Happy Holidays from Central Florida!

Antique Skiing Santa

As I look around our Maitland bed & breakfast, I see so many Christmas memories of  the past. There is the skiing Santa I remember from our childhood home on Montana Drive, the hand made star shaped Swedish decorative cloth on the table, the tree skirt that Joe’s Grandmother Antoninette made, the many small ceramic holiday characters that Joe buys me every year….and so much more. Every item gives me a warm memory.

Christmas 2010

We will be sharing all of these with a full house from now until the end of the year. Our guests do appreciate the warmth these special items bring. That is why they visit Thurston House over and over again! Come experience it for yourselves sometime in 2011 – book your accommodations now.

A blessed holiday to one & all from Carole & Joe!

Give yourself a Central Florida getaway now!

1858 Chickering Square Grand Piano

Don’t wait until after the holidays to relax from the craziness. Book a room now at our Maitland, FL bed & breakfast – a two night stay, very limited availabilty – and enjoy a 20% discount. Just book online and use the coupon code “NOW!” to get this discount. Good only until the end of 2010. You’ll be so pleased you did! Come experience our quiet Holiday elegance here at Thurston House.

Tis the Season – Central Florida Style!

1st camellia of the season!

The season is upon us in Maitland, Fl, at our Central Florida bed & breakfast. The reason I know this, is that the first of our camellia bushes has blossumed! Always first, this beautiful deep pink camellia is right by the parking area, greeting guests with its beauty. Soon the yard will be awash with all different types and colors, from large petal red ones, to small delicate white ones…they amaze me with their beauty every year.

oranges

Our orange and tangerine trees are starting to ripen too, and will be nice & sweet, ready to make juice by early January. Guests are always encouraged to take tangerines home with them as there is always an over abundance! Book your Thurston House room now and enjoy a bit of holiday cheer.

Maitland Bed & Breakfast Reviews

Here’s what some of our guests at our Maitland/Winter Park area bed & breakfast have been saying about us –

“A Fabulous Mid-week Respite” – I recently spent two nights mid-week at the Thurston House. It is conveniently located for easy access to a wide variety of cultural activities (the Enzian independent movie theatre, the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College, The Morse Collection in Winter Park, the Mennello Museum, The Maitland Art Center, etc., ). Carole is a knowledgable and gracious hostess as well as an excellent cook. Breakfast was sumptious and filling. The hot and steamy weather precluded enjoying the lovely wraparound porch and the relaxing hammock on the second floor porch as much as I would have liked, maybe next visit.

“Winter Park Area Gem” – Minutes from bustling Orlando sits a charming pleaceful bed and breakfast with outstanding attention to detail. Innkeeper Carole Ballard goes over and above to make each guest’s stay just right. Historic, breautiful and perfectly located. Rollins College & UCF. Near Winter Park as well.

O'Heir Room

“1 night – wanted more!”  – Greeted on the porch by Carole and Joe. Friendly and hospitable. Beautiful room, peaceful and quiet- newly furnished 1800’s home- Beautifully decorated- spacious. Lake, train in distance. Perfect! Delicious breakfast!

We love our guests and hope to show off for you too someday!!! Carole & Joe

Celebrating 18 years of Central Florida Innkeeping!

It’s official, today is the 18th anniversary for Thurston House B&B in Maitland. Who would have thought that time would pass so quickly? We have enjoyed guests from all over the world, including 21 countries, every state and 3 territories…amazing!

porch snack time

Our area of Florida is truly unique. We are a central location to a lot of local & varied attractions and things to do, including museums, boat tours, antique shopping, beaches, state parks, swimming springs, gardens, and even the Disney/Seaworld/Universal attractions area. What are you waiting for? Book your room now and come for the experience of a life time! Your porch chair is waiting for you.

18 years for Maitland B&B – WOW!

Come sit on our porch!

In two weeks, Thurston House will mark another milestone – 18 years providing wonderful accommodations to guests from all around the world. So far we have enjoyed guests from 21 countries, every state and even 3 territories! It has been a wonderful place for us to live, and we hope that we have many more years here at  Thurston House in beautiful Maitland, Central Florida.

We have seen our guests, marry, divorce, die, move away, move back, visit family, celebrate life events, stay for business, retire, etc. It has been very interesting to be a part of their lives. Some guests have been staying with us for over 10 years now! We are blessed.

House before renovations - January 1990

We have seen Thurston House start out as an empty and unloved house, to be completely renovated becoming the “Gem of Maitland”. Even the guest rooms started out one way, but have been fine tuned much during that time. Rooms have  different size beds now, and colors have changed – green to gold, pink to ruby red and yellow to tan. We have evolved too, starting with phone reservations and brochures to now offering online reservations and printable brochure on our website. You can even find us on Twitter, FaceBook and Trip Advisor too! 

Keep tuned for Fall & Winter Specials!

Come to Central Florida for History & Citrus!

Oranges

Central Florida was the capital of Florida citrus in the early years, especially around the time of the founding of Lake Maitland – 1885. This area lead the world in citrus production until several freezes devastated groves, pushing the citrus operations further south. Cyrus Brooks Thurston had a variety of citrus on his 160 acres of Maitland land.

Times have changed! What was once Cyrus Thurston’s 160 acre pride and joy, is now just 8 acres. His beautiful winter home still stands proud overlooking Lake Eulalia, but the many areas of groves are gone. Walking around the 8 acres you can note several old orange and tangerine trees, but a variety of oak and other trees dominate the landscape now.  We do have one orange tree that always give us lots of sweet fruit to make juice in early January.  There are also several tangerine trees left and from the looks of things we will have another bumper crop of these this January-February 2011.

Tangerines

Guests to Thurston House B&B early in the year are offered bags to fill with tangerines to enjoy at home. Book your room now for that time, and come experience a little bit of Central Florida citrus history.

A Trane Stops in Central Florida!!!

Old Trane leaving the station...

BYE-BYE old, and HELLO new! After 19 years of service to us, our old Trane 5 ton a/c -heat pump system wore out. It kept going through tremedous heat times, and kept us warm during those few very cold times. Considering 12-15 years is usually the maximum life for these types of units here in Florida, we have done well.

New Trane arrives...

Our new unit is nice & shiny, and oh so quiet. Come stay at Thurston House B&B in Maitland and see for yourself! Summer Special rates are ending soon, 9/2, so hurry!!!   Energy Air Company in Orlando did a great job with the installation!

Latest Exhibition at Maitland Art Center!

Current Exhibitions

William Vincent Kirkpatrick: American Impressionist

 

July 16- September 5, 2010

Florida Impressionist painter William Vincent Kirkpatrick was born in St. Augustine in 1939. The artist studied at the Maitland Art Center (originally called the Research Studio) with Lois Bartlett Tracy, who was a Bok Fellow (resident artist) in 1950, near the end of founder André Smith’s life. His entire estate and collection was kept by the family from the public until the last few years. This exhibition comes to Maitland courtesy of Baterbys Art Auction Gallery.

Gallery Admission:
         Members Free
         Not-Yet-Members, $3.00
         Seniors (65 and over), Maitland Residents, Students (12 thru 22), $2.00

Gallery Hours:

Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm         Closed Mondays and Major Holidays

This amazing museum facility is only minutes from Thurston House. Add it to the list of must do’s when booking a room at our beautiful Central Florida Bed & Breakfast!