REQUEST - 4* / 5* hotel near beack Key West

Checkout the properties in Islamorada. Cheaper, easier to get to, same weather.

Thanks will check out those options labs and DSJ

bradpitt11 - am i being stupid? The list you linked to says that there no properties on key west where you can use certificates at the weekend?

jaimelobo said:   Be aware that there isn't much "real" beach on KW. KW is basically a rock sitting in the water; a few of the nicer resorts have small, artificially created beaches and there are a few public beaches, but not the palm-lined, wide, white, tropical sandy image you may have in your head.

Many of the accommodations on KW are of the B&B and small Inn variety with nice little pool/spa areas. That is why many folks go -- to stay at a nice cozy, laid-back place, wander the town, and relax; not a beach vacation, like the Bahamas or the Caribbean. KW is pretty filled up, so there aren’t a lot of expanses of land to have a large spread-out resort.

The nicest beach near KW is Bahia Honda State Park, north of KW at ~MM37.

As others suggested, if a resort vacation is what you want, there other parts of the you could check out. However, if you do want to have the advantage of the restaurant/galleries/sightseeing/etc. of KW, then you don't want to stay too far north and have the hassle of driving back and forth.

We live in Orlando and go to KW a couple of times a year and always use a local KW agent at Key West Key (very basic web site, but it has her contact info.) She's great at knowing exactly what one wants and finding a great deal.

Yup, there are much better beaches in FL than Key West.

Thanks guys, i'm new to the States and had assumed key west was an idyllic beach location. Where would you go for that in FL? I've done Miami before and want to try somewhere new.

mungbai said:   I would suggest Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. It's a nice resort. They have golf, kayaks, all sorts of things. Get the Premier Oceanfront King Suite. My wife practically had to be dragged out of the room. It's really nice. For instance, there's a hot tub that fits two comfortably on the balcony of the room overlooking the ocean. I believe it is around $499 a night, but they offer 15% discount on advance purchases 45 days in advance, if i remember correctly. Ask for a bundle price that includes the resort fee.

You may think you want to stay in Key West, but you actually want to stay in the Keys. You will want to visit Key West, but it's easy enough from Islamorada. You have better fishing and diving options out of Islamorada as well.

Authority: third generation South Floridian.

That place looks nice! How was the food?

Coming out at around $5k

newnorley said:   mungbai said:   I would suggest Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. It's a nice resort. They have golf, kayaks, all sorts of things. Get the Premier Oceanfront King Suite. My wife practically had to be dragged out of the room. It's really nice. For instance, there's a hot tub that fits two comfortably on the balcony of the room overlooking the ocean. I believe it is around $499 a night, but they offer 15% discount on advance purchases 45 days in advance, if i remember correctly. Ask for a bundle price that includes the resort fee.

You may think you want to stay in Key West, but you actually want to stay in the Keys. You will want to visit Key West, but it's easy enough from Islamorada. You have better fishing and diving options out of Islamorada as well.

Authority: third generation South Floridian.

That place looks nice! How was the food?

Coming out at around $5k

The food is mediocre. I would recommend Pierre's, across the street. They have great mojitos too, and you can hang out and watch the sunset.

Maybe we should start a fantasy thread:

If your budget was x during y, where would you go?

Try Hotwire , usually you get the hotels named on the list at almost half the price on the websites.

When we stayed at KW, I booked 4+ stars via Priceline, selecting a narrow area, which forces it to give you 1-2 hotels.

I stayed at Sheraton, Westin, etc. on different islands of KW - Largo, KW, etc and ended up paying <$90/Night.

Only downside of these hotels compared to Quality Inn, Fairfield, Mariot, etc. is you miss the "free breakfast", since it is expensive on site, but food is good.
But place is awesome with easy access to their private beach, kid friendly, etc.

If you are set on Key West then casa Marina comes closest to what you are looking for. Pier House has less of a beach but offers a location that is closer to the "action" yet is still quiet when you are on property. Check out the Dockside Corner Suites for the best views. Ocean Key is my favorite resort but has no beach and the Hyatt Resort & Spa is also very nice but has a very small beach. Since you are splurging by all means book dinner at Latitudes on Sunset Key (where the Westin Cottages are) which is only accessible by boat.

If I had OP's budget, time frame, and expectations, I wouldn't go to the Keys for the biggest bang for my buck and I wouldn't start looking for deals < 30 days out.

We did the Keys last summer after being in Hawaii the year prior. Did a lot of research. Our goals were to snorkel and relax - getting bombed in Key West wasn't on the agenda (we never made it to Key West). In general:

- snorkeling off the beaches in the Keys was a disappointment (we tried many). You have to go out a few miles to see anything worth seeing. Hawaii had great stuff right off the beach.

- High end hotels in the Keys aren't as "high end" as you'd think. Read reviews on sites like TripAdvisor and get your eyes opened.

- People refer to the Keys as "laid back". Our take was "worn out". Many places look dumpy, and are dumpy. Again, use sites like Trip Advisor to find the real impressions of people that have been there.

- Beaches in the Keys are not "idyllic". Many are rocky, many have lots of weeds / grasses. Do some reading, you'll see info about this. Some are man-made, they put some truckloads of sand there.

If Hawaii is a 10 for beaches and snorkeling, then the Keys are a 5 for beaches and a 7 or 8 for snorkeling IF you go out on a boat.

Here's my recommendations and NOT recommendations:

Beaches:

Bahia Honda State Park Beach - not good for snorkeling

Restaurants:

Sharkey's Pub - don't bother

Lor-e-lei - very nice view, nice singers and magic act for kids on certain nights.

Mrs. Mac's Kitchen - go to the ORIGINAL and it's pretty good. Not high end though.

Senor Frijoles - blah food, good sunset but building blocks a lot of it.

Tower of Pizza - Good pizza.

Sundowners - great view, all you can eat Mahi Mahi on Fridays.

Snorkeling:

Keys Diver Snorkel & Scuba - very good, find the coupon. Grecian Rocks are neat, also Key Largo Dry Rocks. Christ of the Deep we didn't care about.

If you have enough people, it's more cost effective to rent a boat in John Pennecamp State Park and go out yourself assuming you know how to drive a boat. They give you very good directions. We were only two people, so it was more cost effective to go out with a company.

BrlDsguise said:   evanm said:   top 10 beaches in Florida

top 10 beaches

I think Fort Zachary is an underrated beach, but it is not as idyllic as the description in your link.

If you are willing to substitute snorkeling for body surfing (like all Key West beaches it has no waves) it is a nice beach.Yeah, kind of bizarre lumping all of KW as a "beach" and no mention of Bahia Honda, which pops up frequently as on of the best beaches in the U.S.

Thanks for all the input. We're going to be in Orlando anyway and always wanted to visit the keys so that is why we're going. If it was a straight choice between Hawaii and the keys I would go Hawaii every time.

I ended up booking through jaimelobo's referal:

We live in Orlando and go to KW a couple of times a year and always use a local KW agent at Key West Key (very basic web site, but it has her contact info.) She's great at knowing exactly what one wants and finding a great deal.

She got us a $200 discount from the Priceline price at the Sunset Key Guest Cottages.

No one has suggested but look into getting time share property. There are many timeshares in the area and I was able to get in one of the best one (on the beach) at very reasonable price from craigslist.

I would have checked out The Pier House: http://www.pierhouse.com/

My brother loved the place. You can't beat the balcony on the water.

orangecrushv said:   Green for casa Marina... We've stayed there 5 times (owned by 3 different companies) and loved it every time.

I liked that place, but last time I stayed in a cottage in a small 12 bed B&B. Felt somewhere between a B&B and a tiny resort. Far enough outside of the tourist trap area to be quiet. Next time I'm bringing the bikes. doh