Has anyone stayed at the Pelican Cove or Holiday Isle in Islamorada? I have heard the Holiday Isle is not too great? I am looking for somewhere clean and oceanfront.

Yvonne: Do a search here on Islamorada. There's a wealth of information that's been posted on this board.

Don't know whether you realize that "oceanfront" in the Keys is not oceanfront as one thinks of it along the Atlantic or Pacific coast. You'll get a sense of that by looking at a map/

Holiday Isle has a reputation as a spring-break, party-type, destination. There may be some nice lodging there, but there's that reputation, as well.

When are you going down? My wife and I go down every year in late January. We always spend Monday and Tuesday nights in the middle Keys--either Marathon or Islamorada. And we wait until we get there and check the local Visitor's Center/CofC. There are often some great rates on nice lodging that are posted to those points on a day-to-day basis.

http://fla-keys.com is the official Tourism Council web site for the Keys, and it has a lot of information.

George,
We are going Saturday-Wednesday. We are going to spend Sat and Sun evening is Islamorada and then Mon and Tues evening in Marathon. I have already received brochures from the travel center. Do you have any recommendations for Marathon? We were thinking of SeaScape. Thanks!

H.I. is a dump!

Yvonne: Not familiar with Seascape. Don't know where (or even whether) we'll stay in Marathon. Probably won't make that decision until we get down there.

If you want really nice (and priced accordingly,) consider Hawk's Cay. I recollect it's about MM65. Bit rich for my blood (I'm now retired.), but we stayed there our first trip down. My wife sighs every time we go past.

Every three years or so, we stay at Hidden Harbor Motel in Marathon. The Turtle Hospital is there. And the only way you can see the turtles (and then only at feeding time,) is by staying at the motel. I've got a couple of albums up at http://photos.yahoo.com/scullyyank . One shows what a room looks like (basic, clean, roadside motel,) and one shows the turtles.

Check out the rants and raves hotel section on Travel Talk home. Seascape gets great reviews on there. It is a small, quiet, no kids under 17 allowed place perfect for couples.

Where do I find Travel Talk? Sorry, I am not very internet smart.

....drove by Seascape a while back just to check it out.....it looked pretty nice. look at Banana Bay (marathon) also.

Yvonne,
Go to: http://fodors.com/rants/rrpropselect...orida_keys@208

Yvonne-In the upper left hand corner of this page, underneath Fodors.com's logo you will see Travel Talk home. Click on it. This takes you to the main page, scroll down to the bottom, right hand side you will see the rants and raves section. Click on hotels. Then go to Florida (Florida Keys) they have it broken down alphabetically. It is very easy.

BTW-Most public libraries now offer FREE internet classes for beginners, intermediates and advanced. This is how I learned to surf and I highly recommend it. Contact your local libarary. Happy surfing.