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Published: June 13th 2009
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Fun in the Sun - Key West, FL
After living in Florida for several years, one begins to master the bargains of the "off season". Florida generally has two main tourist seasons. The first, and probably most notable due to the influx of "Snowbirds", is from December through Easter. The second tourist season typically runs from June through mid-August when kids are out of school and parents are on a mission to experience that perfect family summer vacation (those were the days....) As for the weeks and months between those seasons....Sun-sational deals!
Hotel: Being in-the-know FL residents, Matt and I waited to book our annual Key West trip until mid-May when hotel rates declined to a fraction of what they once were a week or two prior. Key West has a wide array of hotels and Bed and Breakfasts. During our earlier stays, we chose (it was the cheapest hotel I could find...) to stay at the Days Inn towards the beginning of the island. It wasn't fabulous by any means, but if nothing else it was a clean bed to sleep in which is all that really matters when most of the trip is spent outside
the hotel room. For our most recent trip, we booked the Westwinds Inn. My main search criteria consisted of: close proximity to Duval Street, nightly rates under or around $100.00, Key West charm and of course a Continental Breakfast. I'm glad to say that the Westwinds Inn fell nothing short of my requirements. The nightly rates for the economy room were around $80-$90.00, which made our grand total with tax come to $211.00 for the weekend....not too shabby! Aside from a great rate, the Westwinds Inn featured that old fashioned Key West charm and the convenience of being within a 10 minute walk to Duval Street. My one and only complaint or suggestion would be to upgrade your room from economy if at all possible. Since our room was the economy room, it was incredibly tiny; however, the size didn't bother me as much as the fact that our bathroom didn't have a real door! It was almost as if our bathroom was where a mini closet used to be, fully equipped with a sliding flimsy wooden vented door. If privacy is an issue, definitely upgrade!!! Otherwise, our room was impeccably clean and nicely decorated. The bed was soft and
comfortable and the hotel grounds were very well manicured with lush landscaping and two pools. For more information on the Westwinds Inn, check out their website...
Dining:
Three restaurants in particular stood out to me during this recent trip to Key West. First and foremost, it takes about 4 hours for us to arrive in Key West from Palm Beach County. The drive is by far one of my favorite parts as the majority of the trip is over water and through various other keys. To break up the drive, we always make a dinner stop at Island Grill on Islamorada. The ocean views are stunning, the food is delicious, the staff is friendly...all that topped off with great live music! The second restaurant Matt and I found by default while cruising around Key West on our rental scooter (more about that in Excursions and Activities!) Shanna Key is a little Irish pub and grill located off Flagler Ave. To be honest, it kind of looked like a dive from the outside...but sometimes dive bars end up being the best kind and this one was no different! Matt and I took the liberty of ordering cold beers and 2 orders of wings which were phenomenal (although Matt claims Brass Ring Pub in North Palm Beach still holds the title)! By Sunday afternoon, we still had not succeeded in finding the perfect Key Lime pie. I was told to try a dessert place off Duval called Better Than Sex
for the best Key Lime Pie of my life. Unfortunately, they didn't open until 6PM and we were on a tight schedule to still get home to Palm Beach at a decent hour. Instead, we decided to try Red Fish Blue Fish because it was local and we had a coupon for a free piece of Key Lime Pie. The atmosphere, food and service were all very nice. We ordered loaded nachos (phenomenal), Cobb salad and Oysters. They Key Lime Pie was delicious as well...not to mention it was free!
Activities and Excursions:
One thing Matt and I have learned from our numerous trips to Key West is that there's hardly a lack of activities to do. These range from all day water excursions to haunted tours of the Key West Cemetery . On this particular vacation, Matt and I chose to try out the snorkeling since we had such a fabulous experience a few months back in Jamaica. Side tracking a bit, I would highly suggest buying the tickets to these excursions at the actual kiosk the day of. Matt and I were able to haggle the price down quite a bit for both of our excursions....very classy, I know. Back to the snorkeling....the experience was nice but couldn't even compare with the snorkeling in Jamaica. In Key West's defense, the water was a bit choppy which may have made things a bit foggier, making the reef harder to see. We were told the best time to go snorkeling was in May; however, this year was a bit unusual. Otherwise, the boat ride out to the reef was very nice and relaxing. Soda was served before snorkeling and boat drinks on the trip back. Our second activity, and Matt's favorite, was none other than renting a scooter! This time around we rented through Pirate Scooters
and rented it for 24 hours. Renting a scooter is definitely one of the best ways to really explore the island. We were able to jet up and down side streets and see sites we had never seen before. Scooter parking is relatively easy to find throughout Key West, although be sure to never illegally park ($35.00 parking ticket!)
Nightly Entertainment: Key West definitely does not lack in the entertainment department. Merely walking up and down Duval St, or sitting down at a local pub and people watching is guaranteed entertainment for hours! Most of the bars and restaurants will be located on or around Duval St, but obviously others exist all over the island. During this particular trip, Matt and I made a stop at the infamous Sloppy Joes Bar
. The band was great and played typical bar songs as Matt and I sat back and enjoyed ice cold Coronas and Blue Moons. We later made our way to a karaoke bar down the street called Two Friends . This was probably our favorite place as it had the best atmosphere for us, not to mention the karaoke was amazing! Last but not least, some of the best free entertainment is right on Mallory Square for the Sunset Celebration. Not only are the sunsets phenomenal, as Mallory Square faces due west, but there are a whole array of street performers and vendors that will be sure to grab your interest!
I hope this review of our mini Key West trip was able to provide useful information for future visitors. Also, if you've been to Key West before, please feel free to add your own comments!
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JaxMichael
Michael Bennett
Better Than Sex Desserts
You deffinitly have to make time for that place on your next trip. My wife and I went there just because it looked like an interesting place to check out. It was deffinitly worth it. I don't remember what our desserts were called. We went there twice on our honeymoon back in April. Whatever it was that I ordered, I liked so much I got it again the second time. My wife got something different each time. The atmosphere was great. A duo played there the second night. But it was still a very laid back aura. Go there. You wont be dissapointed.