Castle Otttis — Attraction in Saint Augustine

Just about 10 minutes north outside of historic St. Augustine is a unique castle that sits back from the main road among trees and hedges. Sadly, the owner and creator of Castle Otttis, Kendle Icke, passed away in July 2023. However, his son, who lives on the property does conduct tours for small groups of people who have reservations. His tours are very interesting with information on how the castle came to be. Apparently, Mr. Icke had a couple of dreams about a castle in great detail, which he shared with a builder friend of his. The friend encouraged him to build it and agreed to help him. They were able to get donated building materials to work with. Mr. Icke built the castle in the image of old castles in Ireland and dedicated it to his wife. Castle Ottis was built between 1984-1988. The Ickes also had a home on the property to the left of the castle.

We took the tour with a small group of people, which worked out very well. There are 3 levels if you count the rooftop, where you will see gorgeous panoramic views of the ocean. This is a castle based on 1000 year old Irish castles. The tour is free but donations will be greatly appreciated. A must see if you are in St. Augustine. It is a magical experience.

There are special events held at the castle, like weddings or anniversaries. It is also great for photography opportunities. This is a one of a kind opportunity.

Please note that Castle Otttis does not have handicapped accessibility. Parking is available on the property for the guests. You are allowed to take pictures...

This castle was an awesome visit! The best part it’s absolutely free! They do have a box for donations, and I encourage you to give something. The host/owner, Mathias, opens up the castle as a free service to the public and as a testament to Jesus Christ. The castle is open to the public but only on Sundays from 9am to 12pm. We sent an email (found email address from the website) to make sure they would be open a few days before we arrived. We found that they were open on their website in very small print. The on-site host is the son of one of the masons that built the property. He was kind of reserved and just let us wander around the property as we liked. They don’t really give a tour but if you to have any questions, the host is very knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions you have! The castle is gorgeous but doesn’t take very long to go through. We we probably there...

My husband & I visited St Augustine the first week in December. We contacted the Otttis Castle by email to see if we could tour the castle during our visit to St Augustine. An extremely kind gentleman, Mathias, got back to us, we made arrangements to visit the castle on Wednesday during our stay. We were greeted by Mathias the day we arrived at the castle. The tour started outside with Mathias explaining the construction process of building this castle. It was extremely obvious that Mathias was very proud of Rusty, one of the gentleman responsible for the idea and construction of this castle, Rusty is also Mathias's father. Visiting this castle was both memorable and educational. If you are planning a trip to St Augustine, visiting this castle is something you do not...