KEY WEST: hotel recommendations & meal plans???
 

We are going to KEY WEST from July 2nd - July 5th for a long weekend holiday. We need some good recommendations on beach resort- style hotels with lots going on right at the hotel. The hotel would need to be on or across from a decent beach (on the beach prefered) with pool and restaurant(s). <BR>***We'd love to find a resort/hotel that offered an all - inclusive or meal/drink plan like in the Caribbean (because my husbands company is sending us and is willing to pay package prices but not separate meal bills). So, that would be a bonus. <BR>With that said, we also love seafood and will likely opt to eat some meals away from the resort........restaurant recommendations??? <BR>Price of hotel is not a big issue (something around $200 canadian a night would be good... or more if offering meal plans/ drink plans???) <BR>thanks for your help.

Go to www.keywest.com - a really good website on KeyWest, the hotels, motels, condos and activities. The lodging section has prices and pictures. I would think the Atlantic side hotels would be the best, but outside of the Casa Marina, I'm not sure which have their own beach. Have fun.

Go to www.keywest.com - a really good website on KeyWest, the hotels, motels, condos and activities. The lodging section has prices and pictures. I would think the Atlantic side hotels would be the best, but outside of the Casa Marina, I'm not sure which have their own beach. Have fun.

My fiance and I are going to be honeymooning in Key West this October, so I've been doing a lot of checking. www.keywest.com contains the most information of any one website that I've been able to find. We are planning on staying at the Marriott Casa Marina, which is on the Atlantic side and is one of the few hotels that has its own beach. The Hilton, which is right in Old Town, doesn't have a beach but they ferry you to an island about 10 minutes away. I have been told that cruise ships dock right in front of the Hilton, so that could be a problem. There are no all-inclusive deals on the island from what I've been able to find out. There should be no problem finding plenty of good seafood, and the Half Shell raw bar has been highly recommended to us. Email me back after your trip and let me know how it went if you don't mind! I would love any first-hand suggestions you might have.

Leslie: I sent you an e-mail earlier today with responses to a bunch of the questions you asked, but you may not have gotten it yet (hopefully you will). Below I've printed a review from one resort that Frommer's recommended, which I visited for its spa services while I was there and I thought it looked very nice (didn't check out the rooms or the beach however -- but the grounds were pretty & the spa was excellent). <BR> <BR>PIER HOUSE <BR>RESORT AND <BR>CARIBBEAN SPA <BR> <BR>Pier House Resort and <BR>Caribbean Spa, One <BR>Duval Street, Key West <BR>33040, phone <BR>305/296-4600 or <BR>800/327-8340, on the <BR>harborfront along the <BR>Gulf of Mexico, <BR>squarely within the historic Old Town of Key West. High-season (December 25 to March 15) are $275 for standard rooms, $335 for garden-view rooms, $400 spa rooms, $450 harborfront rooms. Low-season rates (March 16 to December 24) are $195 standard, $250 for garden-view rooms, $300 for spa rooms, $350 for harborfront rooms. <BR> <BR>The 142-room Pier House is a crazyquilt of two-story buildings containing units of differing size, no two of which are alike except for their high quality, insouciant, tropical decor and furnishings: wicker chairs, ceiling paddle fans, bathrooms that occasionally contain Jacuzzis and bidets, other units with gaily beflowered comforters, and all of the units surrounded by the lushest tropical growth you can imagine. There is a small, white-sand beach, and a lounging-raft about thirty yards into the sea. In addition to its comfortable, elegant rooms, the hotel has four separate dining areas, a spa with fitness <BR>facilities, and all the other amenities associated with a four-star resort. Everywhere, the Key West <BR>atmosphere prevails (the indolent, carefree, counterculture city is right outside the front door), creating a mood that has caused several travel <BR>writers to call Pier House "the finest resort on earth." While that statement will generate smiles from <BR>hundreds of other luxury resorts on six continents, there's no denying the sybaritic fun of staying at Pier House.

Hannah, <BR>You will be very happy with the Marriott (we were), but don't expect much of a beach. We laugher out loud when we saw it - maybe 8 towels could fit on the beach! Anyway, you will like it there I'm sure. <BR>

Leslie, I am guessing that you have never been to Key West before from your questions. Truthfully, beaches are not the main priority when going to Key West. There are very few hotels on the beach and if they are there is hardly any beach to speak of. I have stayed at the Hilton, Marriott, and Duval House (B&B); the Marriott has the small beach as the other writer has mentioned but in my opionion is too far from everything that is going on. If you plan on spending much time on Duval partying, you will want to be closer to the action. There is not alot of parking on Duval and I am sure that if you are drinking like everyone else you dont feel like driving anyway. 2 options-Holiday Inn reasonable prices and quiet, right on Duval mid-street, no beach. Hilton, right at the very end of Duval area, quiet, in a Marina, reasonable, nice pool and jacuzzi's, overlooks the water. Pier House is nice but expensive, good location though. Stay away from the B&B's for the most part right on Duval. We stayed in one and barely slept because of the noise. Key West is a party area, have fun, say hello to the Hogs Breath, Sloppy Joes, and Margaritaville.

As other posters have noted, Key West is definitely not a beach town per se. In fact, all the sand there was imported. Key West is a coral shelf, so the "beach" is actually ground coral. The Hilton facility on Sand Key, which is only about a 7 minute ferry trip away, are condominiums, and as I recall they're fairly pricey. I'd advise you look into staying on Front Street, which is right in the middle of the "action." There are several options to choose from: The Hilton - which seldom gets real good reviews, The Hyatt, The Pier House, The Ocean Key House, and The Galleon, which is a condo/timeshare that rents nightly. At any of these places, you'll only be minutes away from good food and activities. Unless you love to walk, I'd advise against staying on the Atlantic side. Parking in Key West is virtually non-existent and most of the activities are on the side of the Gulf.