Key West Florida info please

[mbw12]

My husband would like to go here for his upcoming 40th birthday in February....just the two of us without the kids. The only time I have ever been here was a one day stop on a cruise. PLEASE give me some details on resort recommendations and also restaurants!

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[bballmom56]

DH and I are heading there next week - can't wait! It is his "happy place", but I am looking forward to it too!

There are lots of different types and prices of accommodations. It also depends on where you want to be. We have stayed in a variety of places in the past. Two years agowWe stayed in the Best Western Hibiscus which was really great for the price. It is within walking distance (although a bit of a long distance) to Mallory Square where the sunset celebration takes place every night. But it is a nice walk where you pass lots of different shops, restaurants, etc.

This year we are staying in a resort right on Mallory Square. A bit more money, but it is a treat for DH. I can let you know how it is when we return! As you are going in February, hotels and resorts are in season, so they will all probably cost more.

As for restaurants, we like the Duval Beach Club (near the Best Western) for breakfast. We will probably make the walk one day while we are there. We have also eaten at Duffy's, Camille's, Abbodanza, Maison de Pepe, Hard Rock Cafe. This time we will be trying Latitudes which is on Sunset Key just off the main island.

You can rent scooters or bikes, do the trolley tour or just walk. Some attractions we really liked are the Harry Truman Little White House, the Hemingway House, the Aquarium, and a glass bottom boat trip. We are considering trying parasailing this time!

 

[loopymommy]

We took my husband there for his 40th birthday last year. We stayed at the Santa Maria Suites which is about a 15-minute walk (5-minute cab ride) from Mallory Square, right near the Southernmost Point (take your picture near the huge point marker). The hotel was small but gorgeous.

We had a 2-bedroom duplex facing their 2 pools. There were 3 flat-screen TVs, two fabulous fancy full baths and a half-bath, and a state-of-the-art kitchen. Every night the turndown service included gigantic muffins, Dove ice cream and chocolates. There is an amazing sushi restaurant on the property (the macadamia-crusted maki was weird and wonderful). I know the hotel is having a special promotion right now and it's well worth the price.

We went to Lattitudes also. It was good, but not great. Be warned that if you eat shellfish, you will be inundated with tiny gnats trying to get to your food. They didn't bother our steaks, though. Keep your eyes open for the return ferry when you're about done or you'll be stuck on the island an extra 45 minutes and they don't let you leave the restaurant area.

We loved the breakfast at Blue Heaven. If you don't mind the roosters and chickens flapping around your feet waiting for you to drop some biscuit crumbs, this is the best place for a weekend morning. Go early because they fill up fast.

The raw oysters at Conch Republic were sublime. The conch fritters and their "award-winning shrimp and bacon," not so much.

My 11-year old son was dying for a Sloppy Joe from "Sloppy Joe's," but it was a bar and rowdy even in the mid-afternoon. The hotel had some info about a delivery service that would get you food and drink from any establishment on the island, so my son got his sandwich and I felt like a responsible mom.

Don't miss Kermit's Key Lime Pie Shop or the shell shop in Old Town for cheap souveneirs. Keep an eye out for chickens crossing the road. Also, make sure you see the French guy's trained cat show at the Sunset Celebration. You will never forget him, no matter how much you drink ("Chopin! Zee rope!!"). Have fun!

Oh, and don't do the glass-bottomed boat tour. It was like sitting on the floor in a dark, damp church basement with ancient industrial carpet and watching your grandma's 40-year old TV. It was bumpy as Test Track and took forever to get to our "spot." Once we got there, we'd see a school of fish and the engines would suddenly start up, kick up silt, and go to another section where we saw...another school of the same fish. This went on for 40 minutes and we saw 2 species of fish. The total travel time (getting there and back) was 2 1/2 hours. Not worth it. Snorkel and scuba excursions were great, so don't miss those!

 

[lucas]

When we stay in Key West we like to stay at the Ocean Key. The address is 0 Duval Street - they have the sunset pier and are in the heart of everything. http://www.oceankey.com/

Some other useful Key West links:

General restaurant/menu info: http://www.keywestmenu.com/

A couple of our favorite restaurants by water:
Turtle Kraals: http://www.turtlekraals.com/
Half Shell Raw Bar: http://www.halfshellrawbar.com/home.html
Schooner Wharf - local bar by water: http://www.schoonerwharf.com/
Key lime pie: http://www.blondgiraffe.com

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

This is one of our favorites:

http://www.marquesa.com/

We have also stayed at the Heron House which was nice.

The best food is Blue Heaven, don't expect a wonderful environment, expect real Key Westers.

For a romantic dinner Cafe Marquesa.

Places like Conch Republic, Hogfish, Lazy Turtle...go for a drink. Don't waste your time eating there Just GROSS.

Carolines right on Duval is 100% casual, cheap & great for a fresh fish sandwich at lunch. Also terrific people watching.
If you are breakfast folks (like DH) Sarabeth's is wonderful for pancakes.

Be very careful if your thinking of time on Smather's Beach...besides it always smelling like raw sewage the crime rate has skyrocketed!!!!!

Make sure you ger frozen Key Lime pie frozen on a stick dipped in chocolate.

We go a few times a year because we have friends there that are artists so please feel free to PM me.
Have a great time.

 

[bettyann29]

This is some great info.. thanks..

Me and DH were supposed to go in September to Key West, but decided on a Disney cruise instead.. Im thinking of surprising him with a 5 day stay in February for our anniversary..

 

[mbw12]

Shameless bump.......any more hotel recommendations?????

 

[ols386]

We went there about 6 years ago. Stayed at the Best Western, located a couple miles outside of town. There is another BW that is located closer to town also. It wasn't anything fancy, but the rooms were clean, really large, screened-in patio, nice pool (with drink/snack bar), nice continental breakfast. We didn't have a car, but they have bus service that we took back and forth to town.

We went on a 1/2 day snorkeling excursion....it was really fun. They also have deep-sea fishing, golf, biking, etc. Not many beaches in KW, though.

It was fun going to Mallory Square and seeing all the cruise ships come in and out.

Lots of cool restaurants to eat, and stores/shops to walk through.

We'd go back again, but would probably stay at a hotel/resort in town.

It was a REALLY fun place!!!

 

[Carolinagirl77]

We've been to Key West a few times and have stayed all over the place.

Westin - My favorite was Westin. It is right byside Mallory Square and within walking distance. I'm pretty sure we still had to pay for parking per night. The location is nice. We did a one day excusion and it left from the Westin.

Hampton Inn - Not bad for a quick cheap get away. Key West has a bus that goes around to lots of the resorts and other places in Key West for a daily fee. It is nice but it stops running around 11pm (not sure exactly) and then you would have to take a cab.

Banana Bay - It was adults only and we ended up getting a special from their website. It was a nice small resort. Very close to Hampton Inn and the bus stops here too.

Doubletree - It was far away from the action. They had a free bus that took close to Mallory Square and back but it seemed like it took forever to get there and back.

These are the only places we have stayed. Westin was nice but if you are looking for cheaper accommodations Hampton Inn or Banana Bay was just as good.

A lot of the hotels are on the little bus transport system so you can drink and not worry about driving.

 

[Topper]

http://www.vrbo.com/232060

Great location!

 

[momrek06]

DH and I went to Key West in 2006. Stayed there just about 5 days. LOVED IT!!!

This is where we stayed http://www.southernmostresorts.com/southernmost_beach.html

It really is THE SOUTHERN MOST HOTEL on Key West. Beautiful, beautiful.

We also walked around and walked through this hotel http://www.casamarinaresort.com/guestrooms/deluxe_flagler_building.cfm ...it was breathe-taking.

 

[KristiKelly]

subscribing.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My mom lives at MM27 and is a regular in Key West.

Her FAVE restaurant to hit and to recommend is FOGARTY's--they are on Duval--but I forget near where. We ate there and aside from the oddly inattentive waitress--the food was yummy. They do have outdoor seating. We sat inside though as the kiddos were with us and it was blazing hot at the end of June. But plenty of folks were outside.

We had an event (a reception) in June at Mango's that was riddled with problems and we will no longer patronize that establishment. One could have called it an off night, but there was too much wrong from undercooked food and someone found metal in a salad. The manager was dressed like she had just come from a training run (running shoes and running outfit) so when our problems needed to be addressed, we didn't feel like we were taken seriously. Key West is laid back--but the experience that night was ridiculous.

Also--there is a French Bakery on Duval that is to be avoided--evidently the pastries are horrendous. I love French pastries and the bad reports were enough to keep me away.

Also--we disagree about the blonde giraffe for Key Lime pie. We really didn't find it anything special. I think they are heavily marketed though and you are bound to get people who like it though.

Went barhopping for two nights on Duval street. That was....interesting. I refer to it as a Tropical Bourbon Street.

We usually stay at my moms house but this time everyone was in Key West. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn. It is on Roosevelt but a quick jaunt into town by car. My room was a lovely 2br suite (all tile floors but very very roomy.)

My sister had a regular room and it was tight and small. They were surprised when they saw our room.

We did like our stay though. The pool was lovely and they had a breakfast buffet that was pretty decent.

It was easy to hop into town and we parked behind the Courthouse (monroe county court house).

There are tons of Bed and Breakfasts and if I did a weekend away with the hubby, I might do that. (IF I liked Key West that much to do that--I only go b/c my mom lives there--I'm so not a partier!)

On prior visits we did the trolley tour (b/c I had kids and never let them do it when mom lived in St. Augustine.)

We did the shipwreck museum--interesting but I'm not sure if it was worth our time. I wanted to go to Mel Fischer's instead.

 

[bballmom56]

Anybody see the Today show yesterday morning? Al Roker and Matt Lauer were broadcasting from Key West! They set up camp outside the Westin which is where we stayed. (I believe they stayed there also.) Our room would have been looking right out over them. They also did a lot of pre-recorded bits where they visited different shops and showed a couple of excursions. It was very cool!