I am headed to the keys in mid-Sept. and have researched the hotels to exhaustion trying to find just the right one but I may have flexible dates...so what are my chances of finding a nice waterfront room w 2 beds for 9/16-20 without reservations?

If you are comfortable arriving in a major tourist destination without a reservation, give it a go.

However, I would not go to the keys without a reservation because I wouldn't want to spend my first hours searching for a room or to settle for what others haven't booked.

I think your odds are great. I'd give it a shot. There's a lot of lodging down there, and September is far from peak season.

No way would I head to the keys in September without reservations. It is peak conference and convention time.

What about instead trying www.VRBO.com ? Since it is the 'off' season, you should find an owner willing to break up a week.

Also, what key are you visiting and make sure there isn't some big event going on (regatta, fishing tourny).

We are starting out in Tampa, visiting my brother and you never know if you'll want to stay longer or get the heck outta there (2 teenagers) that's one reason I hesitate to book in advance. Another is that we also plan to site see on the way down stopping by Sanibel for sure and then heading to the keys. I'm trying to stay as cheaply as we can as my traveling companion will not be able to contribute much.

The Monroe County TDC reports an occupancy rate of 43% for September 2006. And that's the lowest rate in the year.

That's a lotta empty beds!

bookhall, the yearly occupancy rate for Monroe County is only a little over 60% so those figures don't mean anything.

Those figures also include all of Monroe County which is huge and is home to areas that have almost zero tourism.

You should be fine. I've found a room in Key West on New Years Eve without having a reservation (two years in a row, in fact). You might not get waterfront, but if you are willing to drive around a little and are pretty flexible about where you stay I think you'll have no problems at all. Start with the Southernmost - I've had good luck there.

Forgot to add that while Monroe County's overall yearly occupancy rate is over 60%, Key West's occupancy rate is almost 80%.

Not looking to stay in key west, probably be a day trip from middle keys area. Haven't been to the keys since 1989, I'm sure its changed alot.Does anyone know if Steven's in Paradise is still there? Or Quiessence dive shop? We had stayed at the Holiday Inn in Marathon the year it was sold to private owners. Not grand but nothing to see if you weren't diving. We also stayed at the HJ in Islamorada, can only remember one complaint there and that was the ants. Common problem though I've read.

I highly recommend the Hampton Inn Islamorada and the Pines and Palms.

Yes, it has and it hasn't changed a lot. Real estate is now insanely expensive. Holiday Isle is slated for demolition to make way for luxury condos. Cheeca Lodge isn't campy any longer, it is upscale luxury.

Papa Joes hasn't been any good in ten years. The World Wide Fisherman is pretty cool and the Lorelei still has the best Pain In The Ass and sunset around.

Please re read your own first post. It really doesn't seem to make sense.
To paraphrase it -- it seems to say "I am very picky and although I've looked at tons of places I want the perfect place. So should I go and just settle for anything that's left over, rather than booking an almost perfect place instead?"

No. That makes no sense. If you said, "I don't care about the place I sleep" then go for it.

Okay, so I don't know what i want because I've read too much and know too little about the true condition of these places. i've read good stuff on old places and bad stuff on newer places and now I'm just plain confused. Let's say for arguments sake that i want to be able to see the water without walking far from the room, whether its gulf or ocean, a pool, two beds and a frig. I would like to be able to swim from the shore of the imaginary property or at least be within walking distance of a beach. Does it exist? Can I get that without breaking the bank and/or making a reservation?

You can't really swim from shore from anywhere in the keys because of the amount of sea grass and there are very few beaches in the keys. The beaches that are in the keys are man made.

The only place I can think of is either The Moorings in Islamorada or the Casa Marina in Key West. An oceanfront room at either will run you close to $500 per night and that is the off season rate.

And I'll only add that Casa Marina is still undergoing reconstruction and is apparently a mess!

tlpeters, there canbe exceptions, but you will usually find the best bargains if you make reservations.

I can't count how many times I have been checking into a hotel that I had reserved and had someone walk or call in and be offered a rate 10-50% higher than I was paying.

Keith

Okay, I'll make reservations. A couple of places I was considering Lime Tree, Chesapeake Resort, Edgwater, Ragged Edge and Gulf View(?). Any knowledge on these places?

The Southernmost sister property is on the water (can't think of the name) and has a pool and a tiny beach that you can swim from.