Hello Everyone! My family is going to Key West over Christmas break. We want to stay somewhere nice but with the Holiday rates, parking and resort fees, it's really getting expensive! Can anyone suggest a wonderful hotel in a good location, that is still reasonable? We are used to staying at 4 star hotels, but would be willing to downgrade a little to stay longer in a peak season. Any suggestions? Thanks!

If the Family includes kids under 18. many of the small inns will not take your reservation... there are many commercial chains in Key West, but not being in Old Town is not really Key West... How Many?... How Old? ... What is reasonable $$?... and some properties require multi night reservation... soooo please define your group and budget...

Why would you expect anything to be reasonable at peak time? Might check out VRBO. And do you really mean Key West or just the Keys? Need to help us a bit.

You might check out Best Western Hibiscus on Simonton, one block from Duval. It's on the quieter side of the island (the Atlantic side) and gets great reviews.

Two more options on that side of Key West are the Southernmost Hotel, and the Orchid Key Inn which was recently renovated and gets excellent reviews.

Still another option (if you'll be there for a week) would be to rent a condo. There are some really nice ones in Truman Annex, and various other places in Old Town. Be sure and go through an agent or realtor, though, because rental units must have transient licenses in order to be legal. At Home in Key West gets very good reviews, but so do several other realtors.

http://athomekeywest.rtrk.com/?scid=1129645&kw=7325514

Thanks for your interest and replies! We are a party of four, with two daughters, 17 and 18. We would like to stay 7-9 nights, and keep the price under $250 a night if we could, but as we are finding out, that might be difficult. We usually go to Waikiki where there are so many rooms it is easier to get a good deal at a great hotel. We will be staying in Key West and would like something close to Duval Street. Will check out the condo situation and and the Hibiscus. I think the Southernmost bumped us up to 2 rooms, so that's probably out. Thanks for your help! Any other recommendations are appreciated!

Here's another thought. I have no idea what the rates are, but the Hyatt Sunset Harbor is a timeshare that rents to non-owners and it's on the bay side of the island. The location is excellent, and I'm sure they have two-bedroom units.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=...f8b09982c85f48

Oops, sorry! http://hyattsunsetharbor.hyatt.com/h...tels/index.jsp

The Hyatt Sunset Harbor is sold out for Christmas, probably because it's so gorgeous! But thank you Susan!

I'd look to rent a house/cottage, there are any available in Key West. It is a little tricky because there are a limited number of rental permits for stays under 1 week. Most folks are required to list as a monthly rental - don't let that scare you off - talk to a realtor. I have used:

www.rentkeywest.com a few times and have been happy with their properties.

Keep in mind too, you can also save on some of your food expense.