Manatee Recreation Center
 

I had a chance yesterday to stop by the newest Village Recreation Center - Manatee - on Hillsborough Drive in the Dunedin/Lake Deaton areas.

Wow, what a beautiful decorating job they did on this center...the color scheme, floors, carpets, big manatee mural in the large meeting room, the decor items, etc.

To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed by the last two Village Centers so I was pleasantly surprised when I toured Manatee....beautiful!!!

(Village Centers are the ones with Family Pools and billiard rooms. Not to be confused with Regional Rec Centers, like Eisenhower....which was an outstanding design effort)

Check out Manatee next time you are heading to Brownwood. It's closer to the Buena Vista side of Hillsborough than the Morse Blvd side.

:coolsmiley:

Can't wait to see it this fall

I have to admit that I don't think I have ever taken any notice of the Village Centers, but I have yet to see a Regional Center that does not impress me.

A few standouts
 

We think Bacall (with the old movie theme), Odell (with a Safari theme), Big Cypress (with just great decor - hot pink and lime green) are outstanding, and maybe Truman (with the old cars). Others (like Canal St., Coconut Cove, Bradenton) just okay. Captiva kind of in between. Of course, this is all just MO, kind of like decorating likes and dislikes. Not everyone has the same taste. What is the theme at Manatee, or what is special about it?

Villages07: Now you've done it. You've told everyone about our best kept secret. sssshhhhhhhhh :-)

We just bought on Shale Trail near Manatee. Can't wait to visit it.

My wife and I just purchased on Lemon Loop. Arrived from NJ on August 31st. Closing September 19th. Can't wait to meet everyone at Manatee.

Your post makes me excited to get back down there to see Manatee! We bought in Dunedin in April but it wasn't open yet. Heck, our neighborhood pool wasn't even open then, so we're excited to see both in a couple of weeks!

Hey, Davefin, what part of NJ? After 44 years in northern NJ, and then 17 in NC, we are moving to Calgary St in early October.