Hotel recommendations for Key West

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Tom52

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We are planning a trip to key West FL sometime next Feb/March. I did some initial research yesterday and either the prices are very high or the locations are far from downtown, or the reviews are not so good.

Those of you that have been there, do you have any recommendations of a hotel within walking distance of the old town that is reasonalbly priced? We are both walkers, so half mile or more is no problem.

Also, is there a better time to visit? Any weeks to avoid where there are bigger crowds than usual?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
 
Hi Tom. We go to Key West every 3 or 4 months for a 3 day weekend, and have stayed at many hotels and B&Bs. The pricing is really seasonal. We have found our favorite hotel near Old Town (the main area) to be the Truman Hotel, and for less $ but real nice to be Sheraton Suites which is on the other side of Key West (really not that far) - it is on a nice beach (Smathers Beach) and there is continuous free shuttle service from the Sheraton Suites to Old Town, and it's a suite. There are less costly places, but we find these to be nice accommodations (both) and not noisy. Also, check out the Marquesa Inn - walking distance, real nice, been there twice.
 
The last time I was in Key West (May 2010) I stayed in The Southernmost Hotel at the south end of Duval (United and Duval). Lots of nice restaurants all along Duval. Try to time your visit to be early enough in the spring to still have "cool" weather but still take advantage of the seasonal rates.
 
Last time I visited Key West I stayed on the Navy base & slept in a bunk bed...not recommended. It was very affordable, though!
 
Last time we went to Key West we stayed at "the Gardens" hotel. Enjoyed it very much.
 
martyb said:
Last time I visited Key West I stayed on the Navy base & slept in a bunk bed...not recommended. It was very affordable, though!
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The "Fly Navy" BOQ is actually quite nice. It's nice enough that when I try to stay there on TDY orders to actually go to work, half the time it is unavailable, due to all the retirees staying there at $55 per night. For the RVers, they have a large campground as well. All within a walk of Duval St.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, we will be researching some of these.

If you are walking distance to Old Town, do you really need a rental car to see other sites in the area?
 
Tom52 said:
Thanks for the suggestions, we will be researching some of these.

If you are walking distance to Old Town, do you really need a rental car to see other sites in the area?
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DW and I are also walkers. Five/six miles doesn't bother us.

Most of what you'd want to do/see is in Old Town. We had a rental car but didn't use it for the 6 days that we were there. The walk to the beach was a hike -- especially coming home after a day on the sand, but we managed. I suppose you could rent a car for the day once there.
 
marko said:
DW and I are also walkers. Five/six miles doesn't bother us.

Most of what you'd want to do/see is in Old Town. We had a rental car but didn't use it for the 6 days that we were there. The walk to the beach was a hike -- especially coming home after a day on the sand, but we managed. I suppose you could rent a car for the day once there.
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Or a bicycle?
 
Tom52 said:
If you are walking distance to Old Town, do you really need a rental car to see other sites in the area?
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Not at all. We drive to Key West and when we stay in Old Town, we park when we arrive at the hotel and don't use the car until we drive home.

Rich
 

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The only time I go to The Keys is for the Winter Star Party, an annual gathering of amateur astronomers that's generally a camp-out. While this won't help you answer your question, one of my favorite stories is from the year they were having record cold in February (lows in the 40's) and my buddy's wife stayed at a motel in Key West. When she called the front desk to complain, saying "There's no heat in my room!" the reply was, "You're right!":facepalm:

It's rare, but not a bad idea to pack a jacket, although if you're traveling from colder climes you'll likely have one anyway.
 
HFWR said:
Or a bicycle?
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+1

I have vacationed on Big Pine Key (30 miles from Key West) for the past several winters. We went to Key West numerous times for theater, dining, shopping, art walks, visiting museums, walking tours, historic home tours, etc.

Driving a vehicle in and around Key West is slow going and parking is a major hassle.

We would typically take our bikes in the van. Then we'd park the van on the outskirts of Old Town, near the harbor, at Fort Zachary Taylor or some other convenient-for-us location and use our bikes to get around.

The bike ride around the perimeter of the island is especially lovely.

omni
 
I checked out the Speakeasy and talked to some of the folks staying there. They all liked it and the prices seemed reasonable. Unfortunately I had pre-paid for me place and could not switch. It's right on Duval street but far enough from the noisy bars to be quiet at night. Cheers.

Speakeasy Inn- Key West, Florida
 
supernova72 said:
I checked out the Speakeasy and talked to some of the folks staying there. They all liked it and the prices seemed reasonable. Unfortunately I had pre-paid for me place and could not switch. It's right on Duval street but far enough from the noisy bars to be quiet at night. Cheers.

Speakeasy Inn- Key West, Florida
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I did not see any rates mentioned on their web site. Can you share what you heard with regard to room prices here?
 
We stayed at The Southernmost because of the beach. If we were doing it again, I would stay in the heart of Duval and drive out to the beaches on the southside for the odd day. But then we are city people. Lots to do around Duval et al.
 
Well, we pored over the suggestions so far and based on our reserarch we were prepared to make a reservation at Curry Mansion starting next April 1, 2014 right at the start of the reduced season rates. DW checked yesterday to confirm what the rates were for April 2014 and "Steve" confirmed the rates would be the same as this year. So we called today to make a reservation and "same Steve" advises the rates next year are increased 23.4% plus the reduced seasonal rates don't start until May 1, 2014.

I guess we are back to square 1 looking for decent rate.
 
Not sure how long you're staying or how the rates might compare with what you're seeing for hotels or b&bs, but we enjoyed very much staying in condo complex in Truman Annex (I think it was Shipyard). They may only be weekly rentals. Easy walk over to Duvall St. and the rest of old town - short bike ride to nearby Fort Zachary Taylor beach - definitely one of the nicer beaches on Key West. Rented bikes for the week and only used the car for couple of grocery runs to Publix or whatever. I think we used Compass Realty Key West vacation rental homes and condos Truman Annex, Vacation rentals Old Town Key West, waterfront vacation homes but you could also try VRBO. Good luck.
 
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