Mallory Square is really famous in Key West and maybe around the world.  Mallory Square is where the popular Sunset rituals happens every evening for a long time, where local acts and musicians play while the sun sets over the horizon.  But during the busy daylight hours, Mallory Square does have plenty of attractions to keep you busy from tours, restaurants, and entertainment establishments.

Click on the Video to see our day in Mallory Square and the attractions we visited….

Have you been to Mallory Square? What are your favorite places to visit here?
God Bless,
Johnny

Staying at Hotel Key West was not our first choice, but it turned out better than we expected. It had a very clean and spacious room, comfortable beds, very cold AC, and the hotel amenities were good. Key West is one of those places were you have many choices to stay but if inexpensive price with a clean room is important to you, then you need to check out Hotel Key West. This property used to be the Holiday Inn, then two months ago, it was renamed and the rooms were totally refurbished and spruced up.

The upside of this hotel is the price, you can get a room from $80 and up depending on the season.  If you know Key West, this is very reasonable because rooms can go for $300 and up a night.  The rooms had refrigerator and microwave which was a big plus. The concierge Matt was very helpful and friendly (get to know and tip your concierge, they can save you lots of travel headaches). The room had a coffeemaker and coffee. The pool was big and a delight to swim in. There is a decent restaurant, Kahoots, and nice Tiki Bar if you want that. A big up side for me and my wife was the brand new gym room. The equipment was good for us and no one was using it.

The downside of Hotel Key West is how far it is from Duval Street. But a good thing is the Key West Trolley stops right next to the hotel, easy to walk to.  The trolley will cost about $29 for a two day unlimited pass.  To get back to the hotel you need to catch the last trolley at 4:3opm otherwise you will need to take a taxi back.  The 2nd thing I found a little challenging about this hotel is pulling into the hotel from US1, the main road that comes into Key West. If you drive into Key West, US1 forks at Key West, and you need to go right or left. You will see the hotel sign in front of you and you are not sure which way to drive and you need to go right. Just drive a few seconds ahead and pull into the middle turn lane.  Be careful because this turn lane is on a curve coming from Key West’s Duval Street, you need to be very alert to make your turn onto the property. There is not a problem coming from Duval Street.

If you are going to do the Wild Dolphin Encounter tour from Dolphin World, you are right next to Stock Island which make this hotel perfect location for you.

I would give a thumbs up for this hotel if you are a price conscious consumer like I can be right now in this bad economy .

To get more information on Hotel Key West < Click Here > and some photos I took…

Temporary Sign Outside the Hotel

Check In Entrance for Hotel Key West

Hotel Key West Pool - Big and Plenty of Room for Everyone

Hotel Key West Room - Photo from Website

Matt the Concierge - Make him your friend

Does anyone have some feed back on this hotel or other hotels they enjoyed while staying within Key West? I would like to hear your choices.

God Bless,
Johnny

Yes, Key West is very much open for business and there is NO oil spill residue there.  Here is a video from Lobster Fest which was August 7, just recently. You can see no mention of oil or anyone’s vacation being ruined.

Has anyone been to Lobster Fest? Tell me about your experience. Looks like a lot of fun.
God Bless,
Johnny

The Florida Keys is one of the few areas in the world where there are 5 Dolphin Facilities with in 80 miles of each other. The reason there are so many dolphin facilities there is because of the weather and the location is perfect for this type of activity. You need to check out this story about Swimming with the Dolphin in Florida Keys.

The story starts with….

Taking a vacation is so difficult sometime but has to be done to refuel our
florida keys dolphin swim bodies from the day to day stress we all have. My wife and I took an escape to swim with dolphins in the Florida Keys. I am so thankful we took the time out of our busy schedules as a south florida wedding photographer and my wife as an accountant to do this and enjoy a day together. Swimming with these peaceful creatures was relaxing and rejuvenating. I had planned this for several weeks as a surprise for my wife. We had not traveled anywhere for quite some time. So, why not try in our own backyard?
< Read More >

I love the Florida Keys. Do you have any suggestions of places to go and see you the Florida Keys?
God Bless,
Johnny

You may love music and water, well there is a festival for you in the Florida Keys on July 10th where you get to scuba dive/snorkel and play your favorite song under the beautiful Florida Keys waters.

I saw the post from the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce.  It reads…

LOWER KEYS UNDERWATER MUSIC FESTIVAL TO DIVE INTO “WATERLAND” JULY 10th. Looe Key, Florida Keys – Divers and snorkelers might encounter “Alice in Waterland”, the “Cheshire Catfish” and their fictional friends beneath the sea during the 26th Annual Underwater Music Festival, set for Saturday, July 10th, in the Lower Florida Keys.

The quirky underwater concert takes place at Looe Key Reef, an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary approximately six miles south of Big Pine Key. Each year, the subsea songfest draws as many as 600 divers and snorklers to explore the colorful diversity of marine life that characterizes continental America’s only living coral barrier reef. < Read More >

Would you do something like this? Or have you done this before? I would love to hear from you.
God Bless,
Johnny

The world famous Clearwater beach is located on a narrow island in between the gulf and Clearwater Harbor.  Besides being included in the list of top ten beaches of the country, the Travel Channel television network has rated Clearwater’s beach as ‘Number one Activity Beach’ of America.  On the west coast of Florida, Clearwater Marina has a distinct identity as the most admired Blue Water Beach people gather from all corners to experience a clear water beach vacation package, that simply has everything a family or couple is looking for.

Clearwater Marina boasts of being one of the most versatile and perfectly equipped marinas of Florida.  Clearwater Marina has the complete suite of all the coastal activities that a visitor can aspire to enjoy, making it perfect for Honey Moon vacations in Clear Water Beach.

The long list of impressive features that invite a visitor to the Clearwater beach includes some of the finest fishing charters, sight-seeing boats, parasailing, sailing charters, dinner cruises, personal watercraft, dolphin tours, restaurants, nautical shop, bait house, gift shops, mini-mart and much more, no wonder many have described this paradise as one of the main tourism hubs of South Florida.

The unending hours of entertainment, fun and exciting engagements of the Clearwater Beach has made it a popular destination even for several frequent visitors year after year.  Some of the fantastic locations at the stretch of Clearwater beach sands are the Clearwater Marina, North Clearwater Beach, Pier 60, and Sand Key Beach. No matter what the situation, price or people, one thing is very clear about Clear water, it is a tourist paradise.