Come, be our guest!

Experience the comfort and elegance of the Old South, blended with the customs, styles, and antiques of Victorian England.

Discover North Florida’s hidden secrets from the seventeen rooms of this lovely 1889 ‘Painted Lady’. Fern Court is a Queen Anne style home which offers four generous guestrooms, each with an en suite bathroom. (There is an additional fifth bedroom with a canopy bed, which shares a bathroom. Ideal for an accompanying family member.)Please use the Rooms and Rates link to see the bedrooms and their descriptions.A sweeping verandah wraps around the richly decorated ground floor rooms promising you a gracious and comfortable stay.

Moving inside, the pier mirror style hall tree reflects the central foyer’s presentation of grandeur. A right-hand chaise longue, demi-lune tables and console cabinets, and plaster pillars topped with bronze statuary complete the welcome to Fern Court.

To the left is the Hazel Room, or the Front Parlour. Deep claret colour walls boldly say this is a house with attitude. Leather chairs and sofas, a grandfather clock, and a poster from Madame Tussaud’s Wax Works celebrating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 are just some of the interesting attributes of this first common room. The corner fireplace is just one of four on the ground floor.

To the right of the entryway is the Music Room with its pumped harmonium or reed organ. A central table, draped in lace and decorated with a Parian ware bust sit as comfortably in front of a carved walnut sofa from Sweden as you will, when sitting on its coiled spring seat. Cranberrylamps, a decanter, and glasses link the fireplace overmantel to the table decorations and give us a clue to the colour scheme of the dining room.

With its pink and burgundy walls contrasting with the deep blue velvet chairs, the dining room continues the theme of bold colour and antique furniture. The Aesthetic movement mirror over the fireplace in this room is echoed in the Belle Epoch era black cast iron fireplace insert below. An oak bow front sideboard with bent glass panels competes for attention with a mahogany chiffonier. Silver candlesticks, crystal chandeliers, and lovely, framed mirrors continue the indulgent décor of Fern Court.

Returning to the theme of secrets, adjacent to the Hazel Room and across the foyer from the Dining Room is the Library with its floor to ceiling bookcases and rolling library ladder. Buried amongst the busts and books is a secret door to the stained glass and tiled splendour of the gents’ loo…or should that be the gents’ water-closet? Anyway, it is another of the playful aspects of staying or dining at Fern Court. The fourth and final fireplace is tucked into a corner of this quiet room. Working in front of it at the polished mahogany, leather topped desk provides you with a snug and cosy place to read or write.

This also nicely leads you back to the foyer and the bottom of the staircase to the upstairs bedrooms. Greeting you at the top of the stairs is a marble topped console and gilt mirror and the gilded bust of Henrietta of Louth. It is from this graceful upper hall with its black velvet chairs and original oil paintings that most of the bedrooms are located. Please click on the link to Rooms & Rates to read about the bedrooms at Fern Court and see some of the photos.

Fern Court offers the following to each and every guest:

Fresh morning coffee or tea delivered to your room.

Full gourmet breakfast. (Continental breakfasts available for lighter eaters.)

Many of the antiques, memorabilia, and collectibles are available for purchase.

Smoke free building. (Smoking is permitted on the verandah.)

Most credit cards or personal/travellers checks are accepted for reservations.

Wheelchair accessible.

Close to St Augustine, Crescent Beach, and the Ocala National Forest.

Special dinners by appointment.

Check in: 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.Check out: 11:00 a.m.(Other times available bymutual agreement.)

Return to the top of the page.