Grand Key Resort
 

Anyone stayed at this resort?<BR>Is it suitable for kids?<BR>Any comments would be welcome before I book.<BR><BR>TIA :)<BR><BR>

and where would this resort be?

Grand Key Resort is new to Key West & is located close to the airport. The price is right as far as goes to the price of Key West lodging. There is nothing wrong with this place except for its location. You are on the wrong side of Old Town where all the action is. It has its own restaurant but dosen't compare to the restaurants on & off Duval St. The closest restaurant is the Sheraton about a mile away. This place is also around the salt ponds. It is very beautiful & has a very nice swimming pool. The only real bad thing about the place is its location to Old Town or Duval St. The kids will love it!

Isn't there one somewhere in the Bahamas?

I'd sure advise you to look for something in a better location. One of the real pleasures of Key West is that if you stay in a good location, i.e., Old Town near the Gulf, you'll be within walking distance of sunset activities, restaurants and tourist activities. As the first poster mentioned, the only thing the Grand Key is near is the airport.

Thanks guys for the quick responses - we're not too worried about being right where the action is - with a young daughter it's no advantage!<BR>

Susan is right - the location is not good. There is nothing there but the airport. There are 2 restaurants near by - Martha's (steakhouse)and Benihana. The hotel itself is fine. It is a very sterile, cookie cutter (could be found in any tropical place) hotel. It lacks the Key West charm that so many of the B&Bs and some other hotels have. The rooms are nice but the views from them are O.K. They are full of aminities. The food at the hotel gets horrible reviews but we have way too many good restaurants to eat than to get stuck eating in a hotel dining room. The lobby is stunning with a huge fish tank in the middle of it. Your kid(s) will love it. I have seen the prices they charge and I think it is a little pricey for where it is but there are some good deals this time of year. You might want to keep looking and comparing prices.

Scottie - the disadvantage of the Grand Key's location isn't only in being away from the "action." Most people visiting Key West - and many who live there - don't have cars because parking is VERY expensive and difficult to find. So the only readily available transportion is either bikes or mopeds. In my opinion, mopeds are dangerous in the hands of visitors not accustomed to using them. Bikes are fine but at the Grand Key you'd really be too far away to use them comfortably and your child might be too young to rely on biking.

Susan and Grglswsh are absolutly correct. Really, try to find something closer to all of the attractions. You will enjoy your vacation much more!

I booked a three-night stay at Grand Key and found it to be a very nice place for the money. Here is what you need to know about staying there:<BR><BR>The property is on the less-developed (East) side of Key West. There isn’t anything within walking distance of the resort. So you can spend all your time there and enjoy the pool, or get to the other side of the island by way of a shuttle bus, taxi, bikes, or (as we did) a combination of the three. It’s about a four to five mile trip that will cost you thirteen dollars each way by cab or 30 minutes by bicycle. Personally, I love bikes so we did a lot of pedaling.<BR><BR>My wife and I brought our five year old, and I’ve read a few messages advising against bringing kids to Key West. Let me just say what a great time we all three had. It’s not your typical family-oriented vacation spot like Ft. Walton. There aren’t a million water slides and mini golf places. We had three days of fun visiting the small aquarium, watching the shows and sunset at Mallory, relaxing at Smathers Beach, riding a Sea-Doo and cruising around on our bikes.<BR><BR>As for the bikes, the place we rented from had a trail-a-bike setup for my son to ride. It attached to my one-speed cruiser and turned it into sort of a bicycle built for one and a half. It amazed me how many people had never seen this type of rig before. We got lots of friendly, joking comments, mainly because there just aren’t too many kids seen down there.<BR><BR>I’m an airline pilot and whenever possible, stay away from hotel food. It’s always too expensive and usually not very good. I can’t comment on Grand Key’s food since we didn’t eat there. We found a very cheap breakfast place on Duval Square, and we ate there every morning. Our one nice dinner out was at Bagatelle on Duval – good food and great atmosphere. The resort arranged a sitter for our son at the hotel room.<BR><BR>We saved probably 100 dollars a night staying at Grand Key. If you want to be closer to the sights and nightlife on Duval, find a place down there but expect to pay a lot. Renting the bikes and sweating a little made the Grand Key a bargain. But if you stay out on Duval after dark and have a few island cocktails, just chain up the bikes until morning and take a cab or the shuttle.<BR><BR>Grand Key is very new, pretty, clean and isolated. It’s two miles from the airport but I don’t think airplane noise is any worse there than the rest of KW. We slept very well. Also, the staff was very friendly and accommodating.<BR><BR>It’s good to see many people traveling again. I know the people I work for are doing everything they can to make your trip safe, so get out there and see what a great country we have.<BR><BR>Tim<BR><BR><BR>