Equus Inn Ocala: an Honest Review

If you plan to travel to Ocala, Florida for an equestrian getaway, you might come across Equus Inn, a vintage motel recently renovated and decorated with horse-themed vibes. At the time of this writing, I have stayed at Equus Inn three or four times in the span of a year. I feel that makes me a qualified reviewer. 🙂

Equus Inn showed up in my Instagram feed last spring, and I was immediately taken with the retro character and equestrian charm. In March of 2021, a friend and I journeyed to the Horse Capitol of the World and stayed a few nights when the motel had just opened, but parts of it were still under construction.

In case you’re wondering, it’s about a 20 minute drive to World Equestrian Center from Equus Inn. And both my friend and I had good nights of sleep.

Read my review of The Equestrian Hotel at World Equestrian Center here.

First Impressions

My horse girl pal and I were both impressed with the overall room cleanliness and the kind staff. I liked that the flooring was hard-wood looking tile, not creepy hotel carpeting. During my first stay the pool was not filled with water yet, but new pool furniture surrounded the area.

The beds were extremely comfortable and the equestrian wall art, different in every room, was a nice touch. During that first stay at Equus Inn we had rooms on the ground floor and our car was literally outside the door of the room which made it easy to both get our luggage into the room and depart for our various Ocala adventures.

Our first stay was my first time in Ocala. I was honestly a little disappointed Equus Inn was very much in the middle of a suburban area. In my mind the word “inn” conjures a cozy rental on a sprawling country property. The location of Equus Inn is anything but.

Keep scrolling for a video room tour!

My friend, a native Angeleno said, “It’s like LA traffic out here.” At certain times of day it was challenging to make a left turn out of the parking lot to head onto I-75.

A PDQ fast food joint lies across the parking lot and a Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Outback Steakhouse across the street. But alas, if you need a bite to eat, you will not go hungry. I enjoyed a breakfast across the street at First Watch during my second stay.

If you like equestrian travel stories you might enjoy my equestrian getaway posts:

Fox Hunting in Virgina Part I,

Riding a Clydesdale in California, or

Horse Riding in Ireland: 5 Days to Braver Riding.

Equus Inn also has a respectable free breakfast with English muffins, yogurt, wafflemaker and more. A feature I believe every hotel room should have is an in-room coffee maker. Equus Inn delivered on that one.

Equus Inn is Both Pet and Tech-Friendly

I was not traveling with a dog, but on my last stay (March of 2022) noticed other guests with their furry best friends. For people traveling with pets, Equus Inn seems a good choice. According to the Equus Inn website, it sounds like you can have an unlimited number of pets in your room with you.

Snag my 10 Must-Read Horse Books list here so you’ll have a fun new book to enjoy on your next trip!

Since the motel is only about a year old, the TVs are new and allow for streaming such as Netflix and Hulu. I also noticed during my most recent stay a horse television channel came up as the first option. I can’t recall now which network it was, but it was a nice touch.

My History with Equus Inn

During my second stay in Ocala last year, I had booked a room at a higher end hotel located in the downtown square area of Ocala. The walls of that place were paper thin and the bed made noise as I tossed and turned. “If only I were at Equus Inn,” I remember thinking, “then I could sleep.”

The next morning I checked out early and headed over to Equus Inn for the duration of my Ocala stay. I checked into a very quiet room on an upper floor, facing the pool. It was perfect.

This last stay at Equus Inn I was on the ground floor and felt there was more noise–not from the busy street out front, but from the parking lot area.

During my last stay I also noticed the switch plates on the wall by the bathroom were grimy. There was a spattering of some unknown darker substance (hopefully someone’s makeup?) dotting the back side of the bathroom door. “Uh oh, it’s starting to age,” I thought.

I grabbed a Wet One and wiped the switch plates and the bathroom door. In this era of COVID caution I found it odd that the switch plates were visibly dirty. I’m a clean freak so it was a bit unnerving. The bedding, towels, counter surfaces and shower still felt clean and like new, however.

Should I stay at the Equus Inn?

Now for some final thoughts and advice. First, no one staying at the Equus Inn looks as glamorous as the couple featured on their website. The crowd seemed to be a mix of families, several truck drivers (there were big trucks and tractor cabs in the parking lot) and some horse show folks.

Another friend from my barn stayed at Equus Inn recently and pointed out the staff was really friendly and the lower cost of $115 a night made it a good option if you want to stay at a lower cost place (I paid about $170 during peak spring break season). Horses are expensive so it’s nice to have a not-crazy-expensive lodging option in the middle of horse country.

If you are traveling to the Ocala area and having a comfortable bed, responsive/friendly staff, and pet-friendly accommodations on a budget are important to you, give Equus Inn a shot. If money is no object, you might be happier staying at a higher end property in the area (such as World Equestrian Center’s The Equestrian Hotel, which I reviewed here.)

Leave a Comment: Have you ever stayed at an equestrian-themed hotel? What amenities do you look for when traveling? I’d love to hear about it. Please share in the comments section.

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