Lovie’s HavenElephant Sanctuary & Retreat
Stay

Eleven cabins between the lake and the meadow.

We keep the rooms few on purpose. Eleven is the number of cabins this estate can hold while still feeling, at seven in the morning, like it belongs to the herd — and that feeling is exactly what you're coming for.

Where you'll be

150 acres of oak hammock, grassland and water in central Florida.

The property backs onto a national forest, so the horizon behind the herd is protected land and always will be. Live oaks, palmetto, a spring-fed lake, and that golden light Florida saves for six in the morning.

The cabins

Built low, built quiet, built to disappear into the treeline.

Cedar, lime plaster, stone floors, deep windows. Linen and wool. No televisions, no minibars, no noise — just a porch that faces the water or the meadow, and time to use it.

Six huts

Village Huts

Cozy studio and one-bedroom huts at the quiet edge of the village, a short stroll from the Sky View Pavilion and the café. Wood stove, outdoor shower, and a porch made for sitting still. Sleeps two.

From $1,060 a night

Four bungalows

Water Bungalows

One- and two-bedroom bungalows right over the water — more apartment than cabin, with a living room, a private dock, and a deck with a soaking tub. The far shore belongs to the herd, so the view changes all day and sometimes has elephants in it. Sleeps up to four.

From $1,960 a night

One house

The Long House

Four bedrooms, a kitchen, a long table and a fireplace. Perfect for families, retreat groups and wedding parties who want a place all their own. Sleeps eight.

From $2,400 a night

Two-night minimum. Rates include breakfast, all pavilion practice, and the meadow walk. A conservation levy of $40 per night goes directly to the care endowment. Questions about how a stay works — including the one about seeing the elephants — are answered plainly here.

Lakeside Lodging and the Sunset Dock, last light. The far shore belongs to the herd.
A day here

Your day here is completely your own.

Wake when you wake. Classes run from before sunrise until after dark, and you're welcome at all of them or none of them.

Breakfast is served at the café from seven. Lunch is a long table at one. Dinner is at seven-thirty — four courses, mostly grown within an hour of here. Then an evening talk in the pavilion, and then the whole property settles into quiet.

Included

Breakfast, all group practice, boundary walk with a keeper, evening talks

Extra

Treatments, private instruction, lunch and dinner, cellar list

Evenings

The Sunset Dock from six; fire pit and stargazing from nine, unhosted and entirely optional

Quiet hours

21:00 to 07:00, property-wide

Not permitted

Drones, amplified sound outdoors, vehicles past the village, crossing the habitat line

Children

Welcome from twelve, in the Long House or by full buyout

Dogs

We can't welcome them here — the herd needs the property to stay predictable and calm

The whole place

Private buyout

All eleven cabins, the Sky View Pavilion, the café and the full team, for up to twenty-two guests. Used for family gatherings, company retreats and the occasional wedding weekend.

One thing a buyout doesn't buy: different rules. The habitat stays closed, quiet hours still start at nine, and the sound limits at the boundary stay right where they are. The elephants' home comes first, even when the whole place is yours.

From $16,500 a night, two-night minimum

  • Exclusive use of the wellness village
  • Dedicated chef and dining program
  • Private practice schedule built around your group
  • Keeper-led interpretation and a private evening talk
  • Ten percent of the buyout fee goes to the care endowment

Come for two nights. You'll spend the drive home planning your next visit.