Planning on going to Florida in the beginning of May. We are first going to Ft. Lauderdale and are looking at staying at Lago Mar. Then we are off to Key West where we want to say at the Hilton Key West Resort.
Has anyone stayed at either of these hotels. Do you know how long of a ride from Fort Lauderdale to Key West?

Door to door I'd allow between 4 and 5 hours for the drive, not including any stops and depending upon traffic, but that shouldn't be too bad in May.

There are so many great places to stay in Key West, and the Hilton is not one of them.

Go to keywest.com--they have a huge listing of hotels and B&Bs.

I agree with the above post. The Hilton has a very spotty reputation but there are lots of other places that don't. Both the Ocean Key House and the Hyatt would be better choices and they're in the same location as the Hilton. The Galleon, which is a timeshare that rents to non-owners is also a good choice, and is next door to the Hyatt.

For the real flavor of Key West, I would suggest a guest house. The Marquesa and the Ambrosia get wonderful recommendations.

Here are some websites for Key West:

Hotels:

Hyatt Resort - Very expensive, but worth every dollar - Highly recommended - our favorite - http://www.hyatt.com/

Ocean Key House - Very expensive - http://www.oceankeyhouse.com/

The Galleon - Timeshare - very expensive - http://www.thegalleon.com/

Hyatt Vacation Club Sunset Harbor Resort - Timeshare - very expensive - superb accommodations - our favorite - http://keys3web.expr.net/spottswood/hyatt.htm

Truman Annex - Choice places - very expensive - u can find some nice places to stay if u contact the owners, in other words, do some searching - http://www.trumanannex.com/

Hyatt Vacation Club Beach House Resort - Timeshare - located by the golf course - not close to Old Town - http://keys3web.expr.net/spottswood/hyattbeach.htm

Pineapple Cottage - Very romantic & expensive - our pick - http://www.floridakeys.net/pineapple/ Pineapple Cottage - Luxury, Privacy, & Location - Key West, FL

Victoria's Compound - http://victorialesser.com/keywest.htm - Stay in Key West with Victoria Lesser

B & B:

La Pensione - A little walk to Duval St. - http://www.lapensione.com/

William Anthony House - http://www.keywest.net/williamanthony

Heron House - http://www.heronhouse.com/

The Colony - http://www.thecolonykeywest.com/

The Marquesa - another favorite - http://www.marquesa.com/

Ambrosia & Ambrosia Too - our pick - http://www.flemingstreetinn.com/

The Mermaid & The Alligator - http://kwmermaid.com/

Key West Merlinn Inn - http://www.merlinnkeywest.com/

Key Lime Inn - http://keylimeinn.com

Harbor Inn - http://www.keywestharborinn.com/

The Gardens Hotel - http://www.key-west.com/accom/gardhot.htm -
http://www.gardenshotel.com/

The Conch House - http://www.conchhouse.com/

Here our a couple of sites u might want to visit & search for yourself:

http://www.keywest.com/
http://www.floridakeys.com/
http://www.key-west.com/
http://www.keywestliving.com/
http://www.thefloridakeys.com/
http://www.flausa.com/
http://www.fla-keys.com/
http://www.keysnetwork.com/
http://keystreasures.com/
http://www.flkinfo.com/
http://www.flhotels.com/
http://www.travelbase.com/
http://www.keysdirectory.com/
http://www.ourplaceinkeywest.com/
http://spottswood.com/faroblanco.htm
http://www.keywestcity.com/
http://www.travelscape.com/
http://www.coastaltimes.com/
http://www.tripsmarter.com/keywest/index.htm
http://www.vrbo.com/vrbo/flkeys.htm#Key+West
http://floridakeys.net/

You will not be disappointed staying at Lago Mar. It is beautiful and on the ocean. I am staying at the Yankee Clipper (where I stay quite a bit) also on the beach. Very close by for dinner is Bimini Boatyard which serves very good food - a little loud though. For a small casual on the water place for a drink, try Bahia Cabana - enjoy!

Thanks for all the information. Is the Lago Mar as nice as the Yankee Clipperand how does it compare to the Mariott Harbour resort which I hear is also on the water/.

If you're going to key west you must stay in a guest house or B&B. The big hotels have no atmosphere. There are tons of great places to stay.

ttt