Old Key West what can you tell

[Alicnwondrln]

about it
i have never stayed there
so any info would help

 

[SueOKW]

It's a great laid-back place - pretty far off the beaten path, though. The rooms are spacious. Do some checking around on this board and you'll find plenty of posts about it.

Sue

 

[spiceycat]

most of the activites are centered around HH - Hospitality House. so lots of guests like to stay there. I don't.

too much traffic for my taste. Yes OKW doesn't have a lot of traffic. but this place to me does. no only the cars, buses but trucks delivering stuff.

anyway the views are water (my favorite), golf, woods.

you can ask to be near the HH, bus stop or pool.

(notice near not at) - you don't want to be at any of these. the bus stop and the pool can get noisey.

although I loved building 55 and it was at the South Point quiet pool.

 

[dianeschlicht]

OKW is like a spread out neighborhood of vacation townhomes. Each building is 2-3 stories and will include 1 bedroom/studio lock offs, 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom villas that are walk ups or walk ins from the parking are right outside your door. This gives a nice secluded vacation home feel IMO. The villas are the largest in the DVC system, and have huge master baths and very large great rooms and kitchens with a large covered balcony that includes a dining table, 4 chairs and a ceiling fan. The balcony is accessed from both the living room and the master bedroom. The studios are lock offs from the second bedroom in some units, and will have 2 queen beds, a large closet, a huge full bath and a kitchenette/sink area that will include a microwave, fridge, coffe maker and toaster as well as some plastic and paper table ware. There is a small table with two chairs and a large balcony for the studio rooms as well.

There are 3 neighborhood pools on site, and a larger main pool that has a new sand castle slide. Each pool area includes a childs play area and a laundry for those who are staying in the studios (full size villas have their laundry room in the villa).

Bus service is excellent to all the parks, and there are 5 bus stops located throughout the resort.

 

[DizWacko]

If you like bland-looking condos close to nothing you will LOVE Old Key West.

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you like bland-looking condos close to nothing you will LOVE Old Key West.

That was really helpful!

 

[MtMinnie2]

The boat ride to Down Town Disney in the evening is pretty and relaxing.

 

[FreeTime]

We love OKW when we want a laid back vacation or have guests with us. The size of the villas are great (except for the studio, I don't care for them there). I would suggest that you have a car when staying there also.

 

[Disney Doll]

I think OKW is a great resort. We actually own 2 contracts there. We bought one, and a few years later, we liked it so much that we bought a 2nd contract!!!!

It is condo rather than hotel style, so you have your entry door off an exterior walkway, rather than an interior hallway. There are parking lots in front of each building, so your car is generally close by, rather than valet parked...not that valet parking is bad, but that is a difference.

The main area is nice, sort of like a little town center, with the store/gift shop, the sit down restaurant, Olivia's, that has decent food, a cute little bar, a snack bar, the main pool, gym, arcade, boat dock for the boat to DTD, hot tub, children's play area, bike/boat rental, basketball hoops, tennis court, shuffleboard, volleyball. They just added a slide to the main pool, which looks cute.

There are basically 3 "sections" of OKW besides the area around the main area. There is Miller's Road which is the first right off the main road(Peninsular Road) as you enter the complex. Miller's Road has a quiet pool/hot tub at the end farther away from the intersection of Miller's and Peninsular. Much of Miller's Road sits on the golf course, so there are some nice golf course views. The buildings with the elevators are located on Miller's Road. There is Turtle Pond, which is essentially the next right off Peninsular Road, but it is much further "into" the complex. Also has a quiet pool/hot tub, but this quiet pool also includes a snack bar which is open seasonally. Much of the Turtle Pond area sits on the golf course, so many of the units have beautiful golf course views. Then there is the Southpoint area. Southpoint is the furthest into the complex, and is the first left off of Peninsular Road, beyond the turn-off for Turtle Pond. Southpoint units have some golf course, but more water or woods views. There is a quiet pool/hot tub, no snack bar, very close to a bus stop. There is a path off of Southpoint Road that goes all the way to SSR and then to DTD. It's a nice walking path, through the golf course, but not lit at night. It brings you out near the Cirque/House of Blues area at DTD. Southpoint is our favorite area of the complex to be in...seems to be a little "quieter"...although there aren't really too many "bad" rooms or views in OKW...you're pretty much always looking at water, woods, or golf course.

As far as the units themselves, size-wise I believe the are the largest in terms of square feet when comapring them to the other DVC resorts. Probably not as evident in a studio, but very evident (IMHO) when you get into the 1, 2 & 3 BR units. Not that the units in the other resorts are small...on the contrary, they are very amply sized, especially for a vacation property...but OKW's are huge!!!!!! Themeing is "Key West-y"...beachy, seashells, light colors, lush foliage, casual & relaxed, low-key feel. Studios have a kitchenette with a dorm-size fridge, coffeemaker, microwave and, I think, a toaster. Larger units have a full kitchen with full-size appliances and a laundry room with full-size floor model(not stacked) washer/dryer. All the pools have laundry facilities near them so if you are staying in a studio you can still do laundry if need be.

We think it is a great resort. There are some who think it's too "off the beaten path", but that's what we like about it. You relax when you get there. The beauty of the DVC is the fact that there is something for everyone.

 

[Simba's Mom]

The thing that impresses me the most is the size of the balcony. There's a full size round table with 4 chairs. If your party consists of more than 2 people, you can all sit out on the balcony and eat, or in the evening sit out there with snacks-there's an overhead fan, if I remember correctly. The best thing is that you can really spread out there with your feet up, drinking your coffee (or whatever you're drinking!).

 

[MiaSRN62]

If you like bland-looking condos close to nothing you will LOVE Old Key West.

Yah, right.........real bland........(don't listen to some people Alcinwondrln )

Here's a couple outside shots :

and from Deb's site :

We love the ambience here......
And here's the balcony pic again because that was removed with my entire post :

 

[bntrdntht]

we have stayed there many times ( my sister is a DVC member) love it, love it, love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TWO words....hot tubs

 

[Alicnwondrln]

i have rented points there in january
i am SOOOOO excited!!

 

[jmminarik]

If you like bland-looking condos close to nothing you will LOVE Old Key West.

They're close to my car when I park it right out front. When you live in a congested city in a neighborhood that's gentrifying with lots of cars and less than ideal parking, that is a treat. So is seeing all of the greenery and critters right off the nice large porch.

If you want bland, try looking at the same carpet patterns as you walk the 3 light years to your tiny little room at the far end of the <INSERT non-OKW resort>.

-Joe

 

[dianeschlicht]

LOL, jmminerik! Are you a Rich in training!

 

[jmminarik]

LOL, jmminerik! Are you a Rich in training!

I am but a Padawan, and I lack the ability to stomach any animal's feet.

-Joe

 

[snowwhitemom]

Love it Love it Love it. You have this great themed pool at HH with an awesome slide or if you prefer to stay close to your room, you can just slip down stairrs to your private pool with hottub and grill, you can park in front of your door and the space is unreal, very big rooms.....its a getaway within your vacation.....within moments you can be anywhere you need to be, and within moments you can escape the hustle and bustle and be back home. The boat ride to DTD is to die for , just beautiful. Enjoy.

 

[hmmerr02]

We just stayed for the first time at OKW last week. We are newer members and we stayed one night before our cruise on SSR and then OKW for 4 nights after. SSR was awesome! OKW left a lot to be desired. We were in building 13 (near HH). Proximity was fantastic and at first we loved the fact that after the bus picked up at HH we were on our way to the parks! Then we realized that that also meant HH was the busses LAST stop on the return. I believe that there were 5 stops before HH. It takes forever. If you stay at OKW, I"d definately recommend a car. Rooms were larger, but the layout was different from other DVC rooms. (we've only stayed in studios) If you into "disney" hotels, then this probably isn't the one for you. For the points, we would have preferred the standard view at the Boardwalk or SSR as an upgrade. On our first day I was laying in the bed taking a nap and looked up to see a bug the size of my thumb crawling on the headboard. We tried to sit out on our deck one night to enjoy a cocktail and had to go in because of the bugs. On the good side, the water launch to DD was fantastic. Anyway, it just wasn't for us.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Pretty.
Great pool.
Friendly type people
CM's are great
Decent General Store
Large spacious rooms
Manicured surroundings and TPA golfing
parking near rooms
Good food


GREAT PLACE!

 

[Laurajean1014]

For the points, we would have preferred the standard view at the Boardwalk or SSR as an upgrade.

You could not get Boardwalk for the points you spent on OKW.

As for the bugs, well, they must like you.

We've been there over 330 nights and have not had one bug in our room. Great odds, eh?