town.
Debbie the manager gave me a warm welcome and suggested that I stay in one of the cottages around the corner (Tremain Street Cottages).
The unit was an adorable one bedroom (not really biker talk but true!) spotless and nicely decorated with a full kitchen. I could have spent the whole summer there.
The rate was $ 97 and did not include breakfast, but there are several restaurants and bakeries just a 5 minute walk away.
Debbie also told me where to go for happy hour, and I ran into her and some friends later in the evening.
The next morning I continued my ride through the Ocala National Forest to St. Augustine, but my night in Mt. Dora was one of the highlights of the trip.
Highly recommended!