I just loved the rooms at the Hyatt, and there was a pretty decent view from the balcony. I think it was an upgraded room. We walked everywhere from there.

Thanks for that info., jayne. I really want to stay somewhere that allows us to walk everywhere.

I'm doing a separate post asking for advice on activities and providers. Would love any suggestions you guys have for those too.

It looks like we'll probably be driving down from Miami. Are there any neat stops along the way?

Good casual restaurants along the water on any of the Keys?

Also thinking we might want to do some sort of Everglades tour. Would we do that from Miami? Would love any recommendations you all have for that as well. I've read about Shark Valley - is the tram tour worth doing? Would we be likely to see some crocs?

WFIW it's nice to have an ocean view room at the Pier House but the Garden view rooms are a better value. The rooms themselves are similar but instead of overeloking the water, they overlook the garden and pool and usually several blooming plants. The lesser price makes them a better deal.

Pjk

We enjoyed a brief stop at Robbie's marina in Islamadora on the way to Key West from Miami. There were some craft/souvenir booths and shops, and you could buy food to feed the tarpon that hang out near the piers. www.robbies.com

jayne, I was just reading about Robbie's on another thread. That sounds like fun. Do they serve food for people too, or just for tarpon?

Thanks, Peter - I saw that Ocean Key is offering a $100 a day resort credit, although there may be some sort of catch.

Which ever you do...

If you stay at the Pier House, one afternoon just put on flip-flops and a wrap and walk across the street to the Tiki bar at the Ocean Key Resort and have a drink. They've started having life music and the view is nice.

If you stay at the Ocean Key, have lunch one day at the Pier House. The drinks are good but the food is better, and it's pleasant to sit just off the beach at the cafe.

Pjk

Haha, yeah, volcanogirl, they serve people food, too, appropriately at The Hungry Tarpon. We had just eaten breakfast at some recommended place along the way, so we didn't check it out. I bet would be good, though.

Thanks, jayne - good to know!

Peter, those both sound great to me. If you eat at the Pier House, can you use their beach, or is it guests only?

Thje beach is only for guests and the few people that still have social passes to the hotel. But if you have a drink at the bar or a meal theree, no one is going to hassel you about walking down to the water or around to see the grounds. And FWIW they have set aside a little bit of parking for people who drive to the hotel just to have a meal there.

Pjk

Sounds great. We'll definitely do it!

Thanks again for all the help, everyone. We ended up staying at the Ocean Key Resort, and it was wonderful! Since it was low season, they upgraded us to a beautiful suite with an ocean view and balcony, and we had a $100 per day resort credit, so that paid for most of our food and drinks. Their service was fantastic too, really friendly but not pretentious. The location was great; we could walk everywhere - we loved it!

Hi glad you enjoyed your stay at Ocean Key! I am also debating between Ocean Key and Pier House. Did you happen to walk over to PH and check it out at all? Just wondering what you thought of it. The $100/day credit is a nice bonus.

Yes, we walked over to see PH. They are right next door to each other, and we were curious to see other hotels. It looked really nice, and they have a small little sand beach there that looked nice too. It wasn't crowded when we were there. We really like that area since it's so convenient to everything. The credit offer was for low season. I think things are gearing up again with Fantasy Fest and high season coming. We would stay at OKR again in a heartbeat.

Thanks for the response, I just saw your pictures and read your review over on Trip Advisor! We have a waterfront room at Pier House already, but was thinking of switching to OKR, but the only room left with any kind of water view now is handicapped accessible (not that that is a big deal). Plus I just noticed the $100 credit is only good through Oct. and we are going in November :( I guess we will just stick with PH.

Yep, I think you get some pretty good deals going in low season. The same thing with tours. We had only six people one one of our snorkeling tours and eight people on our sunset cruise. If you get a chance to try OKR's restaurants, we really liked eating casual food and having drinks out on the Sunset Pier, and if you want fancy, Hot Tin Roof was really nice.

Yes, I'm sure we will walk over and check out the Sunset Pier and Hot Tin Roof looks really good. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

Thanks, Baron - hope you have a great time!

I just a booked a week at the Ocean Key Resort because of the balcony, ocean view and great reviews on service. We got a junior suite with balcony and ocean view for about $350.00 a night. So worth being at the end of Duval Street and Mallory Square---Can't wait to go over Thanksgiving----Good Luck