[JERSEY MAN]

I want to head down to Key West next week with a couple of friends for 2 nights. Trying to get a room that isn't 300 a night, we don't need any fancy amenities. Can anyone share any info on budget/cheaper rooms in Key West or do they not exist. Thanks in advance for some help.

[Arcenal813]

Rent a B&B... We did the Chelsea House on multiple occasions. I don't recall it being that much. IIRC, just under $200/night. And it was within walking distance to everything, without being right in the middle of it.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by JERSEY MAN

I want to head down to Key West next week with a couple of friends for 2 nights. Trying to get a room that isn't 300 a night, we don't need any fancy amenities. Can anyone share any info on budget/cheaper rooms in Key West or do they not exist. Thanks in advance for some help.

Unfortunately, Key West Hotels have gotten exhorbitantly expensive.

What are your dates?

Did you check hotwire?

[RSWATTY]

Others have recommended the Angelina Guest House to me, though I've never stayed there. Walking distance to Duval Street and prices from about $110 to $170 depending on the room. It's all on their website.

The Sea Shell Motel is part hostel but also has private rooms. Some of their private rooms have 3 beds (though the third bed is a single in a walk in closet type extension of the room). I've stayed there before when we had 3 people and we all wanted our own bed. If you're specifically looking for the rooms with 3 beds, ask them, as there's not that many.

Also check out El Patio Motel.

All of the above are walking distance to the sights and should be priced in the low to mid $100s per night.

[Restrain]

Eden House is a nice place, but some of the rooms are very small. On Caroline, a few blocks from Duvall. Now there are 2 bedroom condos at Banyan Resort, which is just off Duvall. More pricy, but great place, great location.

[veggienut]

Do any of these places allow small dogs~?

[Messing About]

Hey Bobby...we love the Double Tree Grand Key. We actually might head down on Monday, as well. We have been trying to find a last minute cruise for next week but can't find any bargains. The Double Tree in Key West is $185 a night starting on Monday the 30th. Gorgeous property with hourly shuttles to take you downtown and back. We also love renting scooters to run all around town. Easy parking and tons of fun. Will holler out if we head that way. You driving or taking the boat out of Ft Myers?

[Messing About]

Bobby, we booked a cruise so I won't be in KW next week.

[StarfishKey]

Key West room rates are based on occupancy in most cases. It's not that the rooms cost $300/night or more, it's that booking last-minute leads to these prices - like trying to catch a flight, which works much the same way. If you reserve when everything is mostly empty, you'll get rock-bottom prices.

If you do a search on any major travel site, including sites like Expedia or TripAdvisor, you'll find a long list of places that go for under $300/night. But every day that goes by they fill up, and the prices go higher. If you're willing to book outside the island, prices do go down considerably. But if you are talking about booking for Memorial Day weekend specifically, that is a major weekend here and prices are going to start high and most places will already be booked. On the other hand, if you mean to be here later in the week for the beginning of June instead, that is the beginning of low season and can nab you much cheaper rates. It's also not a holiday, so not going to be booked up like crazy.

A few places have fairly consistent rates based only on high and low season, not on occupancy. Some were already listed above, like the hostel - but even so the rates they charge are far above what you're getting most of the time in terms of quality. Paying $55 to live in homeless shelter conditions is a little much, personally, as is paying $120 to stay in a run-down trailer or motel that hasn't seen an update since 1982. But people find these cheaper places fast and book them up. So while the OP probably already made plans by now, to others who might be reading this thread I really urge you to book as far in advance as possible - generally at least 5 months ahead. Also, be aware that most Key West hotels take deposit up front, and past a certain point (usually at least a week or two before your arrival) are non-refundable. Expect to pay "resort fees," high taxes, and other fees that were not included in your original online quote of price.

I believe the Sugarloaf KOA takes pets in their rental trailers/cabins, but I think you have to pay a fee. For more pet-friendly places in Key West itself, look here: Pet Friendly Hotels in Key West, FL, US Expect to pay extra.

I have never had to pay more than $110/night to stay in Key West proper, and that was during a festival. The problem is, as soon as you list the names of where the good places to go are, they book up solid and are never as cheap again. Key West businesses like outrageous profit more than they like fairness. If people stop paying these ridiculous prices for junky places, the prices will come down. I do not understand for the life of me paying $300+/night for a Best Western or similar motel chain.

Be aware too that many of these places do not offer parking, or charge extra for parking, as well as charge extra for breakfast, or internet, etc. etc.



So there are at least 20 places I can think of in and near Key West that charge under $300/night. Yes, OP, they definitely exist, and don't worry, they are generally NOT fancy. But the reason a search may not show them is they tend to book up the fastest, many months ahead of time, so by the time you are looking only a week before your trip - especially for a major holiday weekend - the hotels are all booked to about 98 or 99% capacity and the rooms left are all extremely expensive.

Note also, it's not so much about choosing the right place here, as choosing the right DEAL. If you search around the internet enough, you will find deals for specific motels, campgrounds, and B&Bs (and even sometimes major chains) that you can only get off of a certain coupon site, or the hotel's website. They will run a promo and suddenly you get 15% off the whole stay if you book online and enter the code they provide you. These are running all the time in the Keys, especially of course for the non-peak/holiday nights. (I wouldn't expect to find an amazing deal for Christmas or Fantasy Fest, for instance.) But this is how I always do it. I will book something that is a nice place for their rock-bottom price, and then I look around and find a coupon and get another deep discount off of that. You can try Groupon, for example but these rarely apply much to the Keys. There are various small local Keys sites, and the hotel websites themselves, that will advertise these sales or codes.




So I know this whole answer is kind of vague, but it's because by the time you are booking only a week or a few days before you intend to show up, there's usually not a lot anybody can do to help you. The exact same room that was booking for $89/night 6 months ago, is now booking for $419/night. The only rooms still open are usually the very expensive middle-of-the-road ones, because all the cheapest and the fanciest ones are already taken, unless you get lucky and somebody has a last-minute cancellation. Good for you if you don't mind sleeping in a noisy dorm with 3 or more other people (probably of moderately criminal origin) for $60/night. But if you actually want your own room for an affordable price, the best you can do is search a travel website and see which rooms are left. There's no secret to it, these are businesses, it's not like they're hiding. If you check multiple sites and the lowest prices that come up on any of them is $300/night, then that's all there is left.

You can try a vacation rental out of desperation like with airbnb, etc., but 99% of those advertised are illegal, and there are news articles here every month about how law enforcement is cracking down now. A large percentage are scams or rent you something full of mold and cockroaches that does not meet building code, or just don't honor their commitments. Every week there are more online posts from people stranded in Key West because their vacation rental didn't work out and they lost all their money. The problem is, the hotels are crooked, but at least they are legal so there are laws in place for you to get your money back if there's a problem. There is not much protection if you knowingly chose an under-the-table arrangement though, with no legal paperwork to back you up.

It is my hope that people interested in visiting Key West will read this and plan accordingly. There are deals to be had, but to get them you need to plan ahead, and take the time to surf around in the internet to find the deal that no one else has snatched up yet. By the time someone advises you on a thread like this, that deal is already gone, because someone else read it first and jumped on it. But if people stop paying the prices when they get crazy high (and to me anything above $150 for a standard hotel room is crazy high), then ALL of the hotels in KW would be affordable.



People should really consider staying on one of the other Keys, many of which are a ton cheaper, if all they want is a sunny, warm vacation by the water. Unless you specifically love over-priced tourist trap themes (e.g. $30 for a trolley ride) or staring at moldy houses built in the late 1800s, or want a bar/club that has a dancefloor and drag shows, pretty much anything you can find in KW can be found on any of the other Keys for a lower price. I don't say that to be anti-Key West, I just say that because it's true. Most people go to Key West because they've heard of it, or because they've been there before, not because it's actually great. I go, when it's affordable, just because of the change of scenery, from quiet and tropical, to loud and tropical. But I actually think most of the other Keys are a lot nicer, and charge a lot less for better rooms.

[JERSEY MAN]

Originally Posted by Messing About

Hey Bobby...we love the Double Tree Grand Key. We actually might head down on Monday, as well. We have been trying to find a last minute cruise for next week but can't find any bargains. The Double Tree in Key West is $185 a night starting on Monday the 30th. Gorgeous property with hourly shuttles to take you downtown and back. We also love renting scooters to run all around town. Easy parking and tons of fun. Will holler out if we head that way. You driving or taking the boat out of Ft Myers?

Thanks MA and others for the advice. We're looking to go on Thurs. and Friday nights and will most likely be driving from Ft. Lauderdale. Enjoy the cruise and I'm going to check on your recommendation.