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    Retreat at Crystal Manatee

    4.2 (32 reviews)
    Open Open 24 hours

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    Front entryway.
    Jenn B.

    Outstanding visit, exceptionally clean rooms, customer service was top notch! 100% recommend staying there. Proximity to food, boat ramps could not have been better!

    Entrance Manatee
    Colonel P.

    Great location, super-clean, updated amenities, and friendly down-to-earth owner/manager. If you plan to actually stay in downtown Crystal River - within walking distance to all the shops and restaurants - this is the only place I'd stay. The most convenient location hands down. The hardworking owners are almost always on-site taking great care of the place, and are available to answer any questions or take care of any issues.

    This lovely place has spoiled me to stay anywhere else now. All motor lodges should strive to be this thoughtful and welcoming. The king bed room was spotlessly clean and well-appointed with towels, cleansers, and bottled water. The courtyard gardens beautiful and obviously well-tended. There's a little private and locked dining area with unlimited coffee drinks, a box of Twinings tea choices, hot water, fruit and yogurt and juices, plus clean tables and chairs for enjoying a snack. When you return to your room after a day of kayaking or swimming with manatees or hiking, you'll find a bag of fresh baked croissants. One night was chocolate chip and the next was apple. Nice touch and appreciated for breakfast. This is a prime location as you can walk to several nice restaurants and parks. Be sure to check out Crystal River Kayaks for natural fun, too.

    Garden courtyard

    Very pleasant place to stay. Close walk to Kings Bay where you might just catch an amazing sunset. The room and staff were both lovely. We had a Deluxe King suite. They pampered us with wine, croissants, and a delicious gelato dessert. The whole place felt new. They've done a great job with the renovations. We would absolutely stay again if we come to Crystal River.

    From inside
    H. H.

    This was a delightful place nicely hidden right off US-98 in a very quiet area. The room was very clean and comfortable. The bed was very comfortable and we slept very well. The owner and his family were very nice people and I had a very delightful chat with him while I was hanging outside. We ordered a European cheese and fruit board for $21.00 and they brought it to our room at a time we requested. Additional amenities can be a bottle of Korbel Extra Dry California Champagne for $25.00, or a medium sized seasonal bouquet in a vase for $25.00 that will be waiting in your room upon arrival. A lot of small local shops, restaurants, and pubs are walking distance from here. Even the place where we were going to kayak is just a 5 minute walk. We walked to the dock each evening to watch the sunset. Breakfast is bagged and they will deliver to your room that evening. It usually includes a pastry, juice, and yogurt. They do have coffee machines, fruit, cereal and milk, and oatmeal packets in their breakfast area however if you want a hot breakfast you can go less than a mile to a nearby diner.

    Tim K.

    The definition of a hidden gem! Seriously, don't pass up on this place if you're visiting Crystal River! After recent renovations, this historic roadside motel carries old Florida charm on the outside while hiding beautiful and modern rooms on the inside. I was lucky to stay during a recent trip to Crystal River for a workshop. I love staying at historic hotels, but the Retreat at Crystal Manatee was on such a different level. The exterior renovations were so tastefully done, retaining period paint color even, and then the interior rooms were spacious and filled with the best modern amenities, including a waterfall type shower. Decorations were different in each room, but kept the old Florida and beachy theme throughout. This is definitely one of those times when I wish I could give more stars. Great work and keep it up!

    Entrance
    Preeti M.

    The Retreat at Crystal manatee is a lovely place to stay at Crystal river. This is a family owned local boutique motel. The owner, Joel and his family, renovated this place from the ground up. They are still renovating some of the rooms and adding gates. The renovated rooms are lovely. Rooms & Service : The rooms were clean and the beds were comfortable. Everything is newly renovated and well maintained. It is a minimalist setting which I appreciate. I absolutely loved the shower fitting in the bathroom with the various modes and temperature tuner. I also noticed that they were using solar panels on some of the rooftops - kudos! The service was exceptional - they change the towels every day and provide a continental breakfast of freshly baked pastries, fruit, orange juice and breakfast bars. Joel was very kind and helpful - he gave us a lot of tips for places to visit and eat. Location : The Retreat at Crystal Manatee truly is a retreat - it is located about a minute's walk away from Kings bay - one of the quieter bays. Most Kayak tours start from here so it's very convenient. It is walking distance from the town center, restaurants and shops . The town is beautiful, quaint and charming. The area has not been commercialized and has preserved its feel. Our stay where was lovely and restful. I highly recommend staying at the Retreat!

    Entryway
    Sara S.

    My mother and I were visiting from out of town and decided to stay here. The Retreat at Crystal Manatee is a cute little hotel in a great spot. It's in walking distance from heritage village, local shops and restaurants, and state parks. The room was very clean and nicely set up. They bring you your breakfast in a bag the night before and place it in your room. Highly recommend this stay if you're planning a visit to Crystal River. I will definitely be staying here again when I return for another adventure. (Sorry for the dirtiness in the pictures, they were taken right before I checked out)

    A mixing shower
    Jen D.

    This place is awesome! The owners and staff are very hospitable and make you feel at home. The place has been recently remodeled obviously and is done very well!

    Outside rooms 3 and 4 with beautiful water oaks

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Clean, cozy, convenient location. They bring you fresh baked pastry every evening! Such a quaint touch.

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    3 years ago

    Perfect location, felt new and very well maintained, nice outside areas, daily pastries left at your door.

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

    The place was just fantastic. Clean friendly and awesome location. Felt very comfortable. Definitely planning on going back

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    4 years ago

    a quaint, beautifully maintained property. they were most attentive to every need. wish we scheduled more than one night!!!

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    Ask the Community - Retreat at Crystal Manatee

    Review Highlights - Retreat at Crystal Manatee

    It is also located within a 2 blocks of the cute downtown Crystal River shops and restaurants.

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    Kings Bay Lodge

    Kings Bay Lodge

    (16 reviews)

    $$

    Pros: great location. Walking distance to town, multiple bars & restaurants and Hunter Springs…read more Plenty of boat docks. Rooms are large and clean. Pool is really nice for what it is. Spring fed and cold! Cons: no hot water. Luke warm at best. AC is decent but could be better. No ice. Ice maker was not working on this trip in this room. Fridge did not get very cold. Freeze did not freeze. We enjoyed grilling out and having our dinners at the tables facing the sunset. Really nice. Overall it was a good stay with access to the water and close proximity to downtown. Old Florida !

    A beautiful old fashioned motel located on the Kings Bay waterway in Crystal River. This place is…read morenostalgic because Dave stayed here with his family over 60 years ago. There are 18 units that are efficiencies. They are kept very well and have a kitchen and lovely bathroom. Everything is provided for you. There is a spring fed pool that you can swim in. The property is adjacent to the water, so you can fish or sit outside and enjoy the view. The motel is located just a few blocks from downtown and there are restaurants, gift and coffee shops. There are trails and water near by and Dave took his electric bike all over today. What a great place to visit and relax for a few days! They even let us park Pandy right across from our room! They provide grills and briquettes for their quests and there is a covered area with picnic tables where you can eat. Thank you Kings Bay for an enjoyable stay! We love supporting our local community businesses wherever we are!

    Best Western Crystal River Resort - Outdoor Area

    Best Western Crystal River Resort

    (48 reviews)

    $$

    The only reason to stay here is the proximity to Bird's Underwater for the tours. We arrived in the…read moreevening and were ready to get settled, find dinner and go to bed because we had to be next door for our tour at quarter of 6 in the morning. Check in was quick and I appreciated them switching us to a suite because we had 3 adults and two kids. It was a little more comfortable with the pull out couch and a little table to sit at. Right away we discovered that the toilet was not functional and called the front desk. We told them we were going to grab dinner and to please send someone over. They did but there wasn't much the maintenance woman could do at the moment. She promised to have a plumber in while we were out in the morning. I wasn't happy about 5 people in a room without a toilet that would flush more than liquid, but we made due for the evening. After the plumber came it was slightly better, but not the way it should be. Luckily we were out of the hotel most of the time so we didn't make a fuss and the lobby bathroom wasn't far if needed. While the staff was helpful, the place wasn't up to par. It's a Best Western so you don't expect much but the place is pretty dingy and needs some cleaning and upgrades. They're still getting decent money for the location and they seem to be floating on that alone.

    There aren't many options in Crystal River to begin with, so my family and I chose this. This hotel…read moreis the best shitty hotel in Crystal River. Now, what I will say that was nice was the friendliness of the staff and the location (it's in the centre of town). However, considering that Crystal River is a very small town to begin with, any other hotel would be fine. The room we stayed in was moldy. I mean, EXTREMELY moldy. We had to buy Damprid just to get through 3 days. And, I don't know how they did it, but it was more humid in the room than outside. To add on, the floors were dirty as hell. Like, dirtier than a dog that's been playing in mud. And, the bathroom was nasty! For ~$225 a night, NOT WORTH IT.

    Angler's Resort

    Angler's Resort

    (15 reviews)

    $$

    I would give zero if possible…read more We rented a boat for the 1/2 day afternoon on Feb 20. They advertise the boat would be a Bennington boat. They gave us an old boat, radio didn't work, and top was extremely hard to retract which we had to do before going thru an underpass upriver. The boat acted weird but 1 hour down the river the boat completely quit! Called and they sent Todd an hour upstream (nice guy) to us. He couldn't get the boat started, so had to pull us back to their dock. So 3 hours spent on the water with only one hour of our 4 hour rental enjoyable. Todd assured us over and over they would make this right, we would not be charged, not our fault, etc. Todd did offer us another boat, but it was 3:30 and I'm sure they would not have waited for us to get our other 3 hours, I would not want to be on the river after dark! It's now March 11, we have returned to TN the end of Feb and still no credit for our broken down boat. After countless phone calls, the owner Stan finally agreed on March 6 to refund half our 300$ spent. It's now March 11 and no money has been refunded. Be careful renting from this company, and don't let them give you the old brown pontoon. If Todd had told us the policy was "no refund" we would have got another boat before we left the end of February!

    Safe, clean, affordable. Had a four night stay with my daughter to visit rainbow Springs and the…read moresurrounding area. I am somewhat of a bougie hotel person, but not against the economic stays. I would definitely recommend here, if you are extremely particular about your sheets and pillows bring your own. Would definitely stay again.

    Retreat at Crystal Manatee - hotels - Updated May 2026

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