Florida property with backyard manatee pool seeks $3.3M

Real Estate

By Hannah Frishberg

The snowbirds at this Florida bed and breakfast aren’t what most would expect. 

In the coastal town of Crystal River, a local lodging is looking for a new owner — ideally one who will appreciate the manatees who seasonally call its backyard warm springs home. 

The five-bedroom, five-bathroom Crystal Blue Lagoon Bed and Breakfast is seeking $3.3 million for its extensively decorated business, as well as its trophy offering: The opportunity to swim with sea cows in the freshwater springs behind the hotel. The manatees themselves even appear in the listing images for the offering, just casually floating in the backyard watery retreat. 

“It’s been our privilege to be stewards of this beautiful property for the last 8 years and we just hope that the special person that buys it continues to honor the gentle giants that call ‘House Springs’ home,” the current owner Lynn Marcom told The Post. 

The manatees are attracted to the protected spring, which is connected to the Gulf of Mexico-fed Crystal Bay, by the colder weather. They generally winter there from mid-November until late March, according to the listing, which is held by Margaret “Maggie” M. Moore of Coldwell Banker Next Generation Realty. 

The property is not unique in the area for getting the marine visitors part of the year, and Crystal River additionally promotes itself as the Manatee Capital of the World.

As for the B&B’s human dwellings, the main house has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a communal great room, a second-story sun deck and extensive nautical decor throughout. 

Outside on the .45-acre grounds, there’s also a fire pit and a recently completed boat house “suitable for a caretaker or rental,” according to the listing. 

In addition to manatee swims, Crystal Blue Lagoon also allows guests to kayak, snorkel and fish from its location.