Stan

Staying at the Hyatt. Have seen some mixed reviews about KW, ie cleanlieness, overcrowding. Will we have things to do for the week? Will some REAL people let me know honest opinions! Thanks

Pro

Be glad to. What you heard or read about is very untrue. Yes, when the cruise ships come in for the day for about 6 hours or so, Duval St can be a little crowded but that goes without saying. As far as cleaniness, well I'm not sure where you got that one. Its very clean. Here are some places to go other than doing the Duval crawl, sunset cruises & shopping at Fast Buck Freddies or any other store for that matter:

http://www.mallorysquare.com/
http://www.sunsetcelebration.org/
http://www.conchtourtrain.com/
http://www.oldtowntrolley.com/
http://www.hauntedtours.com/
http://www.historictours.com/keywest/Default.htm
http://www.hemingwayhome.com/
http://www.floridakeys.net/redirect.cfm?ClientID=609
http://www.kwahs.com/lighthouse.htm
http://www.melfisher.org/
http://www.keywestseaport.com/
http://www.trumanlittlewhitehouse.com/
http://www.flaglerstation.net/
http://www.shipwreckhistoreum.com/
http://www.fortjefferson.com/
http://www.nps.gov/drto/
http://www.fastcatferry.com/
http://www.forttaylor.com/
http://www.floridays.org/
http://www.sunnydayskeywest.com/
http://www.schoonerwesternunion.com/
http://www.schooneramerica.com/
http://www.keysdining.com/
http://www.abfla.com/parks/index.html
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/

Owen O'Neill

I just returned from a mid-December weekend there - my third visit ans the best one yet. In addition to the things already mentioned...

Rent bikes for the week - a great town for biking and it's a good way to get around. Take the day charter to the Dry Tortugas. It's said to be the best snorkeling in the keys and a fun trip - pick a day that's not windy so you'll have decent snorkeling. Have dinner one night at El Siboney - it's a family owned Cuban restaurant - not fancy but excellent food and very moderate prices. Have breakfast at Blue Heaven - you'll probably want to eat breakfastr there every day as we did but it may be fun to try Harpoon Harry's one morning - it's near the marina and more a of a locals diner style place very inexpensive. Have dinner one night at Latitudes on Sunbset key - Hilton's private island just off KW. Make reservations and ask for a beachside table - you'll have a table outdoors quite separate from those around you - very romantic atmosphere and the food is very good. Be sure to have the fruit sorbet for dessert (or one of you get it and share - it's incredibly good). Latitudes is pricey but worth it, IMHO for the atmosphere. Perhaps go to the gourmet market on the waterfront by the marina and get stuff for a picnic and bike somewhere for lunch. For me the appeal is in the very laid back atmosphere. I found it incredibly relaxing and will return for that reason.

love

Take a walk or bike ride through old town. The houses and yards are beautiful. We never had any problems with the cruise ship crowd over crowding the streets. We found it more crowded at night on Duval Street after the ships left. Don't do the restaurant at the Hilton. My wife and I love food and were very dissapointed. The food was decent and the atmosphere was very nice but over all we thought it was over priced. We also were on the beach area but the wind picked up and my wife was very uncomfortable trying to keep her hair managable. We eventually moved to another table out of the wind. We had to ask to move and the manager/supervisor seemed a little bent out of shape doing this. Maybe try them for lunch. We also loved having lunch at the Pier at the Ocean Key House. Great place to watch the boats go by. We wanted to go to Little Palm Island for brunch but couldn't get reservations for it so it is on our list for next time. Check it out if you can. We also heard the dinners are wonderful. One night we had some very good pizza at Mangos. They do little indivdual pizzas with a thin crust. It is a fun people watching place. Blue Heaven is great but we really liked them for dinner.

Celeste

Being that my sister lives in Key West and I have been there hundreds of times, I do wonder what makes people visit over and over again. However, it can definitely be fun for the first timer.

I used to tell people, don't come to Key West unless you like to drink, dive, snorkel, or fish. And basically I still believe in that. If you're a partier, there's always a party. If you like to fish, or just want to try it, use a party boat at Garrison Bight Marina (Greyhound is good).

If you want to snorkel or dive, the Dry Tortugas (by boat or plane) is excellent, but so are many of the local reefs. However, this is usually the worst time of the year to snorkel or dive.

I have eaten at Blue Heaven and don't really get what the big deal is, but like Key West, try it once. I prefer Mangoes for breakfast, myself, and Camille's if I don't have to share the place with smokers.

Key West is an experience for sure, but keep in mind that there are 110 more miles of Keys and Key West is by far the most developed. If you truly want to experience the beauty of the Florida Keys, head north to the Little Torch/Ramrod/Big PIne Key areas.

George

Suggest taking the Conch Train Tour as soon as you arrive. It hits the high spots and gives you a sense of the island. Then get your bikes, and meander....

Several suuggestions: The beach at Ft Zachary Taylor Park is superb. And in addition to Mallory Square, catch at least one sunset from the top of the La Concha Hotel. I believe they're renamed it, but it is, I think, the tallest building in town. A great deck, and a small bar that's open in the sunset hours.

My favorite for breakfast is the Paradise Cafe. At 1000 Eaton St, I sometimes sneak over there before my wife gets up. To sit there reading the KW Citizen, and enjoying a cafe con leche, is to have one of Key West's finer morning moments. It is a serious, unheralded, locals place for breakfast and lunch.

The real Grglnswsh

First, Willy get my name right if you are going to copy it you idiot!
G R G L (not i) N S W S H.
Stan you will have a blast. The location of the Hyatt is great. You will be able to walk just about anywhere. Do a sunset sail on Floridays. It is docked at the Hyatt. They also do snorkel cruises too during the day. Take the Conch Tour Train the first day you are here to get a good overall feel for the island and its history. You will also see several points of interests that you might want to go back and further investigate. Biking is a great way to get around the island and I am sure the hotel will be able to point you in the right direction on where to rent them. Fishing on one of the "party" or "head" boats is a good inexpensive way to go fishing down here. There are a few boats in Garrison Bight to choose from. You will have a wonderful time and just ignore what Aldo, Harry, and grginswsh write, they are very wrong and have no idea what they are talking about. Be sure to post a trip report when you get back.

susan

Stan - ignore the naysayers and pay attention to what the REAL Grglnswsh says. I spend about a month a year in Key West, but Grglnswsh lives there...how lucky can you get? The Hyatt is a wonderful hotel in a great location. I've stayed there several times and have never been disappointed. Taking a Conch Train Tour is a great way to get acquainted with Key West...it'll give you a good overview of the town and provide ideas about other things you might want to do while you're there. Worrying about cleanliness is a waste of time. Aside from Duval, which is an active retail/restaurant/bar street, Key West is pretty quiet and clean. And what's wrong with tourism, anyway? That's who we all are!

grglnswsh

As silly as this sounds another good reason to take the Conch Tour Train as soon as you get here is for the page of coupons they hand out. Being that it is your first time down here you will probably find it a good savings. Much of what they point out is offered on the page for some type of discount.

sj

Just returned from spending Christmas week in Key West. We are not into the Duval Crawl scene and only walked Duval one day (this was our 5th trip to KW) as we much prefer walking the lovely streets of Old Town. In addition to the many great suggestions above I would recommend the Reef Express for snorkeling -- the price is less than the sailing catamarans because they do not offer "free" beer and wine. You get to the reef quickly and have alomost two hours of snorkeling at two different spots. Another favorite is Danger Charters -- a lovely sail to the marine refuge where you get a guided kayak tour of the mangroves and then a chance to snorkel. Friendly, knowledgable crew -- a real class operation. Blue Heaven is our favorite for any meal, Bahama Mama's is great for conch and the raw bar at Turtle Kraals is reasonable. You can pick up great sandwiches to go at the Waterfront Market. We always rent a house so spend lots of time at the Waterfront Market! Someone mentioned the beach at Zachary Taylor -- be sure to have some sort of footwear to wear to or even into the water as this is a typical keys beach -- rocky and somewhat rough with coral. There is a great bookstore on Fleming that has lots of Key West books which you might enjoy. At the chamber of commerce you can pick up info on walking tours that explain lots about KW architecture. The museum in the old customs house is worth an hour of your time as well. As to cleanliness, the city works hard to keep it clean and it seems to be even more so in recent years. As to crowding, Duval and Mallory Square get crowded when cruise ships are in but you can certainly avoid that time (all cruise ships have to leave by sunset). Have a great time -- KW is wonderful!

grglnswsh

Just a FYI for everyone - I went down to the new Kelly's restaurant that opened on the South Beach (other end of Duval, not the sunset side) and the meal was nothing special but the beach area is amazing. I don't know if Kelly's is maintaining it or if the city is just doing a better job because of the restaurant there. The restaurant has a very simple menu and it seems like it is catering to the beach crowd. 4 apps (boiled shrimp, smoked fish, chicken fingers and I forget the other one), 3 or 4 salads, and a few hamburgers and sandwiches. The place opens out to the beach so it makes for fun people watching. The beach is really nice - no rocks, smell, or sea grass. My guest and I were shocked. We almost agree it is better than Fort Zac but it is smaller. If you are looking for a beach to lay out you should check it out. Fort Zac also charges a buck or two to get in so it keeps the bums out but I didn't see any bums at this beach either.

Celeste

Is Kelly's, this new restaurant, on the beach where Southernmost House is? Wasn't there a little restaurant there already? Is it replacing the Kelly's over on Whitehead, or is it a different place entirely?

grglnswsh

It is across the street from the Southernmost House. It is owned by the same as the one on Whitehead.

x

Ronnie's been whining again. "Waa Waa, they're saying bad things about me." Got all those bad ole notes removed, eh? Ron (Pro Keys), cut the sniveling whimp act. Come on man, stiff upper lip. BE a man. Ron, voted Least Favorite Fodorite how many times? Don't you get it YET and can't you take a hint? Vamoose, scat, scram, shoo!

z

An oldie but a goodie

PJ

Key West is perfect! It's touristy, alot of people. Great people watching at nite some junk on the streets. It's a very fun place with lots of things to do. Scooter-bike rental, great food, bars, nite entertainment, beach! Enjoy! I guarantee you will return again.