Magnolia Inn

I really wanted to give at least four stars, because Lucy, the innkeeper, clearly wants to please. (She was very cooperative, quickly raising the thermostat when we said we were too cold yesterday during a cold and rainy afternoon.) This is a lovely old home with several rooms available for guests. The Garden Room is bright and comfortable, with a king sized bed that is not too soft, not too hard, just right. Two chairs for sitting. Three reading lamps. Good quality lace curtains and a couple of nice, old quilts. A bathroom that is adequate, stocked with quality toiletries and good towels. The common areas are spacious and inviting, including a large table where we played a game to while away a rainy afternoon.
Where things fell apart was at Breakfast. Because spouse is celiac, both of us had to eat eggs — choice, Lucy said, of omelet or scrambled. We said omelet, but what arrived was a plate of scrambled eggs with vegetables scrambled in. This was barely ok (spouse ate mine). Orange juice from a plastic jar, one glass poured by Lucy. At the appointed time (9 am sharp) Lucy brought out a generous plate of fruit, toast, butter (no jam), and bacon. No side plates, but in just enough time for the toast to get very cold, the eggs arrived and one could begin eating.
What put me off was the large and very strange selection of condiments on the table (yes, I did count): seven (7!) assorted bottles of imitation maple syrup, most of which had less than ¹⁄₃
inch of syrup; two bottles of honey, ditto. Four bottles of salad dressing, for what purpose I could not guess. One bottle of cranberry horseradish sauce! Two grungy bottles of catsup, almost empty. Two bottles of soy sauce. One mustard. One plastic bottle of Smuckers grape jelly. Two bottles of Tabasco sauce. Several assorted salts and peppers, most in need of filling. Still no jam.
The side table where Lucy serves coffee and tea was literally a pile of boxes of tea bags, napkins, cups. The two used tea cups we returned yesterday afternoon were still sitting on the dining table.
All in all the breakfast was unappetizing and that is putting it mildly. In the lobby of this lovely old home is a certificate saying they won the award for «best breakfast» in 2004 — this was clearly under a previous owner, or at the very least had nothing to do with the breakfast today.
Oh and then there was the common areas being pitch dark, not a single night light, by 8 pm. I nearly tripped twice trying to find the cork screws, wine glasses, and cookies we were told were available at all times.
Sorry, Magnolia Inn. Sorry, Lucy. I’m only disappointed that we are stuck here for another night. For $ 200/​night, we expect better. As I said I wanted to give 4 stars — but breakfast and other amenities matter.

My family had a confirmed reservation for Christmas Eve. We were driving down from Atlanta and hit the worst storm of the year. Traffic was sometimes at a crawl. I called Lucy and explained. I wanted her to know we would be in late. She was appreciative of the call but then called later and said she was not willing to stay late and that she would not be accommodating us. I asked her if she could leave a key as happens often with B&Bs. She said no. I understood that she might have had plans out of the B&B for her own Christmas Eve but arrangements could have and really should have been made. I offered to pick up the key. She refused. Common courtesy from a reasonable innkeeper would not include stranding a family with a reservation on Christmas Eve. We were pretty shocked. I did learn later that there are other B&Bs in Mount Dora with better reputations. I would wager that the awards and favorable press are all from prior management.

I was organizing an event and several people from my group stayed at the Magnolia Inn. I was there for 5 nights and can’t get over how wonderful Lucy was. She was helpful, patient, attentive, but not intrusive. The décor is lovely – everything I would expect from a B&B and then some! The downstairs area is great because it’s so spacious, and there is a lot of room for people to spread out. I really enjoyed my time there. It was my first time at a B&B. I would love to come back.