The Suite Spot travels to Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, to visit the historic Mission Resort + Club as the next stop in the Road Trip series. This property is renowned for its prestigious golf courses, natural environment, and rich Florida history dating back to the early 1900s.

Tune in to hear from General Manager Cindy Staley and Director of Agronomy Danny Parks as these two join the Suite Spot.

Ryan Embree: Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in, and we check out what’s trending in hotel marketing. I’m your host, Ryan Embree. Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of The Suite Spot. This is your host, Ryan Embree. If you’re watching us on YouTube, you can tell we are not in our Suite Spot podcast studio, but instead, right in our backyard at the Mission Resort + Club. It’s such a privilege to be here. I just got off a tour. It was fantastic. We’re gonna talk all about it today. And now we’re joined here by Cindy Staley, General Manager of the Mission Resort + Club. Cindy, thank you so much for joining me on the Suite Spot.

Cindy Staley: Well, thank you for being here. We appreciate you coming out to the resort.

Ryan Embree: It’s an incredible property you have here. Before we talk a little bit more about it, get in depth about its amenities, the guest experience here, talk to us a little bit about your hospitality journey and how you ended up here at the Mission Resort + Club.

Cindy Staley: How far back do you want me to go? Just kidding. I actually always wanted to be in the hospitality industry, even in, believe it or not, high school. I wanted to be a chef. Went to college for it. Really just saw what the hotel arena and resort arena could bring to me. You’re never bored. Yeah. There’s always something new or something different to do. So I worked my way up. I’ve been in the central Florida area since 2005 working more in the Orlando market. This opportunity came up roughly three years ago. And that’s when the prior owner purchased or sold the property and sold it to MMI Hospitality Group. With that, I was hired before they came to the hotel, and they actually took it over in December of 2022. So we’ve been through this transition of the prior owner to the new owner, both families and have been through the transition of what MMI has accomplished in the last two and a half, almost three years.

Ryan Embree: It’s incredible, and we’re gonna talk about that today. But getting back to that point, a historic property like this with such a rich history, that’s not something that just can hand over to something. It requires a lot of care, and I think that’s a real testament to MMI hospitality that they’re entrusted in this, this really, you know, jewel that has been around for, for so long. It’s really, really cool to see. Talk to us a little bit about, we, we heard about the golf side. Obviously that in itself is, makes it a destination, but you know, as general manager, you’re obviously managing over the guests that you host here. Talk to us a little bit about the property, the guest experience, and some of the incredible amenities outside of golf.

Cindy Staley: Absolutely. MMI had had owned it for I think, 60 plus years, the King and Prince Resort, which is on St. Simon’s Island in, in Georgia. So they’re good at managing historical properties. Mission Resort, it has been here since 1964 when the prior owner purchased it. And they really recreated the property from the golf course that was built in 1917, which is El Campeon. And then throughout the years, created the resort building by building, creating 176 guestrooms. We also have suites and villas included in that. They built three restaurants very good reputation restaurants from La Hacienda, the Breakfast Restaurant, La Margarita is our lunch and dinner restaurant. And then the Golf Clubhouse, which is just going through a name change called the Grove House. And it was formally Knickers Golf Clubhouse.

Ryan Embree: And talk to us a little bit about, because I thought it was fascinating how that name change. You involve the members here at Mission Resort. Talk to us a little bit about that process.

Cindy Staley: Well, we feel that membership involvement is very important. And we actually came up with a number of names and then put it out to the members to vote on the name changed. And the Grove House is what they selected as it, which really represents the area with the citrus groves in the surrounding communities.

Ryan Embree: It’s so cool because I think, you know, I hear a lot of stories from this area and members talking about, you know, bringing their children, maybe even grandchildren. And to be a part of that chapter that you have now to say, maybe I was a part, a small part of voting for this and seeing that name change is really, really cool. Outside of the food and beverage experiences, there’s been some other renovations to the property, including the spa. Let’s talk about that.

Cindy Staley: Yeah. We have a 6,200 square foot spa. We actually had a local design firm come in and help us with the design and recreation of the spa. The companies called Humble Abode, and then the principal designer is Tiffany Whitley. She came in and really captured the natural surroundings, the Florida natural look, incorporating a lot of serene decor and which really complements our services and treatments that we have on our menu.

Ryan Embree: Yeah, I think it matches, you know, the environment that, that you have here, which is, again, it’s a, it’s a secluded retreat. I’m sure you’re getting a lot of interest from, from locals. Obviously events you have here, hosting weddings, that spa golf combination really great for I’m sure a lot of newlyweds or people participating in those types of events. Let’s talk about the, we’ve talked about outside of the room, but obviously some, some renovations have happened inside and, and a new re-imagination of those rooms. Let’s talk about that.

Cindy Staley: We just completed our guest room renovation, in the first quarter, renovating or re-imagining 176 guest rooms. Wth that we had three design and architectural firms that were involved, with the design and really, again, incorporated the feel of the area. They also used some black and white historical photos that they introduced and really put into the project in the guest rooms and the corridors. So it’s kind of unique walking through and you’re seeing some of again, the history in the photos.

Ryan Embree: It’s so cool because you know, again, we talk about online reputation all the time, or a digital marketing podcast that’s at heart. But a place like this, you can just feel its reputation. It kind of precedes itself. As I mentioned before, you might have generations that have visited this place, people getting married here, people, sharing experiences here for the first time. Talk to us a little bit about the reputation of the Mission Resort and Club and how, you know, your team really speaks to that, that history, but also is reinventing itself right now.

Cindy Staley: Absolutely. Being here for 60 years, you do have a lot of that repeat people that enjoy coming here. Whether it’s in our grand brunches, which we host every major holiday, you always hear the local people that have been here and coming here for 20 years, 10 years. They just make a, you know, their, their yearly event with those celebrations to the golf buddy groups that repeat. We have a number of groups that started small and have gotten larger, but they repeat year after year or every other year, to weddings as you mentioned. Last week we had a bride and groom that were married here five years ago. They come here every year to celebrate their anniversary. And their memories are just really important to them, and they always wanna go to that spot that they were married at or that was important to them.

Ryan Embree: And that’s the type in hospitality. You’ve been there, you know, reviews a five star review here on TripAdvisor, Expedia. Like, that’s the type of reputation that is so solid, transformational, you know, that they’ll, that they’ll never forget. And as a really key piece to their story and journey. It’s so cool to hear that and be at a property with such rich history. Let’s talk about kind of the future of, of this property and, and what you see as general manager.

Cindy Staley: Sure. Going back a little bit to the social media, it’s so important because of the beauty of the resort. We showcase a lot of the visuals with the reels and the photos because when you see it, it just is a beautiful, beautiful experience, beautiful resort in the area. So that’s really important to us. We have a lot of future plans coming up. We’re in the planning process of doing some more renovations or light touches in specific areas. So hopefully we have a couple coming to the end of this year and into next year, just again, to continue the history and the beauty of the area, what happened in 1917 with the first golf course to what it is today.

Ryan Embree: And Cindy, let’s talk about also the, you have quite a bit of conference space here as well. You host a number of corporate events. It looks like o over here to my right. We just had one the other day. Obviously, mother’s Day was right around on the corner, probably one of those family traditions you were speaking to. But talk to us a little bit about corporate events and the process, how your team is involved and how it kind of makes it a seamless process here. Sure.

Cindy Staley: We have over 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. We can house anything from corporate retreats, meetings, weddings, really any special occasion. So we’re very and it’s spread out. So for example, if you, we have three wedding venues. We can host three weddings on property in any given day. And the brides never really run into each other ’cause they’re very separate. And again, all three are beautiful areas from a golf view to a resort view to little Lake Harris over the lake view. So, some great space. As far as corporate meetings go, we have two nice ballrooms to host events with breakout space. And our group and catering convention service team does such a nice job in selling the for the meeting and then actually just running through and producing everything throughout the meeting. And our team members here really know the service aspect from if you’re checking in to, if you’re the chef of the event, There’s so much versatility to the space. I.

Ryan Embree: saw several places on property where you could have it. And then all tied in with some of these incredible amenities and multiple restaurants, the perfect place. But also, what about the leisure traveler? What about the maybe local that has heard Mission Resort + Club, but they haven’t visited yet? What would you say to them?

Cindy Staley: Come out and see us. We’re a great place. A lot of people think that we may be private, but we are open to the public. All of our venues, our restaurants are open to the public. And again, you can come here and spend, three days a week and there’s so much to do on property. And then again, there’s so much natural, his historical and nature things to do in the area that it’s not the theme parks, but it’s the beauty of the lake. We have a lot of springs around that people enjoy going to we’re very close to Mount Dora, so we just really are in a great location for that Florida natural experience.

Ryan Embree: Yeah. Again, even though this is considered the road trip series, it does feel like I’m transported somewhere else. And as Floridians, we live in Florida, we hear the touristy spots, we’ve got the beach. But this is just such a different atmosphere. It’s such a unique atmosphere. Really invite, you know, our Suite Spot listeners and audience to check it out because it, you know, social media, like you said, Cindy, amazing. And you’ve got some great spots for it. But it certainly does not do it justice. Us being up there on the, on that ridge overseeing the entirety of the lake, the resort got a beautiful property here.

Cindy Staley: Thank you. And we’re only 35 minutes from Orlando, so you can actually have the best of both worlds.

Ryan Embree: Absolutely. So we love to hear. Well, thank you so much, Cindy. You’ve been an absolute pleasure being on the, on the Suite Spot podcast.

Cindy Staley: Well thank you for having me.

Ryan Embree: I’m here joined by Danny Parks. Danny, thank you so much for being on the Suite Spot.

Danny Parks: Thank you for having me.

Ryan Embree: We just got back from an incredible tour of this property. We’re gonna talk all about it today, but before we do that, give us a little bit of history on you, Danny, your experience here with the resort.

Danny Parks: Well, I’ve been here for 11 years. Started out on the golf, started out as the golf course superintendent on the Los Colineas course back in 2016. Took over the entire property. That’s the resort, landscape. And both golf courses grew up in this area, graduated Leesburg High, go Yellow Jackets, been here since then.

Ryan Embree: And any place that you’ve been 11 years, typically that would mean that you’ve been here for the, almost the entirety of its existence, but not with Mission Resort + Club, right? No, this has a rich, rich history. Talk to our audience a little bit about, maybe those aren’t familiar, the history of this historic

Danny Parks: Round. Well, the El Campeon Golf course was originally built in 1917. I don’t remember those times. And that was a long time ago. So obviously over the last hundred, plus years, the golf course has transformed what it is now. But the character of the course, the elevation changes from tee to green. 85 foot drops, 85 foot rises, you know, that’s something you typically don’t see here in Florida. And El Campeon is a special course.

Ryan Embree: And the hotel itself, the resort itself was inspired by really interesting story that you shared with me. Share that with our audience.

Danny Parks: So, the back in 1964, Nick Butcher purchased the resort and the golf course. The resort at the time wasn’t what the resort is now. But prior to that, in his young age, in1920s, he took a trip from Texas to Mexico City. And as he took that trip through Mexico, he would go to these towns and people would write about ’em. They would put these news newspaper articles about these two gringos going, going through Mexico all the way down to Mexico City. And when they got to Mexico City, there was a parade for ’em. There was a party, you know, and they didn’t know anything about it. Kind of not like now with so social media where every, every move is tracked. So that was kind of his inspiration for the Spanish art architecture kind of fell in love with it. It,

Ryan Embree: Yeah, it’s such a love story to that Mexican culture. And it’s really cool to see a lot of the restaurants that you have here he golf course you know, even some of the conference rooms that you are touring me at have that Spanish inspiration to them, which is really cool. But the other side of this is the natural Florida. You, you said this is very natural, this place. We talked about some of the wildlife that you see here. It feels like a retreat, a serene escape. It’s very hard to believe that the hustle and bustle Orlando, that maybe a lot of people are known for it’s known for, is just less than an hour away. Talk to us a little bit about kind of that natural beauty that you were talking about.

Danny Parks: Well, as soon as you come in through the front, the front gate, you can see it. You know, there’s, there’s your big wide spreading moss draped oaks. Your live oaks. You know, you have your beautiful slash pines that are 40, 50 feet in the air. Your landscape around the resort is all mature, so you’re secluded. It’s very quiet. You don’t hear traffic, you don’t hear planes. You know, you might every once in a while hear someone’s little single prop plane, but very rare. Rarely do you have, have that. It’s just beautiful. It’s quiet.

Ryan Embree: It’s great. I mean, again, in the hustle and bustle of Florida, you were saying there’s so much elevation change here, and this is natural elevation change that you were sharing with me on the golf course. You can see over the horizon, you can see the tree tops, again, something that is really not expected in Florida to see, but there’s also some wildlife here as well that you’re sharing.

Danny Parks: We have eagles. ee have had a bear, one bear, you know he kind of left really fast. Gaotrs you know, every pond in Florida’s got a gator. We have bobcats, sandhill cranes, you know, ducks obviously right behind us, you know, a pond. And we have ducks there. During the wintertime, we have had a sighting of a panther. I haven’t seen it, but, there is one picture that we’ve seen. So the wildlife is amazing here, especially at Sun sunset. And you out here driving around and you see a lot of it.

Ryan Embree: Yeah. The natural beauty here, is incredible that I was able to kind of see on that tour that you shared with me. You host a lot of events here, whether, you know, we’re talking about weddings, there’s some great spots there, corporate business that comes. Talk to us a little bit about what an event might look like here at the Mission Resort + Club.

Danny Parks: Well, I’ll focus on golf because that’s, that’s kind of where I’m, I’m golf. Absolutely. So we’ve, we host many junior events many collegiate events. Just recently we hosted the division three, regional, so the Southeast Regional, where there was over a hundred players from different schools in the south southeast trying to qualify for the National Championship. That’s not uncommon, you know, a typical saying in, in our department, department is not our first RO rodeo. Bcause we do host so many events and it is a great, a great spot for an event, a typical event, you know, you start out there on the pad where we get you set up in a cart whether your event has whole sponsors or whatever. We get you out. There you go. Have your fun, come back in, you enjoy a nice, a nice meal. And then go home.

Ryan Embree: Yeah. And for the golf enthusiast, talk to us a little bit about the difference between the two courses.

Danny Parks: So El Campeon is is old school links. So you’ll have holes that run side by side. So you hit a bad shot, there’s a good chance you could be in another fair fairway with an opening to the green that you want to go to. But it also has those el elevation changes where if you’re going uphill, you might have to take a couple clubs because it’s a little bit long, longer hole Los Colinas of the 18 greens, only 12 of ’em are visible from the tee. Everything else is blocked out by a dog leg, or a tree. So if you’re not familiar, the golf course can become very hard.

Ryan Embree: Favorite hole?

Danny Parks: Number two, Los Colinas.

Ryan Embree: Oh yeah. Awesome.

Ryan Embree: Danny, well thank you so much for the tour. Thank you so much for spending the time with us. And you know, again, encourage any golf enthusiast to definitely come visit you down here and see a tour of this place. It is truly remarkable.

Danny Parks: Thank you for your time

Ryan Embree: To join our loyalty program, be sure to subscribe and give us a five star rating on iTunes. Suite Spot is produced by Travel Media Group. Our editor is Brandon Bell with Cover Art by Bary Gordon. I’m your host Ryan Embree and we hope you enjoyed your stay.

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