Meet Ellen
Family Hobbies
Diet and nutrition, Gardening, Camping, Hiking, Reading
Hosting guests since
2020
About the Homestay
- Welcomes
- Males
- Females
- Couples
- Families
- Students
Our home, which we call the Living Heart Sanctuary, is a comfortable health-oriented space on 1-acre of private well-treed land we call ‘Peace Forest,’ tucked into the heart of the ‘Olde Englewood Village’ in the small town of Englewood. We are located in SW Florida, on the Gulf Coast.Your hosts Todd and Ellen, nature-loving raw vegans, and our peaceful older dog Sadie, open up Living Heart Sanctuary to you, offering two beautiful, spacious side-by-side double-occupancy guest rooms that share a deluxe guest-bathroom with tub/shower.
As your hosts we inhabit the other side of the sanctuary. The open-style kitchen/great-room, an additional sunrise yoga/meditation/exercise room, and a screened porch (lanai) with hot tub become our common spaces, along with the acre of land with a happy combination of shady and sunny spaces. Our community kitchen is equipped with the tools of a modern vegan lifestyle including Vitamixers, Nama juicer, Excalibur dehydrator, veggie spiralizers and more. In our yoga/exercise room are many useful healing tools and mindfully selected exercise and therapeutic wellness equipment. During your stay, we invite you to relax and enjoy the sanctuary space which has been designed with your comfort and wellbeing in mind. Additionally, we supply lightweight kayaks that can be wheeled to the bay for an easy paddle, and bicycles to help you get around town and to the local parks. Our beautiful Manasota Key beaches are about 4 miles away.
My Pets
Dog
Bedrooms available for booking
About the Area
Just a few blocks around the corner is our quaint main-street with shops, cafes, live music, weekly farmer’s market (October-May) and other lively events. Several wonderful parks with sunsets over the water are also within easy walking or bike-riding distance along the shores of beautiful Lemon Bay, and our gorgeous natural Gulf of Mexico beaches are 5 miles away on the Manasota Key. We provide bikes and kayaks for your local explorations.
There are several vegan-friendly restaurants nearby.
We are 45 minutes from the wonderful coastal city of Sarasota, and 20 minutes from the famously healing Warm Mineral Springs in Northport.
Local Area Facilities
- Tennis
- Park
- Gym
- Golf
- Swimming
- Beach
- Library
- Shopping Centre
- Water sports
- Health club
- Restaurant
- Hospital
Meals
Hosts can offer a complimentary light breakfast at their discretion. All other meals, including a full breakfast, might incur an additional cost, if offered. Meals and any additional payment should be arranged directly with your host.
Included in the stay
- Complimentary Light Breakfast
- Use of Kitchen
House Rules
Not suitable for children (2-12 years)
Not suitable for infants (Under 2 years)
Not suitable for companion animals
No parties or events
No smoking
No long-term stays
Vegan-only cooking / food storage
Quiet hours from 11pm to 8am.
Half-shelf per guest in the fridge, more for longer stays.
Smoking Rules
Your host is a non-smoker.
Smoking is not allowed.
1 Review
February 2023
We had a great stay at Ellen and Todd. Really friendly people, which we also enjoyed speaking with. Room was spacious and clean. Really quiet with birds singing in the morning when we woke up. Location could not be better close to the beach and restaurants.
It was really safe to walk around - also at night. If we could come back, we would ;-)Host reply
Thank you Hans! I am glad it worked out well for you guys. We would love to have you back, anytime!
How do I book?
Contact the host to check their availability and ask them any questions you have about staying with them. Once the host confirms they’re available for your dates, you can complete your booking.
When do I pay?
Once a host confirms they're available, you can go ahead and pay the 15% booking fee (maximum of 250 $£€ for longer term bookings) and a 25% deposit using a choice of payments: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, Laser, JCB & PayPal. The deposit is collected in advance on behalf of the host to protect against no show or late cancellations (within 7 days of arrival). You then pay your host the balance due on arrival. The 25% deposit payment is made to the host 2 business days after your scheduled arrival date. This deposit payment will only be refunded if you cancel the booking at least 7 full days prior to arrival.
When can I share my contact details?
Host and Guest email address, phone number and home address will be exchanged in a confirmation email sent to both immediately after a booking is completed. It's against our policy for Guests and Hosts to exchange direct contact details via our messaging system.