First Time to the Keys- Where to stay??
 

Hi, I'm organising a suprise trip for my husband as it's our 10 year anniversary. We are travelling in Spetember. Doing 5 nights at Universal (Hes a big kid!) and then I was thinking of hiring a car and going to the Keys... We have never been.

I'm struggling with the sort of place we should stay. If I explain the sort of things we like please help with hotel/area suggestions:

5 nights to spend between 13th and 17th Sept- 17th we are staying in Miami so we can get flight back to UK easily

Like the nice things in life however have a budget of around $260/night
Will need parking
Would like once we arrive at the hotel, to park up and then be able to walk to a couple of bars or restaurants as we like to relax and have a few drinks.
We like chilling out but equally would be great to do stuff like snorkelling, paddle boards, looking around marinas at the boats and yachts.
Would rather not be overun with children or loud groups and not a fan of big chain hotels. Don't want a B&B where I have to stay in someone's house or am forced into speaking to other residents. Happy to mingle but don't want to have to be in a shared living room all the time.

Main priority is a nice room with nice surroundings within walking distance of food & drink. Not too touristy.

If I'm way off track then we could go anywhere in Florida for these 5 days so any suggestions would be great!
Thanks in advance

Fran

September should be friendly rate wise. In a Islamorada, shop Cheeca Lodge and Amarada Cay. Both meet all your requirements.

in Marathon, try the a Courtyard. Although it is a chain, it’s new, on the water, and walking distance to food and drink. Have a great trip.

With only five days, I would recommend a one night stay in Islamorada at one of the two resorts mentioned above ...then head down to Key West.
The magic of Key West is staying in Old Town in one of the many small Inns... we like the Marquesa house, and the Gardens Hotel .There are a dozen others in Old Town near the Duval st..area.
Look at Historic Inns of Key West for some options.

Thank you so much Stumpworks! I will certainly look at them. Thank you for your help

Fran

Thank you so much Garyt22 I will have a look now :-) Appreciate it.

https://www.bluemarlinmotel.com is nice, Southernmost point beach resort is nice and by some beaches. You can walk or rent a bike. I have a place to stay there so have never stayed in a hotel but friends have stayed at those two places and liked it. Moondogs is a great place for breakfast and the Banana Cafe. A sunset cruise is always a must. Just so much fun there. It is a two lane road for a huge part of the trip so slow moving.

I like the suggestion of staying in Islamorada and then moving to Key West. We used to go down for a week at Islamorada and then just do a day trip to Key West, but based on your description I think you'd like KW as well. Do stay in Old Town so you can walk anywhere. But I think it's a great idea to mix KW with the slower pace of the rest of the keys.

Thank you
 

Thank you so much! I agree...think we will do this...... best of both worlds!

Thank you :)

Agreed. Our newest favorite is La Grignote, across the street from Banana Cafe.

Just so you know, it's about a 6.5 hour drive from Orlando to Key West. Also, this is probably the height of hurricane season, so would recommend trip insurance for you.

Cheeca Lodge is a great suggestion.

I have been to the smaller one on Fleming. Three French places in KW.