Honey Lake Plantation

This is a five star review so I want to get cons out of way first:

Wasps and wasp nests throughout plantation. This may appear park like, but it has gators, wasps and rattlesnakes. Be prepared.

Not particularly geared for individual travelers, but staff will bend over backwards to try and accomadate.

This is a peaceful ghost town on Sunday afternoons, be prepared with arrival and food.

Arriving by air is problamatical. HLP does not offer airport pickup. The seclusion comes at a price.

PROS:
Top line food & beverage department with culinary expertise for special events and large numbers of people.

Lakes full of bass with two lakes accessible for shore fishing around perimiter.

Bob whites provide the soundtrack for the resort.

Housekeeping staff discrete, competent, and helpful.

Grounds keeping staff is the key department that makes HLP what it is; a plantation whose main crop is nature's bounty (but please kill the wasps and a few of the mosquitos)

Great skeet and sporting clay course.

Fitness center above par for this type / size resort.

Recommendations

I recommend this for company team building events or family reunions. The poor cell phone service can be an advantage. I could even see wi-fi service shut off if group rents entire lodge to minimize distractions.

Couples who want to destress with nature. If you are into hanging by pool, fishing and strolling in woods you can have an affordable relaxation vacation. (Preteens would have blast and safety would be ensured)

I would not recommend this for someone that needs to be connected, does not enjoy just being outside in nature or that needs a ton of activities to be entertained.

I attended a wedding here and can't even begin to express my disappointment in this location. It began with a man, I'm assuming was the manager, trying to delay his bartenders for the last ten minutes of the open bar while numerous guests were trying to get drinks.

The staff seemed completely lost the entire time. Breakfast was $13 and consisted of one dish being brought out every ten minutes or so on the buffet while 50 guests sat and waited. The explanation was they didn't know that many people would be there. When the food came out it was undercooked and the plates were covered in old food.

I would have given a higher rating due to the actual location being beautiful but the complete lack of service and disrespect by staff, mainly management, warrants a one star rating.

Beautiful classy lodging in the middle of nowhere - we went to a nearby fall wedding on the GA/FL border and most of us stayed here. The rooms in the Equestrian Lodge are extremely well furnished, if slightly cramped in the double queen rooms. The new wood still smells like new wood. Entry area was only social area, which was a shame since so many groups stay there. We also stayed at the lovely HL Lodge, which served as the social center for our group. Lest you forget this was and is a hunting retreat, there are beautifully stuffed game everywhere, with an amazing alligator coffee table that you just have to see to believe. A few families stayed in the cottages and thought they were lovely.

My only concerns are administrative in that they are more attuned to corporate groups rather than individual reservations and woe is you if you turn up late, as there is not a person at the front desk all the time, in fact, you must have a security code to enter the main gates. Finding early coffee was challenging. We had a brunch in the Lakeside Pavilion (open air) and while the buffet food was very good, the bar is an issue as they apparently are dry and groups have to bring in their own - so clarify that whole issue. Additional signs from the main roads, especially from Rt. 221 to 243 (partial dirt road, keep going).

I came here for a work retreat. We had two days of meetings with a team building exercise.

The facilities were top notch. Clean and spacious with many modern amenities - hello big screen TVs with DirectTV! - the lodge and sleeping rooms were perfect for our group. The staff was attentive and the food was delicious. I want to come back with the Mrs for quail hunting and horseback riding.

The accommodations were ok but for the price I was expecting a lot more. Not the high end resort I expected. The staff was much less than accommodating. Even the request of a cork screw was almost insurmountable. I was incredibly disappointed with the food, not as advertised at all for a private function. Also
the "company policies" seem random and put in use when it suits the staff. Unusual for a resort that caters for events. We were invited for a wedding but also had the opportunity to screen the resort for a peer group function. Based on the attitude of the staff and the specific demands of my high-end clientele, I think I will pass on booking this resort for our spring retreat.

I'll start off by saying how amazing the plantation it self is. We stayed in the trophy lodge for a family wedding and had most of the other properties rented for our family. All of the cottages and lake houses we had were amazing. All that being said, since the second we walked in the front door to check in the staff was absolutely rude and it was almost like we weren't supposed to be there. We had the "GM of the property" and some other aggressive employee bust in the front door of the trophy lodge 2 hours before the wedding and threaten the groom to kick everyone in our party off the property because we had a keg a groomsman had brought for a gift for the large group of people we had. They even went as far as having the cops come to search the cabin... On this mans wedding day! Like we didn't just pay more than enough money to have a wedding there. They were completely out of line and I'll never return to gorgeous piece of property again. Not to mention the pillows were awful.

Honey lake is under new ownership, and I must say, they are doing a great job! The trophy lodge is INCREDIBLE! Rooms were clean, beds were super comfortable, and they even provided complimentary kuerig coffee!

This place is beautiful HOWEVER my husband and I had our wedding reserved there this past July (2015) and 45 days before they wedding they canceled us. The GM was rude and completely unapologetic. We had booked this a year in advance and less than 2 months before we had to move everything and start over. Not only was that a huge problem but along the way they went through 2 different wedding coordinators and never communicated with me the change. The venue is beautiful but it's beginning to lose its luster. The employees were unprofessional and it was not the southern hospitality I had anticipated. If you plan your wedding there I would create a back up plan! Also it's out in the middle of nowhere so there's nothing around and it's quite a drive to any other cities.

We have been on quite a few vacations this year,Hawaii,Virgin islands and a few trips thru the united states.I have to say Honey lake plantation was at they top of my list for the year.My wife and i and two of are friends stayed only one night.But in the 24 hour period we were there we started with a Great lunch from the Whispering Pines Restaurant,Then my wife and her friend decided to go to the spa for massages. My wife who has probably had a million massages liked her massage so much she recommended that the guys get one too.So we agreed and we got them.Nicole and lisa did a fantastic job when i was done Nicole had me feeling like jelly i just wanted to go to bed.But pushed on going to have dinner, Which just like lunch was absolutely delicious, I had the Rib eye steak which was cooked perfectly, My wife had the sea bass and loved it and our friends both had the fresh clams which they said were perfect.We then ventured on to the Sunset Cruise where we had a wine tasting and snacks our host craig "Who is a wine connoisseur did our wine tasting and captain of our cruise" He did a great professional job thank you craig.We then ventured to the on premises lounge/bar where we enjoyed drinks,playing pool,shuffle board,and a couple games of foosball.We wrapped up our night with a golf cart ride back to our rooms where everyone got a great nights sleep,We got up the next morning had a great breakfast and were on our way home.We all agreed we will definitely be returning soon and are thinking we should just get memberships.

THANK YOU TO ALL THE STAFF FOR EVERYTHING

JEFF AND JOANNE

Hard to write a good review when we had to leave early due to an allergic attack,but you need to be forewarned. The pillows in the Equestrian Lodge are down [probably in the other lodgings also]. Our first night, my wife found out she was allergic to them and had quite an eventful sleep [actually hardly any sleep for either of us]. There were no "alternative down" pillows available and even though the staff apologized for that, there was nothing we could do but leave. This is a very upscale resort with many amenities, although mostly geared to corporate clientele.
We had an enjoyable evening dining experience in the Whispering Pines Restaurant which I have reviewed separately. The resort owner is a reformed drug addict who has done very well and we wish this endeavor the best.