Key West -- just returned, my assessment
 

My husband and I are stationed in England, so we first went to Tampa to visit family, then six nights in Key West. Neither one of us had been there, so didn't know much, but I'll start out by saying that we've lived overseas for six years and are pretty well travelled.

That said, Key West would rank near the bottom of the list. Here's why:

We stayed at the Speakeasy Inn. We usually try to stay at B&Bs to keep the cost down. Bad choice. The walk to Mallory Square didn't bother me (11 blocks, 20 minutes or so). It was the NOISE. The walls were paper thin. Cute rooms, but the noise was unbearable. We heard every argument, every single F*$%ing rooster cock-a-doodle-doo, every street sweeper, everything. I wouldn't suggest this place. Ever.

Six nights really is too long there. I tried to tell my husband there are no beaches there. He could not imagine such a thing, since it is, after all, an island. Well, now he knows. He went diving twice, we went on a kayaking, snorkling trip, we did the normal touristy things, but that could've been done in four nights tops.

There are a couple of more reasons that I won't get into on this board. I may get totally blasted for this report, but I wish I'd read one like it before going there.

Cindy

You're right - six nights is probably too long for Key West, but probably the biggest problem was staying those six nights at the B & B. That may be more the reason to be dissatisfied.

I've enjoyed very much staying 4 - 5 nights in Key West. I have stayed at B & B's before, and I'm sure there are great ones in Key West - but with the humidity and heat - in Key West, I've always stayed at hotels - just my belief that the hotels do a better job of dealing with the humidity problems at the B & B's. I imagine musty rooms, etc. - but your problem was with noise. UGH! That can happen in hotels, as well.

So many restaurants, so laid back --- I really love the place.

You are so right RE the beaches. I'm sure there are thousands of people who think that Key West would be wonderful for a beach vacation. It's more noted for it's charm, informality, tolerance, and NOT beaches!

Sorry about your unhappy experience.

I'm sorry you didn't have a good time, but all of the things you did not like about Key West were things that you could have avoided had you done more research.

Key West does not lend itself well to trying to stay there "on the cheap," so it sounds like the place you selected was picked solely for cost, and reflected it. You get what you pay for. It is one of the most expensive US destinations I've been to.

There is Key West feedback all over this board and many other places as well - both good and bad.

It sounds to me like you should never have gone there, or stayed somewhere else, or stayed for a shorter period of time, or maybe broken up your trip between several of the Keys. There are some Keys with beautiful beaches and great diving.

More research than you did would have given you the information you needed. I know that I personally have posted on here that we find Key West is fun for us only for three or four nights.

It's too bad you had a bad experience there, but that having been said, Key West is not for everyone. I'm not trying to lecture you, but vacations are expensive, and I do hours upon hours of research to determine if someplace we plan to go is a good fit for us.

I get so much help from the people on this board when I travel. Don't hesitate to ask questions and to dig when you are vacation planning. It can help you avoid a costly disappointment like the one you just experienced.

Diana-

That was some of the best advice, of any thread, for any topic. Right on.

In addition... isn't planning that 'perfect' trip half the fun?

Thanks Paul! (I thought I was the only one who felt that way!)

By the time I've got a list of all the great places to eat, things to do and see and researched to death where to stay, I NEED the vacation :)

The good news is, once we're there, I've done all of the work in advance, and we can relax and not have to spend time worrying about dining and activities. There's no set schedule and we can just kick back and do as much or as little as we want.

With the small amount of time we all have for vacation these days, I'm going to be sure I've made the right choice.

Happy traveling!

No beach? What about Fort Zack?
We went to Florida in July 2002, also saw Miami, the Everglades, Disney... and still, remember our stay at Key West as thé highlight of our holiday. We plan to go back there once. We had no B&B, but a hotel. It was hot, too hot, but we enjoyed our stay very, very much. You probably had a bad experience.

I'm sorry your B&B was a dud, but why would that make you dislike Key West? If you stayed in a bad hotel in Chicago, would that make you dislike the entire city?

You were aware in advance the beaches aren't great in Key West. Yes, it's an island, but it's CORAL, so all the beaches are man-made with imported sand.

You say there are a "couple more reasons" for your dissatisfaction that you won't get into on this board. I'd sure be curious to know what they are because one bad B&B doesn't seem sufficient to write off an entire island.

Saturday I'll be leaving for 3 weeks in Key West and I'm looking forward to every minute!

I just went to keywest.com, and found the SpeakEasy Inn under accommodations. Wow, it looks so nice that you'd never imagine having your experience there, but looks can be deceptive, as we all know. I thought you might be talking about a 6-BR B&B house-sort of place. Says the rates are $85 to 250 per day??? Frankly, I would have been out of there on the first day, if I'd been that disappointed in the place, at those rates!!! (It's not THAT expensive, but still, if I hated the place..........it is!) I'm wondering why you stayed six days????????? Sorry your vacation was lousy, but I would do WAY more research next time I went to a new place. (I drive my husband nuts planning every detail, but then he's glad when we get there!) Hope your next one is much better......... (and you say you're stationed in England. If you are U.S. military, thanks for the work you do!:-))

Cindy, sorry for that stupid-looking icon on my last sentence. Didn't intend to get THAT!

Most B&B's are must be paid in advance, and it's very difficult to get out of them once you are there. We know because we wanted to leave ours. We spoke to another B&B and they told us we would need a better excuse than the fact there were termites swarming in the room! I'm from South Florida and used to bugs, but I thought that was too much to put up with.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience in Key West. I love the island, even though we had a bad B&B. I much prefer hotels because if I'm not pleased, I can leave whenever I want. I hate unpleasant "surprises" when on vacation. Also, I do months of research on my trips and still got a dud of a B&B. Oh well, it was another "life lesson" for me.

Key West certainly causes a lot of mixed reviews, doesn't it? We went a few years ago and stayed for a week in August (only time we could go)! We soon realized that was a mistake b/c of the heat and humidity--and we live in the South! Fortunately, we stayed in a townhouse all week and there was a pool. The townhouse was lovely and the AC worked very well. We knew that there were no "real" beaches, but I think that is something that some people just can't get through their heads until they actually see Key West.

We did enjoy our trip, but a tropical storm came through and we were rained-in a lot. On top of all that, we're not the partying-types, so much of the night life didn't appeal to us. Looking back, we wish we would have stayed for a few nights and then spent time at other islands. We did research before going, but I was so determined to go to Key West (I'd wanted to visit forever) that I had blinders on to some of the down-sides I'd read about. That just happens sometimes with travleing, but there are always going to be good and bad experiences. Live and learn...

Cindy, I understand. No blasting here- Key West has a lot of freaks, LOL! They have a homeless problem. They have panhandlers. Everyone with a parrot wants you to pay them for a picture.The influx from the cruise ships makes it worse. key West is great for a couple of days..take some side trips, eat at some fun places, go to some funky bars. But it has lost the charm it once possessed (what hasn't?) There are no great beaches or diving in FL....the water isn't like the Caribbean or other parts of the world. Thanks for being honest, that's what a travel board is all about!

Cindy
I think you are pretty courageous posting what you thought would get you blasted! I also think six days is too long in Key West although we loved being there and had a great time. However, we were only there 2nights, 3days. What I didn't like was we had made reservations for 3 nights and one week prior to our arrival I called to cancel the 3rd night because my husband had to attend to some business and I still had to pay for the 3 nights. I do understand that but if in a hotel that would not happen.

Cindy - Hubby & I also just returned from Key West. Although we had a very nice time out there, we also were not satisified with the B&B we stayed at. They had GLOWING online reviews so I find it weird to be the oddballs who didn't appreciate the paper thin walls, slamming of doors, unswept floors, and lumpy bed. I'll post a review in a bit.

Cindy, the other posters reminded me that, yes, you do have to pay at most B&B's in advance, and they will not refund. (I'd asked why you stayed after the first day, if it was awful......) It also reminds me of one of the reasons WHY I usually reserve in a hotel now!!! Recently, on trips to Wilmington, and also Savannah, the B&B rates, when I inquired at a couple of highly-recommended ones, were so high, they wanted to be paid in advance, and wouldn't refund if I got there and found a musty room or thin walls and wanted to leave! Next time, stay at a Holiday Inn Express or Comfort Inn....;-) I haven't had a serious complaint at one yet! (Maybe they don't have those in Key West?....... I don't know anything about the place....)

No slam from me. While I enjoy Key West on an occaisional overnight trip, I am a big Islamorada fan.

I don't like to stay at B&Bs for a multitude of reasons and the pay up front is one of them.

Please do post your other reasons for not liking Key West. They may help out others.

I've only stayed in B&Bs while in Key West. It's a B&B kinda town, in my opinion! I like the small property size, great pools, etc. My only hotel experience was years ago when we stayed at the Wyndham. It was bad from start to finish! At times, bad experiences can happen with hotels, B&Bs, and everything in between.

Just a thought: many hotels now also charge for "early check out."

Dan, what hotels have you encountered charging for *early check-out?* I have yet to hear of that from any of my traveling friends and family, and it has never happened to me. I think large chain hotels can afford cancellations..... whereas B&B's are smaller and cannot. If I found a place truly unpalatable after checking in, I would ask my credit card company to intervene, and see if that would help with getting my money back!

Many Westin properties charge a $25-50 "early departure" fee. I'm not sure about the other chains.

Just a couple of notes to my previous post:

Diana -- I did do quite a bit of research, including on this board. I asked about staying at our location, whether staying there six nights was too long, etc. I don't feel it was a costly disappointment, despite being disappointed in Key West. We love to travel and I would rather have gone and not liked it that to not have gone at all. I have travelled extensively with my job in the Air Force to some really cool places and some not so cool (Port-au-Prince, Haiti, comes to mind as not so cool.) But, I'm definitely happy I experienced it. Same with Key West, and any other place my husband and I are lucky enough to travel to.

SusanCS -- As Diana said, Key West is not for everyone. As I said, I'm not basing my judgement just on the B&B. There are other reasons. One, it is just too pricey for what you get. It baffled me to see houses that in any city across the world would be considered in the "ghetto" were drawing $500,000 to millions of dollars. I think there's something wrong with that -- but that might be just me. The other reason (and I'm sure I will get beaten up for this) is that I'm not used to being around so many openly gay folks. Not saying anything about homosexuality one way or another -- other than I've never been in a place like Key West. I'm in the military where homosexuality is not really discussed and definitely not seen. That environment was not one that I'm used to, or comfortable in.

Others have different opinions and that's awesome. My reasons might not apply to you, or they might. Anyway, enjoy your three weeks.

Lee4, you're quite right about having blinders on. We were so excited. We heard Key West was paradise. What could be wrong with spending six nights in paradise. I agree with whoever said you live and learn.

Bonniebroad -- At $140 a night for a B&B, we thought we'd be ok. We did have to pay up front and there were no refunds. We typically enjoy the B&B atmosphere a little more than hotels, not so much there, but oh well. And, yes, my husband and I are both in the US Air Force and you're welcome.

LLindaC -- You're right. I guess every city has its share of freaks, but there were some doozies there!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.
Cindy