Key West:
3 Couples driving from Miami (after a wedding) to Key West for 3-4 days.
Hope to find a reasonably priced hotel suite or house -- (have seen something that is listed as on Smather's Beach) Any recommendations for places to stay, sites to find places and on the drive back and forth?

First of all, concentrate on staying in Old Town Key West... anything outside of this area is like staying near your local shopping mall... it's nearly impossible to find a single suite that will allow 6 adults... instead consider a small inn or Guest House where you can get 3 rooms and all party near the common pool...

It's very hard to recommend a specific property without your definition of "reasonably Priced" is that under $200 per night per couple?

Also you will have a tough time finding a house without a minimum of one week... very few if any owners want nightly rentals...

Your best bet may be www.historickeywestinns.com these are great choices for your group... good luck

All good advice from Gary. One of the joys of Key West is not having to drive, one of the beauties of Key West is the Old Town.

Many thanks for the feedback -- the one unit we are looking at can only rent for the full week but the rate is only $1150 -- just not sure it is a good choice as it is out at Smathers.

its $1150 because its out of of the way... Smathers is near the Airport and would require you to drive, bus or cab to old town and that is a huge pain in KW... plus you really don't get Key West character outside of Old Town... that's why you go there... for the character...

Please stay in Old Town. It will make all the difference in the world as to your Key West Experience.
Check out Island City House. Don't know rates anymore, but it is a beautiul place with flowering trees, pool and breakfast in a good location.

We love the Southernmost Hotel - have stayed there 8 or more times, with just husband, with group of friends and it's always a great choice. It is on the quiet end of Duval , near the beach but we always walk to the restaurtants and bars down Duval at night - it's about a 20 min. walk. Have fun!

Sorry I forgot, the Southernmost is in Old Town and there are restaurants and shops nearby but to get to the Main nightlife area, Sloppy Joes and all that, it's a 20 min walk down Duval but past lots of other restaurants, bars and shops so it's a fun walk. We always walk when we are going out and cab back to hotel late. They have a hotel on the beach and a bigger one across from the beach - we always stay at the one across since it's less expensive - also they have a great Tiki bar at the pool!

Thanks for all the advice, it's been a great help (have ruled out Smathers). Most of our group would prefer renting a house/cottage - we'dw like to find a 4 BR or 2, 2BR cottages that are near each other. Any recommendations? We are currently exploring locations listed with vacationrentalskeywest.com (one is located at Truman and Duval--in southernmost area and would be around $200/night per couple) -has anyone every used this group as a rental agency? Any recommendations welcome.Thanks

Truman is a better location...

I agree with the others that you should really stay in the Old Town area. If you are out in the 'burbs, it is like staying in your own home town. It's like why bother? The fun of Key West is the charm of the Old Town. I would also rent scooters rather than a car.

Once again, am looking for advice. We are now exploring renting cottages in the Travelers Palm Inn and Guest Houses. Comments have been positive -- has anyone stayed at this location? Also, this does appear to be further away from Old Town than is recommended - it is on Cahterine St -- 2 blocks away from Truman (going away from Old Town) and 3 blocks from that end of Duval -- would others see this as too far away from Old Town? Thanks

if you are not determined to stay in Key West, we have rented a great house just 10 minutes from Duval Street for the past 5 years. We love it, it is located on the gulf side and also has the canal. It is very, very private and has everything you could want. When we want to go down to shop or do Duval, we do, but are always glad we stay where we do. It has 4 bedrooms.....

You might want to check out SantaMaria resorts. Its on the southern end, just off Duvall nr. the Southernmost Hotel and the Reach (Waldorf Astoria) hotels. It has a pool and an arrangement w/the hotel next door to use their beach (1 block away). It's a condo style complex that's run as a hotel, and they have 2 bed/2 bath units that are very new and contemporary (not funky old Key West style). Not sure if it would work for 3 couples. Maybe the sofa is a pull-out? Or maybe you could put it together w/another 1 bed unit?

BCHC - Years ago the bay side of Key West was considered much better because that's where most of the hotels were and most of the "action" and restaurants were, too. That's no longer true, and many people actually prefer being on the quieter side (the Atlantic side) of the island.

The new Southernmost on the Beach hotel is very, very popular and is at the end of Simonton Street - one block over from the end of Duval. The Santa Maria Suites are just across the street. Also on that end of Duval are La Mer and Dewey House, both of which are part of the Southernmost Hotel group.

In addition to these hotels there are lots of great restaurants nearby, so if I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about your location. I had never heard of Travelers Palm Inn, but see that it's only a block from El Siboney, which is a fabulous - and inexpensive - Cuban restaurant. Travelers Palm sure gets good reviews, too.

It seems to me that everything you're considering is good, so I wouldn't stress too much! If you find a favorite, come on back here and we'll tell you what we know about it!

BCHC,
I just look up the Travelers Palm Inn and the location seems excellent. You would be within walking or biking distance of the main old town area.

We stayed in a similar area last April and loved it. You just don't want to be way on the other end of the island where you have to drive in for the day to enjoy the tourist sights and battle parking.

That location of the inn you've mentioned is again, perfect.