Highly recommend this tour... it's another powerful reminder of the extraordinary legacy of Henry Flagler, one of the nation's great early industrialists. Opened in 1888 as the opulent Hotel Ponce de Leon, it was the crown jewel of Florida's Gilded Age. The tour is led by one of the college's students, which makes it even more engaging. Everything is impressive, but highlights for me were the stunning Tiffany chandeliers, the clock made by Thomas Edison, and the grand dining hall still used by students today. Tips: When in the Palm Beach area visit the incredible Flagler Museum in Palm Beach... fantastic. And when in Tampa, visit Flagler's buddy's Tampa Bay Hotel (built in 1891) also turned into a college... at the Henry B. Plant Museum. read more

See all

Stars abound!!! Rating stars that is. Do not miss this tour if you love history, architecture or success stories. Henry Flagler was indeed a successful, self made man and his impact on Florida was immense. He loved this hotel he built that is now a college. Kit our tour guide was great. read more

Flagler College Tour - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Great info, beautiful campus. Our daughter will be attending next year and we are so excited!!!!

I went on a walking tour of St. Augustine last week which took us by Flagler College but not inside. Today I decided to take the one hour tour inside Flagler College. It was a great decision and I really enjoyed it. Kayla and Donna were the tour guides and did a great job. We met in the rotunda and began the tour in the Flagler Room. It is a beautiful space that was originally the women's parlor. There are eleven Tiffany chandeliers in the room. We next went to the outside courtyard to learn about the hotel rooms/residence hall and outside features. Once back inside we learned about the rotunda. Our final destination was the beautiful dining hall with all of the stained glass windows and painted ceiling. read more

See all

I taken this tour twice, and both were equally great and slightly different. I went while the ladies lounge was closed due to possible water damage, and after when the new dining room chandelier was installed. Different students let the tour each time and did a super job. Remember to give your guide a tip at the end, beer and college parties won't fund themselves! Highly recommend. read more

See all

This tour should be mandatory for visitors. The sheer amount of information was impressive and the enthusiasm by our host helped also. I neglected to get her name but that in my fault. Such a monument to the gilded age of St. Augustine it's almost impossible to overstate the impressive architecture. read more

We absolutely loved this tour! A real life Harry Potter/Hogwarts kind of feeling. Mia lead our tour and she was absolutely fantastic. The way she delivered each story had us hanging onto every word, excited to hear what else she was going to tell say. We left the college feeling so informed about all the paintings and many architectural designs, most of which left us speechless. So much we wouldn't have known had we not taken this tour. Highly recommend!! read more

See all

We had a great tour of Flagler College this morning. Our tour guide was Kit. He did a great job, although there was construction noise near the rotunda meeting area that was deafening at times. The architecture is fabulous and the history is interesting. To think that this property, which is so ornate & reminiscent of Harry Potter, is an active student campus is pretty amazing. read more

See all

The school is amazing by looking at it, so beautiful building and inside the hall is also very impressive. We also walked a bit in the campus, it's bigger than we thought. Nice place! read more

Flagler College Tour - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

What's most impressive is that the tour guide was so knowledgeable and witty, just a student at the college, not even in a history program! Respect. Seriously this tour was fascinating to highlight the crazy wealth, Tiffany glass in the windows, massive ballroom/cafeteria, beautiful chandeliers, Thomas Edison original clock, actual gold all over the ceilings and furniture,, wood carved pillars and the walls. Nd ceilings tell stories with symmetrical symbolic patterns. Very brief, and it was difficult to know where the meeting place was. The booking website and tour ticket office on St. George gave non-specific information and an address which is that of a large building closed off to the public. Only one ambiguous sign outside. I nearly missed the tour. read more

What an interesting place! The guides are students and are very knowledgeable on the history of the people and building. Our guide was Kip. He was great! Be sure to tip them. I noticed a lot of people in our group did not. read more

Great tour with Ryan! Kept it lively and informative. Very cool to hear the inside scoop from college students about what it's like to be on campus at such a historic site. Beautiful building - they don't make them like this anymore. Would have been cool to see a guest room and/or an additional guest facility. read more

Flagler College Tour - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

See all

The tour is really worth your time if you are in to history and architecture. The grounds and the building are so beautiful and it has a rich history. Incredible original pieces in there from Tiffany and Edison. The tour was only 45 minutes in length, so it will not eat up your day and you will leave there happy that you visited. read more

See all

Glad we signed up for this tour a couple days in advance because it is quite popular. The 50 minute tour is led by a current student, in our case Ally. She did a nice job and had a good booming voice for the tour. She had a good sense of humor. Don't expect super in-depth knowledge of the building and history but enough to make this an enjoyable tour. The tour involved three indoor spaces the amazing lobby, the ladies lounge and the stunning dining room. Also they cover the outside courtyard. It is hard to believe this place has survived all of these years and has been a college for over 50 years. You have to see it to believe it! read more

Great tour through this amazing building! Our guide (Kate) was great. The tour group was small enough that we could all ask as many questions as we wanted. She explained in detail the history of the building, architectural features, and the current use (freshman dorms!) It's def a must see if you're in Saint Augustine! read more

Flagler College Tour - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

See all

Wow. Wow wow and wow. To see the amazing craftsmanship and learn some of the history about this once incredible hotel is a must when in town. read more

See all

You gotta hand it to Henry Flagler. One of the businessmen considered by history as "Robber Barons", he spent an entire lifetime removing as much money as possible from the pockets of of ordinary people in order to establish himself as the second richest man in the world. And even after being dead since 1913 he's still doing it. What a guy. This tour is going to go down in history as one of the most worthless hours a person could possibly spend, and adding insult to injury you have to pay for it. The tour consisted of having a little college girl stand in the publicly open rotunda and point at the ceiling, standing in the public courtyard and pointing at the buildings, walk us through a room used apparently for nothing else but displaying artifacts celebrating the greater glory of Henry Flagler, and showing us the college dining room. Based on the number of other chumps along with us on this tour, Old Henry cleared somewhere around $500 pure profit after paying some poor college girl $15 to walk around with us for an hour. And the restrooms were dirty. read more

Great Tour, beautiful grounds, Student tour-guide was pleasant and informative, campus air conditioned and kept quite cool (welcomed) so much history in walking distance, a great place to continue education read more

Flagler College Tour - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Definitely worth it! My husband and I went to St. Augustine last weekend for the first time, and one of the highlights of the weekend for us was this tour of Flagler College! The college was formerly the Hotel Ponce de Leon, built by railroad magnate Henry Flagler in 1888 (who is responsible for quite a bit of the fantastic architecture in this surprising beach town) and is a National Historic Landmark. The tour is about 45 minutes and is led by a current student of Flagler College. Our tour guide was a charming sophomore student whose voice carried SO well and was funny and bright. She walked our (quite large) group through four areas of the college - the courtyard outside, the lobby, the dining room, and the Flagler Room (formerly the Women's Grand Parlor). So you only see a few rooms, but you learn a lot about the hotel, the times (very popular in the late 1800s), and the college. Well worth the $10 fee (which supports the school)! I highly recommend you take this tour if it's your first visit to St. Augustine! read more

See all

This is actually a fun and educational tour to go on when you're in downtown St. Augustine. If you don't mind feeling like you're in a herd of cows and you're not claustrophobic, it's definitely worth the time. The historic tour is given daily and has a limit of 60 people per round, but it definitely felt more like a 100 people in our group. You can only purchase tickets in person at the gift shop located inside the college. It's a gorgeous building and there's plenty of photo ops in the front courtyard and staircase prior to going into the actual building where you can explore the exterior before the actual tour. I loved the courtyard. It was once a posh hotel which you can tell from the elaborate design and architecture. I was amazed at the original furnishings and artwork including beautiful hand-painted murals on the walls and ceilings. You will also see household items, personal effects and photos of Henry Flagler and his family. And for about $12, I think it's a total bargain to get to see and learn about this National Historic Landmark in person. read more

The architecture in the small town is simply amazing. As we progress in society, we as a culture lost some of this old-time detail. Walking into some parts of this community was a throwback in time. I'm glad I'll be spending some time here over the next six months. I did not do the tour, and this was mostly a drive-through visit with minimal walking. I miss having my walking partner around as I know she would love this as much, if not more than I did. I can't wait to come back to this area and actually do the tour the way it's meant to be read more

Flagler College Tour - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Katelinn our tour guide was the sweetest girl and a great tour guide! She was very through and answered all out questions very in depthly

This tour was a little disappointing. The guide was good, but there were two negatives: 1.) Way too many people on the tour, it was too crowded. 2.) We didn't see much of the property, very small amounts. We found this to be a bit underwhelming. I'd recommend just poking your head in to take a look at the lobby of the former hotel and wander the exterior courtyard. The architecture of the building outside is quite gorgeous and worth seeing. I don't feel like this was worth $10. read more

We learned quite a bit on this tour led by college students (shout out to Rose and Kayleigh who were awesome!) The college was originally the ritzy Hotel Ponce De Leon which was built in 1888 (and designed by two architects fresh out of school, one of whom went on to design the NY public library). It became a womens' college in 1968 and turned coed a few years later. The dining hall is like none other you will ever see on a college campus! The architecture is amazing and the approximately hour long tour was fun and informative. The only downside is that with the number of people on the tour, it was sometimes difficult to hear the guide as her voice echoed in the large spaces. read more

See all

My wife and our daughter and I had a great time taking the Flagler College Tour. We learned a lot about the school, which we were hoping to do; and, learned about the campus, the degrees, and the housing. The dining room is spectacular, as is the entryway. We were able to visit one of the "salons," which is filled with historical artifacts; and, featured a noted speaker. The tour guides are students, so they share their personal experiences with the tour group. Our departure time spilled over into 3 groups; but, it still felt very intimate; and, we were not overwhelmed with jostling or people trying to crowd around a particular point of interest. I would recommend the tour to anyone visiting St. Augustine, whether you are interested in the college itself as a historical institution or an educational one. read more

I can't remember our tour guide name, maybe Cheyenne? The tour was very informative, I loved the history. The building is absolutely beautiful, and our tour guide was fantastic! read more

This is a MUST-DO if you're in St. Augustine! Allot an hour of your time to take in the guided tour, provided by one of the college's students. You will gain access to the stunning dining hall containing beautiful hand-painted goldleaf murals and 79 Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows, the Flagler Room with its beautiful, rare, white onyx clock and hand crafted Austrian crystal chandeliers, and learn some interesting information (and even ghostly legends!) from your tour guide. Learn about the pioneering techniques used to build this stunning structure, Henry Flagler's vision, and his desire to make the former Ponce de Leon Hotel a place of ultimate luxury and comfort, accommodating each guest's every whim, including hiring a staff to turn on hotel room light switches because the guests were too afraid to do this themselves. See the intricate detail everywhere from staircases to the public restrooms on the ground floor, and original furniture from its days as a hotel. Tours are offered hourly from 10-3, so you have plenty of chances to schedule your day around the tour. It is a unique way to hear about a student's personal experiences with attending college at inarguably one of the most beautiful college campuses in Florida, and if you're lucky, you may get some personal anecdotes about the haunted dorm rooms. Our tour guide, Ximena, was very knowledgeable, friendly, and approachable. At the end of the tour, be sure to head to the center of the Flagler Room, where an urn and some forms can be found. Fill out the form and you will receive some free, self-addressed mailing labels containing beautiful images of Flagler College that you can use whenever you mail out correspondence. It is a beautiful reminder of your experience (and will probably encourage others to read more about this stunning place, and make a visit of their own, because pictures don't do it justice). read more

See all

Our tour guide was able to answer every question; the college/ex-hotel is gorgeous and a must see if you're into interiors or the history of St. Augustine. If you go, you have to also see the Lightner Museum and learn more about Mr. Flagler there, and you can learn that much more about how he developed the area and how he is the Walt Disney of St. Augustine. read more

What we saw and learned was impressive! The price was also reasonable for each person. To get a 5 star, adding a room or two more - like a hotel room that represented what it was like to stay there. Maybe more info about the construction - effort it took, where they got supplies, etc. The tour is well worth the time and money to learn more about St Augustine history. read more

This tour is very informative. It is for about 45 minutes to an hour and gives great overview of the hotel, now the school and also about the person who built it. They talk about architecture of the place, artifacts in the building and also touch on what went into the mind of the artists who created it. The tour takes you the parts of the building which are not open for public otherwise. One other thing which I loved was, they did not attempt to whitewash the history especially about Mr.Flagler. Flagler college is beautiful but this tour greatly enhances the experience of the visit. read more

What a fascinating tour. Discovering Flagler was not only a very rich man, but a bit of a perfectionist. Our tour guide, McKayla, a senior at Flagler, painted a grand picture of Flaglers personality and his desire to make the Ponce Dr Leon hotel totally unique. Learning about his private entrance way to the main dining hall where the steps and floor were leather lined, to the 50 Spanish coats of arms that are represented was wonderful. One of the things that caught me by surprise was the courtyard. In the center there is a unique fountain that was originally ised to filter water from the two water towers and pump it back up. But the fountain is in the shape of a sword hilt and grip. Whats more, with the twelve froms that surround it, the fountain is a fairly accurate sundial. And more so, the fountain is the center piece of a Coptic Cross. My congratulations go out to McKayla and her calm, confident, and joyful presentation. McKayla I wish you well in your post graduate endeavors. You are well on your way amd will for sure make a positive mark where ever you go. read more

Flagler College Tour - McKayla, our tour guide. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

What a stunningly beautiful building. That said the tour was of the dining hall the main entryway and the ladies parlor. We also had an explanation of the beautiful Courtyard. Not worth the money considering all of the square footage none of which you see read more

Take this tour! Well worth the money. We learned a lot and the building is beautiful. I'm not sure who gives the tours when school is it but we had a student (Sofia) who did a great job. read more

Very neat and interesting tour about the history of the Flagler Hotel. They take you areas where most cannot view without the tour or special event reservations. The architecture and history is great. Our tour guide was fantastic and very personable. Definitely bringing my kids back here. read more

Flagler College Tour - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

The 50 minutes or so you'll spend on the Flagler College Tour (the one open to the public, not for students touring the college) is great. You'll learn a fantastic amount of history about the old hotel and Flagler's legacy plus you'll get to see parts of the auditorium and Women's lounge that are closed off to the general public. The Tiffany stained glass windows and Tiffany carved chairs (yes, they did make chairs) and their imitations are definitely worth the price of admission. Our precocious tour guide himself was worth the short wait for the tour. AND, if you want to see the areas of the college that are otherwise not accessible, take a tour as a "prospective student" or as parents of a prospective student. The buildings other than the auditorium are just as lovely and definitely worth the time you'll spend. Plus, Flagler is a good buy, not the "great college" that some of the other rreviewers note (and I was in the business of college admissions for two decades so I know my schools), but this recent addition to private colleges in the South does a great job for relatively little in educating its students. This is a school with a limited mission that does its job well. read more

Happened to stumble across this tour, I saw the gorgeous building and thought I might wander into the courtyard without bothering anyone, low and behold they have tours of the building twice daily at 10 am and 2 pm, $10 for an adult ticket. The building itself is the former Ponce de Leon Hotel, just a magnificent structure built in 1887 with "no expense spared" to make it fashionable for the Victorian rich who came for the season. Drop-dead gorgeous Tiffany windows, hand-carved woodwork and statuary throughout, and the historic dining hall that is now a dining hall for the female freshmen dorm, wow in tremendous shape after restoration and lovingly treated by the students. The tour is led by students and goes places you can not go otherwise, primarily into the dining hall and grand parlor. My favorites - electrical designs and the clock by Edison no less. An Edison clock has IIII instead of IV in the roman numerals, who knew? Also, the courtyard fountain that is a functional sundial (with frog fountains marking the numbers). The tour is about an hour, and perfect for a rainy day - or any day - to combine with a visit to the Flagler Museum just across King Street. read more

See all

Formerly the Ponce de Leon hotel, now a college, and a beautiful piece of architecture, with a fantastic cultural place in Florida's history. Built by Henry Flagler, of the railroad fame, it became a winter getaway for the Northern crowds after he built the railroad to St. Augustine. It is filled with Tiffany glass, murals by the best artists of the day, an Edison clock, artwork, and many other wonders. Your tour guide will be a current student, and they are enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We spent quite a bit of time here before during and after the tour. It is a wonderful place. read more

How can anyone in St. Augustine pass by this magnificent landmark and not want to take the time to walk around the grounds and through the building? It is so well maintained, so distinctive and so vibrant that it is truly a pleasure to be able to visit, tour and more fully appreciate the history of the former Ponce de Leon that is now known as Flagler CollegeHotel . I have always admired the architecture and beauty of the former Tampa Bay Hotel that is also a college campus, the University of Tampa. Hate to say it but, when it comes to Flagler, there is no comparison. Built by railroad magnate Henry M. Flagler in 1888, it is an older and more opulent structure than the circa 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel that Henry B. Plant developed. Both are fully functioning college campuses that have kept pace with their respective academic demands by adding buildings and upgrading and improving in whatever ways they needed to better serve their student bodies. But both have fortunately remained faithful to their original grandeur as upscale resorts. The guided tour was a pleasant and nicely paced way to really grasp what went into creating this building, from the Tiffany stained glass windows in the dining room to the handcrafted Austrian crystal chandeliers in the Women's Grand Parlor. Some of these areas included in the tour are not open to the general public and may even be off limits to the college students attending classes here so the time and money the tour requires are both well spent. Wandering through the lobby and courtyard I could not help but wonder what it was like when this luxury resort was at its height of popularity or how it feels to begin a college career here and realize how fortunate it is that this building still so grandly stands. read more

Great tour, amazing architecture, interesting history. The students that lead the tours are knowledgeable and very friendly. They tell the story with enthusiasm. Worth every penny of the tour price. Our guides today were Rose and Sonja they were great. read more

The college is beautiful - clearly five stars for the architecture. The tour can be interesting at times, but since the college is in use most of it is not tourable. You stand in the main entrance for most of tour hearing stories, then get escorted to two other rooms. You don't tour the grounds other than the outside entrance. Most of the college remains unseen. read more