Spanish Military Hospital Museum

This is a true learning experience! We ventured in unsure of what to expect here but were overwhelmed at the incredible knowledge of our docent, Katie. Katie demonstrated surgical tools and procedures, answered all our questions (because we're nerds) and gave us insight on herbal remedies, the history of medicine and apothecaries and was an overall lovely guide! Along with a brief view in a few self guided rooms, the replicated hospital itself is not large. It took about 20 minutes overall, although we didn't feel rushed as we were able to touch, smell and investigate many of the tools and herbs on display. Only a few of the rooms are staged as a hospital, but Katie made this a very worthwhile experience. We loved her insight & passion! Not a negative, but maybe for younger and more antsy guests, to add some interest, may I suggest that a few extra rooms with looped videos, voiceovers or movement be added?

Absolutely fantastic experience! Nick the owner is hands on and involved in the operations. He is extremely knowledgeable and personable. Jose did our tour and he was entertaining and engaging with the audience especially the kiddos! Loved the outfit and atmosphere of the entire experience. I’d highly recommend you check this experience out. Definitely worth it. Fairly priced as well.

Our favorite museum experience. Excellent small group tours led by knowledgeable staff. This tour was fascinating and it was so nice to be in a small group where you get a chance to handle surgical tools and smell the herbs from the apothecary. We could have stayed for hours... but alas the tour runs about 45 minutes. Highly recommend!

Really enjoyed this experience. I can’t think of our tour guide’s name for the life of me but she had dark hair and curly bangs and was super informative. I am now an expert on amputations and medicinal herbs lol. 10/10 recommend.

Extremely educational and interesting. The kids also loved it. Great experience!

A great Museum that includes a tour. Learn how early Spanish medical professionals combined surgical skill with herbal remedies to care for patients in an era long before modern hospitals. It’s an educational and engaging journey through the evolution of medical science.

On of the most fascinating museum hours anywhere in Saint Augustine. The guide Celeste is particularly knowledgeable about medical history, as well as plant apothecary medicines used during the time of this Spanish hospital as well as contemporarily. She also has a delightful personality. Truly informative. I'm a physician and didn't learn much of this in medical school. This was one of the most state-of-the-art, evidence-based medical facilities of the 18th and 19th century. Turns out the Spanish were among the most sophisticated medically in Europe, having built upon what they learned from the Moores – as we learned during this fascinating visit. This is more of a lecture and guided tour than a self guided exploration. But very knowledgeable educators. Don't miss this, whether your healthcare professional or not!

Went with 4th grade field trip and had a great time learning about the history of the military hospital, apothecary, and surgical suite. Our tour guide did a good job engaging with the kids 👏

Savanah was a great and lively presenter for the The Spanish Military Hospital. Her insight and animated tour will have us coming again. Thank you Savanah!!

Very friendly staff. The chief surgeon who lead our tour gave a very interactive and engaging presentation . He was so knowledgeable about the history and procedures used at the time to heal the sick and wounded. My kids and I had a great experience!

Super great tour definitely worth the money. Our guide seen in my photos is a regular around town and pops up at the fort on special occasions. His level is knowledge about medical surgery in the 2nd Spanish period is incredible. You can really geek out here. There is no question he cannot answer. I am a history buff and an academic who was able to have "obscure to me" answered by him with ease. I love how he can really cater to your to your interests. I would totally do this before going to the fort for context.

Full disclosure: I am an M.D., and I told them as much, so my tour experience is from that perspective. The hospital museum appears pretty unimpressive (even the tour guide referred to it as a "rinky-dink little building"), so I was not that confident that it would be worth seeing, especially given a fairly high ticket price. However, the tour I got was very informative. I didn't go into my tour guide's background, but he seemed very well-read and knew all sorts of medical and historical details, and I was happy to press him for information. They run these tours on kind of an ad hoc basis when people show up (when I first came, they said they were full and told me to come back in twenty minutes). I was told it would be forty minutes or so, but I was there for at least an hour. With people coming up behind me, I imagine they wanted to get rid of me, but I wasn't overly rushed. The facility itself is really just a couple of rooms. There are some surgical instruments and pharmaceutical products on display. I had a variety of specific questions and got plenty of specific answers on medical practices of the period. Amputation technique, mental health care, the modern electric transformer that makes ghost hunters think there's something supernatural in the morgue, all was up for grabs. The tour focused primarily on a historical period when the Spanish were in control of the area for a second time (having temporarily ceded it to the British), before it became part of the U.S. Certain aspects of medical practice in the era were actually more advanced than I would have guessed. The hospital was apparently a large complex, and various other buildings are currently held by other businesses rather than the university that is behind this museum, I was told, so the museum is far less expansive than the hospital was. It's kind of a disappointment given what might have been, but still a thought-provoking experience. They were also offering a nighttime tour on "quackery", which I did not do but which I'm guessing is interesting.

A friend and I wanted to create a ghost adventure of the city on our own. What better stop than an old Hospital. To be honest, neither of us felt or saw anything you could call haunted here. Could be because it's not the original location of the first hospital. However, the tour was good and the guide was informative. If talk of medical procedures, especially amputation, makes you ill, this might not be the tour for you! Not overly gory, but pretty matter of fact. (FYI...we're just from the Orlando area and I felt (other than Disney) we're pretty lax on Covid procedures! St. Augustine is far more lacking and this museum was no exception! Wait till you have your shots before visiting!)

Not what I expected but I had a great visit nonetheless. The Spanish Military Hospital Museum occupies the former space of one of the buildings in the complex. Tours are offered throughout the day, and, at the time of this review, cannot be selected in advance via the website. The purchase of a ticket entitles you to a tour any time on the day you select. The tour consists of two rooms replicating the what a recovery room and what an apothecary might have looked like. The guide provides thorough information about the period and the tour takes an hour to finish. There are also interactive portions in both room which make this site a decent choice for kids. Overall, I would recommend the Spanish Military Hospital Museum for those interested in medical history.

We found the Spanish Hospital Museum very interesting. Jose was our guide. He was so knowledgeable! We could have listened to him a long time but we had time limitations. The "tour" was conducted in 2 main rooms - one room with a table of medical instruments while listening to him explain the use of the instruments and the history of Spanish Colonial Medicine. The 2nd room was an apothecary room where he described the 'pharmacy' of that time. We highly recommend the Spanish Hospital Museum - especially if you have a curiosity of the history of medicine. Well worth the time!

This was an interesting little tour to learn how common elements and surgeries were performed in our past. Hard to believe some were so barbaric.

We really enjoyed our 45 min tour of the museum. Our guide Katy was so informative and nice.

To be perfectly honest, we mostly came here since it was pet friendly and our small dog was with us. That said, I'm really glad we visited this attraction. We were given a nice greeting and then invited to check out some exhibits in the lobby. We next went into a room where our guide gave us detailed descriptions of various medical procedures from multiple centuries. Wow, stuff sure was barbaric back then, but luckily things have changed. Some of the stories were a bit gruesome, so if you get squeamish easily, this might not be for you. Our guide was very enthusiastic and she did an awesome job! I'd highly recommend visiting this spot while you are in St. Augustine.

My party and I were very impressed with the presentation of the hospital. Our guide was very well informed about the history of the hospital; the procedures and practices used during that time period. She was delightful and thorough. Loved her explanation about the apothecary and the herbs that were used then and now. Excellent!

Tour guide never wore mask and even told visitors in enclosed spaces they could remove their mask since she wanted to see faces. VERY UNSAFE! Disappointed in there safety precautions and would strongly suggest they change. They are risking the lives of anyone who comes. We should be trying to promote safe tourism instead of dangerous action! Proceed with caution.

Walk in and feel the past SLAP you in the face. Yes this teeny tiny hospital is chock full of great history and is reportedly very haunted. We toured it during the day, were the only ones there and took our time looking through the rooms and listening to Charlie tell us about the history of the place. Fascinating. It has the Mourning room (yup you guessed it.. for the terminally ill or wounded. It is where they received last rites). In this room it is reported that a shrouded woman in black is seen on ocassion. We didn't see her. The Surgeons Office with plenty of authentic to the era incredibly scary looking tools they used in the day. The Ward - where the sick or injured soldiers were taken care of. Also reportedly haunted (back to this room at the end). And the Apothecary where the staff members mixed meds. Now, I was surprised to find out that they used lavender as an anthiseptic. Yup Charlie told me. Also that they gave the injured soldiers Hot Chocolate because Chocolate made them feel better. No, not because its comfort food but because it actually helps release endorphins that make them feel better. Who knew? Anyhow, we returned later for a Ghost tour that starts out of here and encountered our fine guide.. CHARLIE again. He was awesome. We started out the walking tour here in the hospital. Having spent a good amount of time here during the day I stood back while he spun his stories in the semi dark to the other tourists. And I felt a hand go UP and DOWN my hip to almost my knee. I was alone standing next to a table, so I flew to my hubby who was about 15 feet away. I whispered what happened and he happily took my place over there to see if it happened to him. Fine. The lady next to me shifted and hit my left side pretty hard with her purse. Or so I thought. She was a good 3 feet away from me and nowhere near close enough to touching me without walking over. No one was behind me - there was only the fireplace - and to my right there was a guy who was about another 3 feet from me. Now, if I believed in ghosts I would say there was a randy soldier who wanted some female attention. Horny ghost.

I live in the area and have walked past the museum many times, I was always curious but never went in. When I finally took this tour I was impressed with what I learned about the humanity shown to the wounded even without modern medicine. Our guide was articulate knowledgeable and friendly. I highly recommend this tour

What an amazing museum experience!! the guides here are so knowledgeable about how the Spanish Army took care of their sick or wounded soldiers. We were so immersed in the surgical practices as our guide was explaining them, I felt like they were performing the surgeries on me. I would highly recommend a list to The Spanish Military Hospital when visiting St. Augustine.

Quick yet descriptive. She memorized a script, but was still good with questions. Nice place to chill when hot.

We had an amazing guided tour from Savanna. She interacts with those who choose to during the tour, making it a memorable experience. I would highly recommend a tour if you are in town!

We went to the evening presentation of Medical Quackery. There was lots of surprising information and it was very entertaining for the whole group. From ancient times to the not-so-distant past, it is a look into the stranger side of medicine. We really enjoyed the event.

Celest is the best! Very fun and informative. Don't skip this while in St Augustine. The whole staff is very friendly and loved that it was a step by step tour

We came here on pal day. It is a fun place to visit. The history learning is always fun. The positive attitude of people working there is a good quality to have. It is one of many stops on a fun filled family day. They do have military discount.

This is mostly a sit down and watch and listen tour. There are 2 rooms that you'll go into and have a seat. The first is the hospital operation area. There are beds and a surgical table with old surgical tools. The guide will go over the tools and how they were used and how surgeries were performed. Made me get goosebumps with the descriptions of the surgical methods and fact that they really had no anesthesia back then. It was interactive--the guide does ask for volunteers to demonstrate some of the surgeries and makes it entertaining for all. You then proceed outside and into the 2nd room but before doing so you'll be able to see the garden where the natural herbs are grown. This room is the herb room. This is where the natural herb and medicine is made. The tour guide was also interactive here by going around the room with the herbs and showing us what the looked like and smelled like. He went over how certain ones would be used. After this is room you'll be led into their tiny gift shop. The shop does have some natural soaps that smell wonderful!

If you have never toured this hidden tucked away museum, then you need to pay them a visit. They really show how they took care of injured soldiers back in the day. The employees dress up to match the time period. I am sure all of those clothes can very hot during the summer months, so I hope they are paid well. They have a lot of historical knowledge and is quite interesting. I encourage you to visit if and when you are spending the day in St. Augustine.

Very interesting museum! The tour was short and sweet and The guide was extremely knowledgeable and informative. Some of the things I learned about colonial period medicine both surprised me and made my skin crawl. I would 100% recommend visiting this museum!!

This was my favorite museum in St Augustine. I was so impressed with how the Spanish did medicine and surgeries back then. It's gruesome, but incredible. I didn't know how the percentage survival rate in the Spanish hospitals were like 50% better than the British back then. Also you can sit down in AC and watch a presentation- great to rest your feet. We went when they opened at 10am and got a private presentation

This is an interesting tour-you will learn a lot that you didn't know, and have some misconceptions about medicine in the past broken. Joshua was a great tour guide-patient, knowledgeable, friendly. If you like history, this is a good choice.

This was the most boring tour i have been in. Not worth the cost. I was expecting something more interesting

Part of the historical buildings in St Augustine that have been preserved or restored to their original state from their colonial times. The wonderful staff will do a far better job at explaining in detail the historical accounts from times past so by all means visit this place and hire a tour guide. Also, extremely recommend the ghost tour that begins in the military hospital, my wife will swear up and down that those pesky spirits felt up her leg ... bastards ... why don't they mess with me ? A true historical gem and a great lesson in American history.

This is a St. Augustine must see! We visited the hospital several years ago and enjoyed it. Last week one of my kids took out a book from the school library about the haunted places and he saw the Spanish Military Hospital in St. Augustine in it. We decided to drive a few exits south to go see it this weekend. The Hospital was sold about a year ago and is now under new management. The old owners focused on the ghost possibilities of the hospital. The new owners are completely focused of the true history and presenting what life was like when the property was used as a military hospital. We were disappointed to learn that a haunted tour at night was no longer available through any tour company or the hospital itself. Even before the tour started both of the hospital employees showed us all the items on display in the lobby and in a room just off the lobby. One of the incredible items on display is an amputation knife used during both the American Revolution and Civil War. It was owned by a family and passed from generation to generation. The tour guide was great and she provided a ton of information during the 1 hour presentation. Although the the tour was set up similar to the old tour yesterday's tour was vastly superior in every way. The kids want to go back again already even without the ghosts. We received a discount for being St Johns County residents.

Very interesting and informative. The docent did an amazing job. Fascinating history and facts. By the way, the docent mentioned to me that the museum is pet friendly, ( I would suggest for well behaved pets, the rooms can get tight with guests, hospital items, etc).

My aunt works in the medical field so this caught her eye during our recent weekend visit in St. Augustine. The stories are a bit gory so keep that mind before shelling out almost $10 for a 20 minute visit. There are only 4 stops on the tour - the lobby, the ICU unit for officers, apothecary and the garden. It ends...get ready... in the gift shop. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about not only the museum but also about medicine in general during that time frame. In the first room, she goes into very gory details complete with demonstration of the instruments on how limbs were amputated during that time. My other aunt turned green and felt sick! The apothecary was extremely interesting. She told the story about the apothecarist themselves and went into great details of the plants. Afterwards, you get a handout on the herbs and plants that you can take home. Did you know that Valerian was the basis for valium? Yep. Lastly, you visit the gardens and see the plants that she just spoke about. Everyone wanted samples of the Valerian. The guide was excellent and the money goes towards preserving this little known aspect of American history.

We were in St Augustine on a rainy day and were looking for a place to visit and get out of the rain. We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the tour at this museum. They had a number of items on display and the best part was the great presentation by the lady presenting the program. She did a great job of explaining the history of medical care during the period of the early Spanish settlement of this area of Florida. This is a great way to spend an hour during your visit to the area.

we visited this hospital as part of the ghostly tour. Our guide was so nice and made our tour very interesting and informative. Yes I have to admit, I couldn't sleep that night....but hey...thats what happens after u hear all those ghost stories. A must do!

One of the cheapest day tours in St Augustine. I think it is $5 to $7 during the day. I enjoyed listening to the tour guide. I was told she was one of the best. I like that they dressed in costume and gave a tour without theatrics. The history and information in the tour was fascinating. My mother who is a doctor would love this tour, and I plan to take her on it during the day. If you like a tour without dramatics and history about St Augustine, this is your tour. I like that it was brief too. I tend to have a short attention span and like my tours short and sweet. For friends and family, this is one of the few places I would bring them to see in St. Augustine if they wanted to go on a tour. Not my number one place, yet it is my number 3 place to go. I have not went on the ghost tour for the military hospital and don't know if I will.

As history buffs, my friend and I were very interested in visiting this authentic Spanish hospital. We arrived just in time, as a tour was about to begin, and we were the only ones there, surprisingly, which was refreshing as most of the other sites had a substantial amount of people, and we did not care to be jam-packed into a room. Our tour guide was Jordan, and he asked if we wanted the "tamed down" version of the tour, or the "detailed" version. Since I don't care for graphic descriptions of gruesome medical acts like sawing through a fully consciously aware person, we decided to go with the tamer version. We saw the doctor's office, the apothecary, and learned about the medicinal properties of various herbs. Very informative, and seeing authentic relics from the era was great. Despite the fact it was the tamed down narrated version, the tour was actually a bit disturbing. I was not sure if Jordan is a masochist who gets pleasure when relating gruesome details, or if this was meant to be an act (sort of a "mad doctor" routine), but he seemed to get very excited and animated when discussing gruesome amputation facts, sawing, and breaking of bones. He said he was in the medical profession, so perhaps he was just passionate about the subject, but my friend and I were a bit...disturbed. If it's part of his act, then all I can say is he'd make a great horror movie actor.

A lovely tour! Very fun and informative guide kept you entertained and educated. Highly recommend this attraction when you visit the city.

We really enjoyed this tour! 5 stars for service and entertainment value, but when you take a step back it's just a tourist attraction, not quite as good as universal studios. Our dog joined us on this tour, and they were amazing with tailoring the tour to our needs. We notified them up front we'd prefer a shorter tour since our dog doesn't have the best attention span. A couple of times the tour guide said something along the lines of "I know you wanted to keep it short and we can move on, but would you like to check out....?" But 0% signs of her trying to speed up the process. We felt the gal giving the tour fully had our interest as her priority the whole time. It's been on our bucket list and we're glad we got to check it off. I think we ran into 2 ladies and 1 guy in total, all were very helpful and if they disliked their jobs, they sure didn't show it!

As native Florida residents, my sister and I have always been meaning to visit all the ins-and-outs of Saint Augustine. I must say I am thoroughly impressed with the military hospital, because despite being brief--only covering two rooms and a small outdoor area--the displays and guide were incredibly informing! Our tour guide was Josh, and he surely knows his stuff. Although the matters discussed ranged from medicinal concoctions to grueling surgery practices, he made the tour very inviting and comfortable, even going so far as to including some comic relief to keep us engaged. Thank you Josh! We'll be sure to come again!

Our guide was Dawn. She was ABSOLUTELY amazing. It was just my sister and I ...so the tour was very personal. My sister (nurse) and I (physician) were both super impressed and in awe of all the information and detail that we were exposed to. It is a must for medical and non medical professionals alike. It wasn't overdone with medical terminology just pure cool info for everyone to find interesting. Go! And ask for DAWN!

I wasn't expecting it, but this turned out to be the best museum tour we took in St. Augustine. Our docent, Katie, was very knowledgeable and the subject was fascinating. Only wish the tour was a bit longer!

Pretty rad $10 tour. We came right after Irma hit so the AC was broken and our guide took it like a champ! He was still dressed head-to-toe in his wool garb and was fun, friendly, and seemed to really enjoy his job despite being sweat soaked in 90 degree weather. The medical practices were really interesting to learn about and the herb part was pretty cool. Thanks for the tip on using rosemary to soothe mosquito bites! Totally needed it after being bitten by an entire army of mosquitoes at the lighthouse.

Fun and informative museum. It was set up like more of a lecture/tour but interesting and enlightening nonetheless.

This museum is a quick tour. It ended up only being 2 of us on the tour. It was quick, engaging, and very interesting! Definitely would recommend

This tour was better than expected. The tour guides were extremely knowledgable and informative about medicine and health care in the 1700's. Many period artifacts to add to the authentic, historical story.

Our guide Kevin was awesome. I started to get sick in the first room and he let me leave till the second half. All members of our party thoroughly enjoyed themselves. What an awesome tour guide! He kept the other members of our party on the edge of their seats!

Great tour. The guide was very good at painting a picture in your mind of what the hospital would have been liked, glad we set the time aside to visit.

This was definitely not my favorite tour in St. Augustine but my wife who works in the medical field loved it. That being said, there were a few interesting things. The one I liked the most was how they explained how amputations were conducted when the hospital was still open. Also some of the old medical tools were interesting.

This is a good tour for you if you are in the medical field or medicinal herbs. The hospital is very small and the tour is only 40 minutes long and $7 per adult. Learning about the lack of modern medicine and frequent amputations made you grateful that you're alive today. It was horrific what people went through without anesthesia. The last part of the tour gives you an overview of common medicinal herbs and how they're related to medicine today.

This tour is a really awesome educational experience. I'm not into the medical field and my boyfriend is a pharmacist we both LOVED it. You honestly learn so much about the history. Our tour guide (whose name I didn't catch) was very very good. She was super goofy yet obviously knew a thing or two about the history. I feel a lot of things cost way to much for what you get. But this was affordable and way worth it. Also the gift shop was cute and had some neat things. If you are looking to learn about the history of this town this is for sure a must do. The tour last about 45 minutes.

A REALLY cool look back to how medicine and hospital care has progressed. Kind of small ( three rooms) but well worth your time and money. The tour is narrated...lots of information.