Chalet Suzanne, Lake Wales

Unique old world charm, is the first thing that comes to mind. Then the food takes your breath away, it is outstanding. These people care about quality and service. The room was large and full of character and included a nighttime treat. Breakfast was excellent, especially the pancakes, which are unlimited. After breakfast ask for food to feed the turtles. We will return and I recommenced it highly.

As a Floridian, I've looked forward to visiting Chalet Suzanne for many years and was sadly dissappointed. This tired, old "resort" looks as it has had nothing done to update it in 40 years. I love antiques but old, small TV's and worn-out mattresses are unacceptable. The room reserved for us had a king mattress that sagged so badly we rejected it. After seeing two more we accepted the third with a decent king bed and then we were off to enjoy dinner. Unfortunatley even the restaurant didn't live up to its reputation. While the service was excellant the food quality certainly does not justify the high price. All-in-all there are far too many fine resorts in Florida that offer better at the same or less price. On a brighter note, the owners and all the service staff are delightful and try hard to make your visit enjoyable. We wish them well.

Decor is charming and we thought staff was too, at first. There was a mix up on the food order. We were brought someone else's food and then it was taken away. The waitress came up 3 times apologizing and asking if there was anything they could do. When the meal finally came 1 1/2 hrs. later my brother-in-law's steak was well done (he ordered med rare) and his rice was cold. My sister's lamb chops were not up to the $32 price tag either. My BIL sent his meal back & the chef made the poor little waitress come back and do his dirty work stating "the chef respectfully disagreed". After 1 1/2 hrs and these antics my brother-in-law lost his temper...wouldn't you? The next encounter the chef wanted to speak to my BIL out front. He would not admit his mistake and was extremely rude. Unbelievably POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. The owner/manager made no attempt to approach us and rectify the situation, but she may have been unaware of what was occuring. No matter how charming the decor and grounds were we would never return and pay for sub-par food and a haughty chef. Find another place to go and spend your hard earned cash. Definitely not even a 3 star experience. Maybe a -3.

Planned a romantic weekend getaway. We must have gone somewhere other than where all these "5 star, it's wonderfully romantic" people went. Got a gross little room with a dilapidated bathroom, moldy/musty smelling. Poor water pressure in shower, cracked tiles, looked like Billy Botch-it was doing the maintenance. The furniture was kind of antique, but really more worn out and threadbare. The "gardens" looked like they needed some attention. Dinner was in a funky building (don't they have building codes in this county?) with a lake view. The lake was way low due to drought, leaving a nasty shoreline, no landscaping, but a dead pine trunk. Some kind of mismatched landscape screening dangling from the rotting eaves must have been there for sun protection. View across the lake was of the backs of some tract houses. Dinner was good, but dessert was carrot cake strait out of the refrigerator, revolting soggy bottom with that commercial refrigerator smell. Decaf coffee was not, resulting in my wife tossing and turning all night, while I woke up with a sore back from the mattress. It was a memorable experience and fortunately we're able to laugh about it, but for $400 all up, we could have gone somewhere enjoyable. Told our friend who recommended it to us about our experience. She did some quick figuring and realized it had been almost 20 years since she was there.

Had lunch there on Sunday 4/19. Don't bother. $8 for a cup of soup, that they claim is a bowl. $12 for a salad. I left hungry for my $20.00 and to top it off, they added the 20% to the check for the tip. Very over rated for the food quality and service. Place is quaint, but run down. Another member of our group had a burger and fries $17.00 (this was not Kolby beef) and $3.00 for an ice tea. I have had better food at chain restaurants.

My sisters and I stopped for lunch on the way to Bok Tower. The Chalet and restaurant are very quaint and charming looking from the outside; but inside the dining room our chairs were wobbly, and while my sisters had a nice view of the lake, I faced the front of a dilapidated building. There were 2 options for lunch - $30 for brunch and $14 for the flight menu. We chose the latter, which was a choice of 1 entree and 1 muffin/roll. My sister ordered the mini burgers (2 per order). They were mini all right - each burger was the size of a dollar-coin! The flight menu also included 1 roll or muffin. They were mini as well; but $14 dollars' worth? Opt for the chicken salad instead. It was delicious. Overall, the value was not there.

I fell in love with Chalet Suzanne the first time I stayed there in the 1980's everything was perfect, food, service and the grounds were just beautiful. Yes, some things have changed over time, haven't we all? I agree with some of the comments, that some of the rooms are just adequate at best and need some creative inspiration. There can be some improvement on that. Yes, improvements are needed but I completely disagree with some of the reviews! Hey I've stayed in many big cities and really highly rated hotels and they turned out the worst: Miami reeks with poor hygiene practiced by the workers, filthy kitchens horrible service and dangerously bad food (mostly latin and island food) the most I think... safe AND tasty cuban food is "Larios" (not sure of the spelling) in South Miami. I know I would rather stay at a place like Chalet Suzanne you have a better sense of whose preparing the food..a closer relationship if you will. Oh I don't know.... I really like knowing who's in the kitchen...makes for a more relaxing dining experience and the food is outstanding. Most of the staff are experienced and knowlegdable, polite helpful people even more so in the dining room. I think you have to be flexible, it's a small town that's the beauty I continue to see the beauty emerging everytime I go which is pretty often, I visit often so I consider my self lucky. The layout of the property is really special, the romantic garden is so pretty, the fly in breakfast offered yearly is really cool where people fly in park their plane come in have breakfast and fly out, beautiful planes, so awesome watching them take off!! Lots of landscaping taking place to continue the big garden like beauty of the property. It appears they (I'm assuming the family) are really taking it into the 21st century without losing the uniqueness of the early Chalet Suzanne. New menu options regarding "brunch hours" the chef formally from LA with decent references/resume which is nice, I happen to think the the way to impress anyone is how good the food is and it was top notch everything was delicious we fell in love with everything that was offered on the brunch menu. The desserts were excellent, the service was a little to slow in the dining room...but the food really made up for that:) This is not a place for people who: love James Bond, loved discos, decorate with plastic flowers in the home, live on microwave foods (everyday) and rely on their watch for every minute of every hour for everything. It is a magical place.

We stayed at Chalet Suzanne to celebrate our 5th Anniversary,our goal was to have a restful, romantic weekend, which is exactly what Chalet Suzanne delivered. We stayed in the "Holiday" Suite, it was extremely clean, cozy, and comfortable. The staff is very warm, friendly, and helpful. After checking in and getting settled in our room, we strolled the beautiful grounds, and visited the charming gift shop, walked through the lovely garden, looking at the sweet sentimental ceramic tiles that cover the wall surrounding the garden. The tiles were adorned by previous guests, and have sweet sentiments written on them. There is a nice refreshing swimming pool, with comfortable lounge chairs, and umbrellas for some shade. After a quick dip in the pool, back to the room we tried out the jetted tub which was a nice touch. On to the quaint and charming lounge and dining room, when you walk in it practically takes your breath away, it is so lovely and packed with antiques and bits and pieces of Chalet Suzanne history. We splurged on the six course dinner, the food was fabulous!! We loved the broiled grapefruit, well we loved everything. The service was wonderful. In the evening Chalet Suzanne looks just as charming and magical. We loved just sitting outside in the peaceful courtyards and terraces, very cozy. The breakfast in the morning, which is included in the price was also fabulous, the swedish pancakes are positively delicious, again the service was superior. During your stay be sure to visit the soup cannery on the property, you can taste some of their delicious soups and purchase them if you choose. A vist to Chalet Suzanne transports you to another era in time, and a magical place. This is the place to go if you want a peaceful, relaxing romantic weekend.

The quality of the food and service was outstanding. My wife really loved the service and she's hard to please. My lamb chop was wonderful and my wife's filet was perfect. Couldn't have asked for a nicer evening! I'll be back !!!

Please, never go there! The room smelled the mold, the door did not close well letting all the bugs coming in, the bathroom ceiling was showing leaks from the roof, the floor was uneven. When you take a shower, you are sure to flood the bathroom's floor. We thought celebrating a romantic Anniversary and it turned to be a nightmare. At the time, the price was $220.00. Outrageously expensive. This place should not even advertised in magazines or brochures like AAA. We complained to the manager, who did absolutely nothing to be agreeable.