Which town center do you like?
 

In looking over a map of The Villages, we noticed two large town centers - the one along Route 27/441 (called Spanish Springs?) and the one a little farther south called Lake Sumter Landing.

Which one do you prefer going to, and why?

And there is a third town square on Rt. 44 just west of Buena Vista Blvd.

We live off St. Charles which is just north of 466A. We're about 4 miles from Lake Sumter Landing (LSL), 4 miles from Brownwood and about 8 miles from Spanish Springs (SS). It all depends on who the band is and I usually try to tie in with the movies.

So if a movie I want to see is playing at LSL, then I looked ahead in the week to see who musically is playing. Normally I like LSL first because I like to eat at Paneras, then we see the film and then go listen to the music. Our second choice is Brownwood because it's closer than SS, and the movie theater is the newest and nice for seeing films. However, we usually don't eat at Brownwood.

SS we probably go to the least, I think this year we've gone about 5 times. Once we went to see the movie Birdman and then see Uncle Bob, our favorite band was playing. Most of the artsy type of movies play at SS. We've gone a couple of other times to SS to see Uncle Bob and we'll sometimes go to the Saturday car show. So we've gone about 5 or 6 times this year. Our last time at a square was last Tuesay at LSL to see Uncle Bob. They are a classic rock band on the heavier side, they play anything from the Eagles to Led Zeppelin, earlier we had seen the movie 'Vacation' and we ate at Paneras.

All three are unique unto themselves. Depends what you may be shopping for, the entertainment you would like to enjoy on a particular evening or just the ambiance you enjoy the best.

Spanish Springs was the first town square. Very nice and it was refurbished with new pavers and landscaping about 4 years ago.

Lake Sumter Landing is my favorite. It was completed about 2005-6 and is basically on the shore of Lake Sumter.

Paddock Square is in Brownwood and only about 3 years old. They have some bleacher style seating in addition to chairs. Paddock Square has seating only on 3 sides while the other two squares have seating on all 4 sides.

All get the same entertainers in rotation. All have their good points and a few minor flaws - and the flaws are just very minor design problems. No big deal at all to anyone.

I like sitting at Lake Sumter the best of the other squares. It has more shade offered in the summer.

We go to Brownwood most often, then Lake Sumter Landing, then Spanish Springs. This is based on a combination distance and restaurants we like.

Agree, they all have their strongpoints, so rotating among them depending on the entertainment works for us.

1. Sumter Lading
2. Paddock Square
3. Spanish Springs

1. Sumter Lading
2. Paddock Square
3. Spanish Springs

The "best square", is the one you are in, at that moment. :smiley:

SS was my favorite and closest to my house, predicated the fact, it was the first square, I visited when I first saw TV.

LSL is the most beautiful. IMHO

Brownwood has a unique charm but far from my home, and very rarely frequented.

A lot depends on what entertainment and or events, are taking place on a particular day.

Go to thevillages.com to learn about all three squares.

Tough call and agree with most here that each has it's own endearing qualities. I say a toss up between SS and LSL. SS IMO tends to get over looked probably due to it being the original. PS is close behind and I can't help but wonder if it won't catch or even surpass the other 2 when it gets in to full swing.....hey I made a golf joke on a Villages site :a040:

We follow the bands we like. All three squares are fun.

Lake Sumter Landing is tops
 

Lake Sumter landing is the best of the town centers. It has the best collection of restaurants as several of the weaker restaurants from it's opening have been replaced. There are four very nice outdoor seating areas for drink or food. Overall restaurant/shop exteriors are very varied and colorful set off by the Key West type housing row from the sales office on up Lake shore Drive. The opportunity for a walk along the boards next to a decent sized lake is unmatched by any of the other town centers. The town square has plenty of seating and adequate shade for sun protection. The band stand has the second best sound system of the three squares.

Spanish Springs is the second best of the town centers. The restaurant group is demonstrably weaker than at Lake Sumter even through substantial turnover. Outdoor restaurant seating is undistinguished. Restaurant/shop exteriors are all Spanish stucco which is nice if you like that architecture. The town square itself is the best of the three. It has adequate seating and very good strategic planting. It has a very small town and intimate feel. Shade from the sun is the best of the three squares. The band stand sound system is the best of the three by far.

Brownwood is number three of three. There are a few architectural doodads here and there but overall the center has a dull look. The restaurant group is not strong. Of course it's still a new area and there's bound to be some shakeout and replacements. I find the square disappointing. It's small with not much seating area beyond the stands. This stands are uncomfortable and suffer from a lack of air circulation. The band stand sound system is terrible.