Opened in 1883, the Lakeside Inn is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Florida. That’s not marketing copy. It’s on the National Register and it’s never closed, not for freezes, depressions, or hurricanes.
Thomas Edison stayed here. Henry Ford, too. President Calvin Coolidge fished off the dock in 1930. The guest registers read like a history book, but the building feels lived-in, not like a museum. The veranda has the same rocking chairs. The pool is from 1927. The lobby still smells like lemon oil and old wood.
Room 222 is the famous one. Staff and guests swear it has a resident spirit. Lights flicker, furniture moves, and the bathroom door locks from the inside. The inn doesn’t lean into the ghost thing, but they also don’t deny it. You can request the room if you want a story.
The 5pm cannon is a newer tradition. Every day, staff fire a small brass cannon toward the lake to mark cocktail hour. Visitors jump. Dogs bark. Regulars check their watches. It started in the 1980s and now the town sets schedules by it.
Local Tip: You don’t have to be a guest to have a drink at the Tremain Tavern bar. Sit on the veranda at sunset, order the Key lime martini, and watch the boats come in. That’s the Mount Dora you came for.