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Part One:

Just had a wonderful stay in Florida, March 22-26 with my boyfriend. (Just for frame of reference for the stuff we like, he and I are in our 20s)

Landed in Ft Lauderdale, really nice airport, clean & friendly.

Stayed 1 night in the Ft Lauderdale HoJo on A1A...enjoyed the nightlife in the area...our room, though large & clean, was damp to wet in spots of the carpet & had a bathroom door that wouldn't shut. The hotel catered to the younger crowd...paid like $80 through a travel site--a good value but wouldn't pay more than that & wouldn't stay longer than a night.

Saw the Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Coral Gables--beautiful. Our favorites were the conservatory with orchids, bromeliads, and those freaky plants that stink like rotting flesh; and the rainforest section, with a stream, banana trees, clinging orchids, & crazy spiders. Great place to relax and explore.

The drive down to the Keys is wonderful, especially the swampy parts at the start, and only gets better the farther out you get. Some people have referred to the town of Key Largo as having a kind of 50's charm, but we just thought it was rundown and dumpy. Really. Glad we didn't stay there.

Stayed at the Lime Tree Bay Resort on Long Key in a standard room. The desk clerks were very nice and helpful, and the room was clean, cool and comfortable.

Enjoyed the hotel grounds...kind of a campground feel, lots of coconut & banana trees, picnic tables, bbqs, thatched huts. There's a little pier and the pool & spa are on a deck overlooking the ocean. The whole place juts right up to the water's edge...rustic and relaxed.

Not much in the way of food nearby. Little Italy restaurant adjoining the hotel...had breakfast & dinner there, both good & reasonably priced.

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Part Two:

Spent the next day at Bahia Honda state park. Got sandwiches from Duck Key Emporium; they were big & very good. We can't stop talking about how beautiful the park is...powdery white sand & 80 degree clear water with striations of dark blue where seaweed gathers. Rented a sit atop kayak & paddled out to a mangrove island with turtles, crabs & birds. Kayaking is easy & fun, and one of the parts we enjoyed most was being in the middle of the ocean & being able to get out of the kayak & wade around in warm waist high water!

Took the 3 hour snorkeling tour to Looe Key, 12 miles out. When I think of snorkeling, I think of swimming a few hundred yards out & there's the reef. We were shocked when the boat stopped in the middle of the ocean, they pointed about half a mile out and said, "there's the reef, go to it". The water was a little choppy from the wind that day, and I had some trouble getting used to swimming with my face down & breathing through the snorkel, but once I learned to relax, I got the hang of it & it was incredible.

Drove that night to Key West, kind of late, only to discover most restaurants had closed for food service--only alcohol. Got sent to PT's which is open late and was pretty good. The neighborhoods are pretty, fun to explore, with that old plantation feel. Duval St. was a madhouse of partying, the frat boy/wet t-shirt contest type of partying with people drinking on the streets. We love to party but even that was too much for us, kind of an insane date
rape-y vibe.

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Part Three:


Drove to Miami Beach & stayed at the Delano. Totally worth the money for one night's stay because of the wonderful ambiance of the lounge, lobby, & poolside bar (yes, we sat in at the table in the pool), and the gorgeous infinity pool & beach with its lounge beds. And yes, women there are inclined to go topless, usually the ones who shouldn't.

I decided to go all out & get an "ocean front" room...NOT worth the extra money. Worst "ocean front" rooms I have ever seen. The hotel is set really far back from the beach, & the view itself was miniscule, with no balcony even (only the suites have them, which I knew in advance...tried to sneak an upgrade out of them by playing dumb and sweetly asking for a room with a balcony, which they were very happy to do...for $1000). But the room itself was wonderful, all soft feeling, white, modern & very calm, not at all sterile like some people have said. A highlight was the enormous rainforest shower...no door or curtain, just a space 5ft x 10ft with two luxurious showerheads & two thick terry cloth robes to use.

You also have to not mind being waited on hand & foot, it's weird if you're not used to someone constantly ready to do everything for you (and wanting to be tipped). Had a very strange personal assistant named Jean Paul assigned to the room. He took us up to the room & then lingered around chatting. He wouldn't leave, it made us feel weird. Later I discovered I left something in the car & they said they'd bring it up...a knock at the door, and before I could turn the knob, Jean Paul had let himself in, which was disconcerting, but there must be people who expect it. All in all though, we didn't ever want to leave.

Had an incredible time at B.E.D., the restaurant where you dine in a huge bed. It wasn't crowded, so the we had a bed to ourselves. The appetizers were artful & delicious but tiny & expensive, so we were pleasantly surprised when our main courses were more than filling. Food & service were excellent, the atmosphere very cool.

In the end, you can't beat the Keys for outdoor activites, which is really what we loved the most.

I used a guidebook called "An Insider's Guide to the Florida Keys" which is super detailed & helpful.

Geez, if you've read this far, I hope I helped you out!

Kristin

bookhall

Thanks, Kristin! Really enjoyed the report. We, too, think Bahia Honda is rather special. And get a kick out of the fact that you 20-somethings found Duval St. a bit much!

Glad, too, for the note about the Fairchild Tropical Gardens. We haven't been there yet. When I mention it to my wife, I suspect it'll be a prime place to stop on our next trip down....

Larry1

Kristin- I note you refered to Key Largo as rundown and dumpy. For the benefit of other readers, I am just curious as to how much time you spent in Key Largo? Does your impression of KL come from your view of it as you drove down US1, or did you get out of the car and see what was behind the tacky stripmalls? I would point out that your description of the Lime Tree Bay resort on Long Key also exactly describes dozens of small resorts on Key Largo, with the advantage of actually being close to a selection of good restaurants. I will admit that viewed from US1, many places in the middle and lower Keys are much more beautiful than Key Largo, but once you pull off US1, park your car, and stroll down to the waterfront of your resort (where most vacationers will be spending the bulk of their time)you will not be able to tell the difference between Key Largo, Islamorada, Long Key, Marathon, Big Pine, etc. etc.

Paul

Thanks for taking the time to write your report to us, Kristin. Great stuff!!!

Paul

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