The Cottages & Tiki Hut on Lake Manatee Outdoor Covered Venue, Myakka City FL

It a beautiful place to be, especially during the sunset. Great view, big open space. And the people are extremely nice!

Worst venue ever! The venue is false advertising. The tiki hut shown is not hte one on the property nor is the arch and set up in front of the water. The owner promises things and then changes them last minute or corners you to pay the bill or she'll take it away. As a bride I was extremely stressed out thinking I would not have a venue 4 days prior to my wedding as she was sticking me with more money to pay. The property is not sprayed for mosquitoes or treated for ants as she states. She does this herself the day of the event. She was spraying chemicals on my guests and all my table settings as they were coming in. She illegally took picutres of our event and guests without our permission because she was upset our photographer that we paid so much money for would not provide her with pictures. There was no arch as stated on website so I had to build my own. We had 20plus guests stay behind and help us clean up the entire property and she still refused to give us our clean up deposit back. If we knew that I wouldn't have stopped my wedding early to clean up in my wedding gown! She starts off nice and gets nasty. She took us for more than $1,000 extra that was not in contract! Would not recommend anyone doing business with her for anything! She lies.

Not sure where this one other 5 star review came from as it definately wasn't a wedding there! We were her first and hopefully her last!

We attended a wedding at The Cottage Tiki Hut on Lake Manatee and were amazed how bad the facilities were. We passed the entrance because there is no signage from the road, a little yard sign was put out to say there was a wedding but that was even hidden from the road. You drive up a dirt driveway, park in weeds, and the first thing you see walking to the venue is porta pottys. We were attending a wedding, not a concert. Everyone was dressed up and that was the only option for guests. The property has a nice view of the lake but not much else going for it and it wasn’t set up like the picture on the website. While we were waiting for the ceremony to begin, the property owner was walking around with a spray bottle, spray chemicals which she said was to keep away the mosquitos. I was not thrilled having chemicals sprayed around us while we were standing there and she also sprayed around the set tables and chairs in the tent that was where food was going to be served. There wasn't adequate seating for the ceremony, many of the guests had to stand in the back. There were wooden benches to sit on, not nice white folding chairs. The tiki hut, where the dance floor is located, was very small. The bridal party sat on the far side of the dance floor while the rest of us sat in a white tent on the other side of it with cheap, folding tables and chairs. The pictures on the website must have been taken at another property because none of that exists there. While we were eating, the property owner was walking around the tent taking pictures of guests which no one approved of. I was very uncomfortable about that since I don’t know where she would be posting them. I felt very sorry for the bride and groom because everyone wants to have a picture, perfect wedding and the only thing perfect about that picture was the 2 of them because they looked so happy together. Do your research before you plan an event there and know what you are going to get before it is too late.

When the bride first sent me the website showing pictures of this venue I was looking forward to seeing it in person. It turned out not to be what was seen in the pictures or what was promised on the website. If it were not for the bride and groom providing most the seating for the ceremony we would have all been standing. It was extremely concerning to see the owner of the property walking around the venue spraying chemicals around guests and tables where people would be eating. Not only spraying on the ground but also in the air. This should have been done prior to set up. The only positive of this venue was the view of the lake at sunset. Overall this was a disappointing experience for a wedding venue. I feel for the bride and groom who did not deserve to have their special day ruined by false and broken promises.