We are staying at the Hyatt Resort and Marina in Key West the first week in September. We have booked our reservations (both flight and hotel) through expedia.com. We have reserved a city view room. Is anyone familar with this hotel? Would it be to our advantage to call and upgrade to another room. I really don't know how to go about upgrading so any info would be helpful. Should I upgrade before going or wait and see what the room looks like and then upgrade if we would like a better view. This trip will be for our 30th anniversary and I would like it to be special. Maybe a city view room would be fine, I just don't know anything about this hotel or Key West to judge ahead of time. Has anyone stayed at this resort that would be able to give me any suggestions? Thanks in advance for all of your help. Any info that you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Suggest you research restaurants on this site. For example, seven fish and cafe marquesa are among the best in KW.

Blue heaven is fun for lunch - no reservations. get there by 11:30 a.m.

Mangoes on Duval Street is terrifc for lunch.

Plan to make lots of walks down Duval, especially at the western end, and enjoy the action.

For a drink, try the green parrot, but avoid the food here.

Whatever anyone tells you, Louie's Backporch is just not that great anymore.

But Alice's at La Te Da Hotel on Duval is great!! You need reservations at all I mentioned except Mangoes and Blue Heaven.

I stayed there last year. We also booked a City View room. It actually overlooked the parking lot but there were so many trees outside the balcony that we really couldn't see anything. I guess we could have asked for an upgrade or a different room but we really didn't care about the view. The room itself was very nice and large. It was decorated in caribbean-style pastels. They have a small but nice pool area and a turtle pond with tons of small turtles. Also, a small beach area. We did not eat any of our meals at the hotel. The hotel is in a convenient location to everything. Overall, I would stay there again if I was going to stay at a hotel. We are leaving to go back to Key West next Friday but we are staying at Simonton Court this time. My husband generally hates B&B's but I talked him into this one.

I suggest you take the Conch Train tour (not the trolley) to get the 'feel' of Key West, it's history and where things are. Do go to a Sunset Celebration @ Mallory Square. Go to Mel Fisher's Atochia Gold Exhibit museum and see the treasures of the Spanish Galleon they found. Check out Hemingway's house, and do a tour of the Little White House in Truman Annex. Wander the shops and art galleries, watch the people. Mangia Mangia on Simonton & Margaret street has very good Italian food. Rent a bike or a moped and explore on your own. Do a walking tour to see all the great Victorian houses there. Enjoy.

Alex

Thanks for your help. Maybe I will just keep the city view room and not worry about the upgrade. Thanks again

If I were you, I'd ask for a room with a Gulf view. There are lots to choose from and September shouldn't be a busy month. I love the Hyatt...it's in a great location!

That hotel stays busy pretty much all the time--hard even for us to get in and my DH even hates to ask as a result! I'm not sure how much success you'd have asking for an upgrade, especially if you had a discounted rate through Expedia. Seriously though, Key West is not a "be in your room" type of place. We were in ours long enough to get dressed and out in the morning, and undressed and back to sleep again at the end of the day. You'll be on the go constantly.

Do try Blue Heaven...most famous for breakfast. We were there for dinner and LOVED it--food was outstanding but the atmosphere even better: live jazz in the patio, warm breezes, huge live oak overhanging it all...chickens and cats wandering around! Very Key West. Very cool. Have a super trip.

Mangos in Key West is awful. The location is good; but the food is terribly overpriced and not much of it. My husband stopped for another lunch after we left Mangos. He was still starving and vowed NEVER to go there again. And, he is skinny"""".
Kelly's Caribbean is good and reasonable; Blue Heaven is very good and so was Fogarty's. Except for Mangos, we loved Key West. Funky and old and laid back.

I liked the Hyatt but we did upgrade from a Gulf View to a wonderful suite with a complete view of the Gulf and two balconies. We had booked partial view of the Gulf and were not happy so the manager upgraded us at no extra charge. I love the location you just walk out your hotel and you are in the heart of everything, but once you go in the gates of your hotel it is quiet and serene.

I really enjoyed Mangos! I thought the food portions were great I like to have a light meal since I don't want to be gaining weight on vacation and most of all SAVE ROOM FOR KEY LIME PIE!

Muffin:

Thanks for your help. I can't wait to go.