Key West Photoblog » Accommodations

Casa Marina Pier

Caty — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:52:43 +0000

The Pier at Casa Marina Resort

Casa Marina is one of the loveliest resorts in Key West, hands down. It’s got the longest private beach of any resort, on-site water sports, newly renovated rooms and facilities, and a gorgeous historical building to boot. They are fully equipped to handle any function, but especially weddings. And hopefully I’m not sounding like an advertisement for their wedding services, their private pier is the perfect backdrop for a tropical destination wedding. The long stretch of wooden dock capped by a gazebo at the end becomes picture-perfect scenery each night at sunset.

Casa Marina is also extremely elegant inside, with chandeliers, large open lobby with high ceilings, and plush everything. Located on its own corner of the island, it transports guests to another era, and creates an environment for total escape, relaxation, and pampering. If you have the cash, you have the possibility for one heck of an impressive wedding party at this Key West resort.

Key West Beachside Marriott

Caty — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:39:04 +0000

The Key West Beachside Marriott is located right at the entrance to Key West, at the eastern end of the island. It occupies the entire corner of the island, and has its own Gulfside private beach area. There’s covered parking and fine dining on the premesis, along with a gorgeous pool and hot tub in the central courtyard. Since this Key West resort was originally built as a condo community, suites at the Marriott are like actual luxury apartments. Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, marble baths, all the fancy real estate key words you’ve probably become accustomed to if you keep an eye on that sort of thing.

Units are decorated in elegant tropical style, a la Tommy Bahama: dark wood, neutral colors, and clean lines. Our suite had a huge balcony looking over the bay behind the hotel.

Smathers Beach Condos

Caty — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:12:19 +0000

Smathers Beach offers the most convenient beach experience in Key West. It’s easy to find, has plenty of parking, and offers shade, tables, and the widest stretch of sand on the island. Located on the south side of the island, you can easily find this beach by driving along South Roosevelt Blvd, which is the southern perimeter road of Key West. You can park right on the street next to the beach, along a mile-plus stretch. There’s a public restroom, and a few vendors parked near the beach, selling shaved ice, seashells, and other beach-related treats and baubles.

If you’re biking, lock up at any of the bike racks along the sidewalk in several spots along the road. A row of cute palm trees separates the dune area of the beach from the sidewalk, providing a nice backdrop for pictures of your Key West vacation. The other side of South Roosevelt is lined with condos and hotels, and vacationers staying at these properties can be seen dragging beach chairs, coolers, and towels across the road all day long, so drive slowly in this area.

The most popular vacation rentals along Smathers Beach would probably be the condos at La Brisa. Many of these units offer ocean views, covered parking, and great location at the western end of South Roosevelt Blvd. This end is closer to the Casa Marina area and Old Town. They are condos, so of course if you rent them as Key West vacation rentals you get full kitchen, bathrooms, living rooms, all furnished and ready to go.

Vacation Rentals in Key West

Caty — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:57:07 +0000

If you’re staying in Key West or any of the other Keys for a week or more, you might want to consider a vacation rental home.Â Renting a home for a week, a month or a season becomes cost effective when you have a family or group.Â There’s actually a useful website that lists vacation rentals. The listings on the site are put up by the owners themselves, with links to their property website if there is one. You pay the rental fees and pay no third-party fees for booking, which is good. They usefully list amenities available in a clean right hand menu for each property, making it so easy to find the perfect Florida vacation rentals. At time of writing, there were seven vacation rentals in the Keys section, all with pools. One of these was in the Key West area.

The section for Orlando vacation rentals easily had the most listings. And every single property had a swimming pool, although in some places you had to share the pool. With the website’s clear design and simply layout, it’s easy to scroll down the list of vacation rentals in your vacation area and find what you need. The listings are descending order of bedrooms, so for Orlando, you get the bigger houses with six bedrooms, at the top of the list.