the ximenez-fatio house

Our 9th generation St.Augustinian tour guide was very knowledgable and had a great, dry swense of humor. The building is very well furnished with period pieces, a few from the actual owners. An excellent example of the local history.

Our daughter's 2006 outdoor wedding took place on the grounds of The Oldest House, which is the other name locals have given this historic site. There is a ancient live oak tree in the enclosed garden that was the perfect backdrop. Carol, the event coordinator, could not have been more helpful.

The guides were very informative. The different rooms provide a variety of scenes that exhibit what life was like when the boarding house was in it's heyday.

We visited the Ximenez-Fatio House on a recent visit to St. Augustine. It is one of the best attractions we have visited in St. Augustine. It is not that it is the most unique or oldest building in the city. It does however have a unique past as a boarding house. This means many people significant to the history of St. Augustine, Florida, and the U S lived there. The house itself is well-restored and maintained. It is not a tour of a ruins, but of a restored boarding house. What is really best about the house is the tour. Our guide was wonderful. He not only knew the history of the house, but of Florida and the United States. He tied the history of the house well to the larger historical picture of the United States. He said he was a 9th generation native of St. Augustine. I could tell he is proud of his heritage and loves working at this historic place and telling people about the place and things he loves. His presentation was excellent and he could answer questions very well and with depth and insight. If you like history (and you probably do if you visit St. Augustine), you will enjoy the Ximenez-Fatio House. I highly recommend it as one of the best places to see in St. Augustine!

After reading the positive reviews of the Ximenez Fatio house on Trip Advisor, I decided that this was a house I definitely wanted to tour. I toured the house with my husband and two other family members on March 10 and was not disappointed. Our entire group enjoyed the tour immensely. Our guide Calen was informative, well-prepared, and enthusiastic about Florida, especially St. Augustine, history. This tour is well worth the $7.00 ($5.00 for seniors) ticket price. I hope to return again next year.

We were in a tour led by Kalen today and what a marvelous your guide he was. He was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and had lots of little tid-bits of information that made the tour all that much more fun. The House itself was a boarding house owned by 3 different people and not only is much of it original to the house itself, but the furniture, the decorations and the accouterments are also original to the period. We toured the various rooms, the kitchen, the garden and the private quarters of the owner. We learned history , architecture, class systems, clothing, and a wealth of other bits of information that he wove together into a wonderful tour. Outside, in the yard we were able to witness an architectural 'dig' conducted by the St Augustine Archeologist supervising the volunteer 'diggers.' We were able to see the dig itself, ask any questions we had, watch how an area is 'surveyed' to see if there is anything valuable underneath and watch all the various tasks in a dig. The house, the dig, all a marvelous experience. But, make sure you watch the film about the house before you take the tour - it will enrich your experience.

I wandered into this historic boarding house with an on-going archaeological dig in the front yard, and took a chance because I enjoy history retold while touring the actual sites. The experienced guide, a nine-generation St. Augustinian, Calen, offered our group an engrossing, lively, professional tour for the entire 45 minutes. He fielded all our questions knowledgeably, while creating in each room its own little historic drama. In addition he recommended the short work for sale in the Gift Shop, "The 14th Colony: George Washington's Planned Invasions of East Florida," by Dr. Roger Smith. I have since read this excellent 32-page work and wish I had purchased a few more copies as gifts. I came away thinking this may have been the best all-round historic tour I had ever taken. High marks indeed after 60 some years on tours stateside and abroad.

Really enjoyed the authentic settings each room presented. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and gave us interesting stories regarding each room. I felt like we got a real taste of what life was like during that period. I would return to hear and see it all over again.

Really enjoyed this tour, very interesting - made me want to learn more about the history of St Augustine.

We went to the Ximenez-Fatio House in March of this year & it was under renovation. We really enjoyed what we saw & were anxious to go back to see it after the renovations were complete. During our latest visit we went back & were so glad we did. We had a good tour guide last time but this time the young man we had was even better. I think his name was Calen. His family has lived in St. Augustine for many, many years & he knows a lot of the history from family members & his studies of the St. Augustine area. The renovations are almost complete now & the house looks so nice with all the furniture & walls redone. It was fascinating to hear the stories of this boarding house & the people who stayed there. The are so many interesting stories. Don't miss this historical house when you go to St. Augustine. It is off the beaten path but well worth a visit. We really enjoyed our tour.

This is why you come to St. Augustine. Like going to the Grand Canyon to see the canyon rather than auxiliary claptrap. Ximenez-Fatio is first rate. That and anything Flagler touched. If you're open minded you'll enjoy all of St. Augustine from the tee shirt shops to the beautiful Flagler College. But if you only have time for one thing go to the X-F house

On one of the small streets and at a red train stop. This one hour tour is well worth it. Very informative! You get a great feel of how people lived in early St Augustine. If I had time for only one stop in St Augustine this would be it.

Tour was amazing as we learned so much about the history of St. Augustine from the Spanish times to now. The boarding house is furnished as of 1700's and each room tells the story of one of the people who stayed here. As one of the oldest buildings here in the oldest area of the city it is well worth the 1 hour tour and a bargain of a price. Don't miss it!

The tour guide did a good job explaining the various rooms of this old boarding house and everything appeared to be authentic. We found the descriptions of life in the old days to be interesting but my guess is you need to be the museum going type to appreciate it.

This historical boarding house captures the essence of time past with authentic period furnishings, decor, usage of space. It tells a story of bygone days. The personalized tour is worth more than its price of admission of $7 per adult, $5 per senior. Thank you to those responsible for this wonderful resource.