Topic Wiki

Things to do:
Drive from Miami over the keys/ocean
Stop on the way: Bahia Honda State Park
Walk Old 7 Mile Bridge
Water sports
Mams kosher restaurant, closes early
Dry Tortugas Fort and snorkeling
Hemingway House
Truman's House
Southernmost point in US
Sunset on west side of island - street performers
Mallory Square for sunset
Duval street - rowdy
Train tour around island
Fort Zachary Taylor
Islamorada - Anne's Beach
Lighthouse Museum
Shipwreck Museum
Mel Fisher's treasures 
free rum distillery
Florida Eco Keys discovery center
Blue Hole, see tons of animals (alligator, iguanas, birds, salamanders, lizards and deer)
« Last edited by @Yehuda on July 17, 2018, 09:58:31 AM »

Author Topic: Key West Master Thread  (Read 36316 times)

Offline shiframeir

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jan 2012
  • Posts: 1761
  • Total likes: 145
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
  • Programs: spg gold. nothing else. sigh.
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #100 on: December 18, 2019, 12:40:53 AM »

Offline Yellow

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Dec 2009
  • Posts: 1322
  • Total likes: 47
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Programs: Starwood Gold, Hertz #1 gold, Accor Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Diamond
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #101 on: June 16, 2021, 11:51:14 PM »
Looking to go to Key West for a short time (can't stay long due to work constraints etc.).

We'd ideally go to Miami with the inlwas who will watch our baby while we spend time in KW.

If we go for 2 days, what are the must see attractions? We're not so into watersports/adventures, rather nice sites, historical attractions sunset by the beach, etc.

We also have tons of Hilton, Hyatt, and chase UR points. What is the nicest hotel to stay in? Ocean view room is a must.

TIA!

Offline Traveler718

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 1219
  • Total likes: 693
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
    • View Profile
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #102 on: June 17, 2021, 12:54:23 PM »
For history check out the Hemingway Museum, Truman Little White House, and the fort at Dry Tortugas NP.

Offline israbear89

  • Dansdeals Gold Elite
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jan 2016
  • Posts: 172
  • Total likes: 14
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #103 on: June 17, 2021, 04:43:03 PM »
For Hilton check out The Reach & The Casa Marina Hotels. Casa Marina is a Waldorf property but reviews are very mixed. Most people don't consider it up to Waldorf standards generally speaking. They bpth have Ocean views.

For Hyatt, there's the Hyatt Centric & The Hyatt Residence clubs. I stayed in a Residence Club and loved it (Beach House). It's a 2 bedroom apartment with a full Kithen Dining room etc. It's a timeshare property and all rooms are the same. No Ocean view rooms though because of the way the rooms are situated. Centric has ocean view and location is downtown near all of the action.

There's no real good beaches in Key west, not known for that, but I really liked Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Really cool and beautiful. (Can watch sunset from there if Mallory square ain't your jam. That's where everyone goes for sunset)

Offline shiframeir

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jan 2012
  • Posts: 1761
  • Total likes: 145
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
  • Programs: spg gold. nothing else. sigh.
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #104 on: June 17, 2021, 11:04:02 PM »
For Hilton check out The Reach & The Casa Marina Hotels. Casa Marina is a Waldorf property but reviews are very mixed. Most people don't consider it up to Waldorf standards generally speaking. They bpth have Ocean views.

For Hyatt, there's the Hyatt Centric & The Hyatt Residence clubs. I stayed in a Residence Club and loved it (Beach House). It's a 2 bedroom apartment with a full Kithen Dining room etc. It's a timeshare property and all rooms are the same. No Ocean view rooms though because of the way the rooms are situated. Centric has ocean view and location is downtown near all of the action.

There's no real good beaches in Key west, not known for that, but I really liked Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Really cool and beautiful. (Can watch sunset from there if Mallory square ain't your jam. That's where everyone goes for sunset)
casa marina has the only cleanish beach actually pretty good. if u choose a newer room/pay extra u will love it. also don't forget there are a lot of IHG Kimpton options now.

Offline Danfan27

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Apr 2014
  • Posts: 253
  • Total likes: 40
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 5
    • View Profile
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #105 on: January 10, 2023, 12:00:54 PM »
Does anyone know if Mams is still open?

Online jj1000

  • Administrator
  • Dansdeals Lifetime 10K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • **********
  • Join Date: Jun 2008
  • Posts: 13470
  • Total likes: 6095
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 29367
    • View Profile
  • Location: The value of a forum such as this one is not in that one can post a question and receive an answer, but in that the question has most likely been asked before, and the answer is available to him that will but only use the search function.
  • Programs: 1. Search on google. 2. Search in the right board of DDF with a general word or two. 3. Read the wiki. 4. Read the thread. 5. Ask away.
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #106 on: January 10, 2023, 01:12:54 PM »
Does anyone know if Mams is still open?
Was there in the summer and she was going strong!

What a character 🤣
See my 5 step program to your left <--

(Real signature under my location)

Offline Traveler718

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 1219
  • Total likes: 693
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
    • View Profile
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #107 on: March 10, 2023, 03:04:10 PM »
Is the drive from Miami so amazing that it's worth doing round-trip? If one way is enough, is one direction considered better than the other?

I'm debating if I should fly in and out of FLL which means cheaper and better-time flights, or one way FLL and the other way EYW to save the extra drive time.

Offline jaywhy

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Sep 2012
  • Posts: 3767
  • Total likes: 68
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #108 on: March 10, 2023, 03:18:37 PM »
Is the drive from Miami so amazing that it's worth doing round-trip? If one way is enough, is one direction considered better than the other?

I'm debating if I should fly in and out of FLL which means cheaper and better-time flights, or one way FLL and the other way EYW to save the extra drive time.
One way is enough.

Offline Traveler718

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jun 2010
  • Posts: 1219
  • Total likes: 693
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
    • View Profile
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #109 on: March 10, 2023, 03:48:10 PM »
One way is enough.

Thanks, is there any benefit to FLL-EYW vs going in reverse EYW-FLL in terms of views, traffic, or anything else? Or is it basically the same both ways and I should just pick whichever flights work best?

Online jj1000

  • Administrator
  • Dansdeals Lifetime 10K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • **********
  • Join Date: Jun 2008
  • Posts: 13470
  • Total likes: 6095
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 29367
    • View Profile
  • Location: The value of a forum such as this one is not in that one can post a question and receive an answer, but in that the question has most likely been asked before, and the answer is available to him that will but only use the search function.
  • Programs: 1. Search on google. 2. Search in the right board of DDF with a general word or two. 3. Read the wiki. 4. Read the thread. 5. Ask away.
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #110 on: March 10, 2023, 03:58:13 PM »
Thanks, is there any benefit to FLL-EYW vs going in reverse EYW-FLL in terms of views, traffic, or anything else? Or is it basically the same both ways and I should just pick whichever flights work best?
Same more or less. I think going down is cooler because you get more remote and you go.
See my 5 step program to your left <--

(Real signature under my location)

Offline alpicone

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 879
  • Total likes: 5
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #111 on: July 20, 2023, 05:23:43 PM »
I am going to be in the keys for about a week in the beginning of August. I am thinking of splitting up the week in 2-3 locations in the keys with one of them being Key West.

Any recommendations of which of the keys to go to and which resorts to stay at?

Offline mlight

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Apr 2018
  • Posts: 477
  • Total likes: 59
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: United States
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #112 on: July 20, 2023, 05:40:55 PM »
I am going to be in the keys for about a week in the beginning of August. I am thinking of splitting up the week in 2-3 locations in the keys with one of them being Key West.

Any recommendations of which of the keys to go to and which resorts to stay at?
I had a great experience at the playa largo

Offline shiframeir

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jan 2012
  • Posts: 1761
  • Total likes: 145
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
  • Programs: spg gold. nothing else. sigh.
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #113 on: July 23, 2023, 12:27:44 AM »
I am going to be in the keys for about a week in the beginning of August. I am thinking of splitting up the week in 2-3 locations in the keys with one of them being Key West.

Any recommendations of which of the keys to go to and which resorts to stay at?
i've stayed in key west a couple times and always enjoyed (can see reviews above). lots of great resorts but very expensive these days. i enjoyed the casa marina with just mrs and the hyatt suites place near the airport with a big family off a timeshare deal. Warning there are murmurs that Ilana from Mam's best food (only kosher place) is moving back to israel.

Offline alpicone

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 879
  • Total likes: 5
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #114 on: July 24, 2023, 09:15:49 AM »
I had a great experience at the playa largo

Thanks. I booked this hotel for a couple of nights.

Offline alpicone

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 879
  • Total likes: 5
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #115 on: July 24, 2023, 09:16:42 AM »
i've stayed in key west a couple times and always enjoyed (can see reviews above). lots of great resorts but very expensive these days. i enjoyed the casa marina with just mrs and the hyatt suites place near the airport with a big family off a timeshare deal. Warning there are murmurs that Ilana from Mam's best food (only kosher place) is moving back to israel.

Thanks. Will let you know if they are still there when I get there.

Offline alpicone

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 879
  • Total likes: 5
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
  • Location: New York
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #116 on: August 08, 2023, 04:52:05 PM »
My wife and I  just got back from Key West. We flew into PBI with my son to bring him to my parents in Boynton Beach where he is spending a couple of weeks with his grandparents. We picked up our rental and headed out to Key Largo for the first couple of nights.

We stayed at the the Playa Largo which was a great hotel. The room was a very nice size and the hotel was nice as well. They have one main pool over looking the gulf and have a really unique set up for access to the "beach". There is a sea wall at the water with steps leading into the water. There is a couple of feet of water at the sea wall and stays very shallow for a while. The floor is soft and sandy and the water was the perfect temperature. I really enjoyed the beach part and we split our time between the beach and the pool. They also have a dock and some watersports that were pricey so we opted to just chill since we were only there for one full day.

On our last day in Key Largo we went snorkeling at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and booked a 2.5 hour trip through the park which took us to the area with the underwater statue. We had about an hour to snorkel at that spot which was more than enough. We saw a lot of fish, sea turtles and some nurse sharks.

After that we started the drive down to Key West. Along the way we stopped at Robbie's to hand feed the tarpons which was an interesting experience. We also stopped at the Bahia Honda State Park and went to the beach there and explored the park. The beach over there is really nice and quiet and is worth spending some time at.

After that we drove straight down to Key West. We stayed at Ocean's Edge Resort based on some recommendations. The hotel itself is new and the rooms were very nice and spacious, but the overall hotel was not so great. They are located on a Marina with a lot of really nice boats which was nice to look at and explore, but there was a constant smell from the marina that was not great. They had 6 pools at the property, but they are each really small and felt a little too cozy when other people were in the pool. The one thing that was fun to watch was when the fishing boats would come back into the marina they would clean the fish at the dock and then throw the scraps into the water to the tarpon and sharks that were in the marina. There were some massive tarpon there and it was really cool to watch them fight for the scraps. The last issue with the hotel is that it is located about 20 minutes from Mallory Square which is the main downtown area or Key West. If I were to go again I would try to stay closer to that area.

While in Key West we did a jet ski tour with Sunset Jet ski around the island which was a lot of fun. We booked a 4pm tour that took a group of 5 Jet skis together all the way around the island of Key West which brings you through the gulf side, through the harbor, around to the Atlantic side, and back through a channel back to the gulf side. The gulf portion was very smooth but the Atlantic side had some nice waves that were a lot of fun to jump through.

The next day we booked an early morning 4 hour fishing trip using Fish Key West. I had wanted to do a fishing trip but hadn't heard of the concept of splitting a fishing charter which make the cost of the trip much more reasonable than booking a private charter. The other option was to book a larger fishing boat but I wanted to do a smaller fishing boat. As part of the split charter, they paired us up with 3 other people for a total of 5 which was perfect. The only downside to the split charter, is you don't know which boat you are going on until the trip is confirmed. We ended up on an older 34 ft Crusader fishing boat but it was good enough. Since we were on a 4 hour trip we did some in-shore fishing about an hour out in about 55 feet deep water. The water is so clear that you can sea straight to the bottom even in 55 feet of water. There were a lot of fish out there as well as sharks chasing our fish as we reeled them in. We were targeting snappers and caught about 30 nice red snappers, a couple of yellowtail and a couple of sushi grade fish. Since we were at a hotel without a big enough fridge or a place to cook the fish we didn't take any home with us which was a big mistake. Most of the restaurants over there will cook your catch but we didn't think Mam's would do it and unfortunately did not call to ask.

Later that day we went to Mam's for dinner. The food was really good and well priced, but it is very small and we got the last two seats at the counter. We were talking to another family there and Mam's owner overheard us talking about our fishing trip and yelled at us for not keeping the fish and bringing it to her to cook it for us. Since fish wasn't even on her menu we really didn't think it was an option but she said she makes the best fresh snapper.

If you go fishing in Key West make sure to bring your fish to Mam's to have her cook it.

We also went to Mallory Square for sunset and walked around Duval Street area a couple of times. It's a very happening downtown area with a lot of live music, bars and street performers.

Our last hotel on the trip was in Marathon at Isla Bella Beach Resort which is a newer hotel and was really nice. The hotel is ocean front and had a few pools overlooking the water. The rooms were nice sized and had large balconies and all the rooms are oceanfront. We mostly chilled in Marathon before driving back to Aventura for a quick dinner before flying out of FLL.

The Florida Keys had been on my list for a really long time and it was very enjoyable and relaxing. I would love to go back again but likely wouldn't go in August as it was really hot.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2023, 05:14:50 PM by alpicone »

Offline Danfan27

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Apr 2014
  • Posts: 253
  • Total likes: 40
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 5
    • View Profile
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #117 on: January 13, 2024, 10:17:10 PM »
Does anyone know if Mams is still open?

Still?
I didn’t make it to key west last year but iyh in the next few weeks.

Offline Pad18

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Apr 2014
  • Posts: 926
  • Total likes: 104
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 9
    • View Profile
  • Location: United States
Re: Key West Master Thread
« Reply #118 on: January 13, 2024, 11:01:17 PM »
Still?
I didn’t make it to key west last year but iyh in the next few weeks.

Yes it's still open.