Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

This is a beautiful mansion/castle. I did the self-guided tour. If you want to go up the tower you have to do the Crannies and Cook tour. It took me 2 hours to tour the entire place. The museum is kid friendly. My kids completed a scavenger hunt during the tour and received a free prize at the end (it’s free). You can’t carry in a backpack even it is a purse. There are a lot of antiques so they’ll make you leave your bag somewhere I’m not sure.

Gorgeous mansion built for entertaining and impressing guests. A lot like a castle. No expense was spared. Finished in 1916. All modern amenities. Oooooh the beautiful wood everywhere. No spoilers but be sure to find the built in pool, check out the organ and hear it, marvel at the kitchen and other servants areas around it, read about the eagle in the great hall and most of all ask the hosts and hostesses questions about the place, furnishings and the family. They really are knowledgeable and passionate about making sure everyone enjoys their day visiting. Yeah, the grounds are worth seeing all the different gardens and flora, a green house, carriage house just so much.

Overall really nice but I was humiliated by one of the tour guides who decided to call me out and throw me out of the laundry room when I happened to walk in while he was doing the 1300HR tour on 12 May. I appreciated the Veteran’ admission discount but that doesn’t mean I should be treated like a lesser guest. I was not aware that I was not allowed to be near him as he recites some canned lines that someone else directed him to memorize and parrot 🦜 back. So stay away and let these guides impress each other. No need to be rude to guests.

Amazing mansion, grounds, gardens and greenhouse. A gem for the city and the state. The staff and tour guide were incredibly helpful, insightful and knowledgeable. You should visit this site often. This will satisfy the fans of architecture and the history buff. This place is literally a time capsule, with over 90% of the contents from the original family. We will visit again. This has our highest recommendation. We would recommend studying the various tour options because you could easily spend all day at the estate. We spent two hours with a tour guide and saw less than half of the rooms! We will also return in the warmer months so we can get more appreciation of the numerous gardens. Keep strolling to find former tennis courts, ponds and a view of the valley below.

Once again Stan Hywet puts holiday spirit out in droves. Everyone needs to get out there and enjoy this beautiful display these folks have put together so beautifully. This has become a tradition for many of us to kick off the Christmas season. Absolutely breathtaking!