We often think we need to escape to the Bahamas or elsewhere in the Caribbean to get to paradise, but the truth is that we have a paradise right at home in the U.S. That’s right, we’re talking about the Florida Keys. Most of us have heard about how awesome Key West is, but the … Read more
The upscale recreational vehicle park Keys Palms RV Resort in Key Largo is now pointed toward an August opening, owner Raul Medina said. “We’re almost completely booked for the winter season and that’s not even having an online reservation system,” Medina told The Real Deal. The park had been slated for an opening in fall … Read more
Little Palm Island Resort & Spa is a piece of paradise discreetly located off the fabled Florida Keys coastline so remote it’s only accessible by sea-plane or boat. A best-kept secret for US presidents and celebrities, your escape is simply waiting to drink you in. No phones, no TVs and no shortage of fun and romance. … Read more
Cheeca Holdings, the Wyoming-based company that sold the luxurious Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada for $100 million in 2011, is planning an upscale boutique hotel/Key Largo Resort. “I plan to do the most high-end resort down there in the Keys,” company owner Jerry Johnson told The Real Deal. In an application received Feb. 2 by the … Read more
The Middle Florida Keys are an often overlooked destination. Lying between the Upper Florida Keys where you will find the Diving & Fishing Capitals of Key Largo and Islamorada and the Lower Florida Keys with Big Pine Key’s Key Deer and world famous Key West, the Middle Florida Keys is sometimes referred to as the Heart … Read more
Underwater tourism may be the next big thing in luxury travel. Planet Ocean Underwater Hotel, an idea conceptualized by extreme travel advocate and managing director of Planet Ocean Underwater Hotel Tony Webb, has just received a U.S. patent for its innovative design. A single pod has its own entrance via surface-to-ocean elevator. (Courtesy Tony Webb, Planet … Read more
Surrounded by the turquoise waters of the Lower Florida Keys, Little Palm Island Resort & Spa – part of the Noble House Hotels & Resorts collection – has announced the multimillion-dollar revitalization of the iconic 5.5-acre resort and island (www.littlepalmisland.com). “The different elements of this multimillion-dollar renovation all help to layer different levels of culture … Read more
The Marquesa Hotel will add 14 rooms in a $10 million project by folding in two historic spots and replacing a two-story building at 411 Bahama St. The plan calls for an open-air connecting walkway to link the Pilot House, 414 Simonton St., to the next-door Kerr house, 410 Simonton St., which the Marquesa’s owners … Read more
A lot has been said (and written) about the “feel’’ of the Florida Keys. That feel really is whatever you want it to be, which pretty much sums up the Keys. That is, there is something for everyone – and everyone’s tastes – between Key Largo and Key West. Between Key Largo and Key West … Read more
Resorts in the Florida Keys are opening and renovating faster than you can say “Ernest Hemingway.” What does Hemingway have to do with it? The iconic American author lived in Key West during the 1930s, when he penned The Snows of Kilimanjaro and To Have and Have Not, and immortalized the free-spirited isle in literary … Read more
Unbuildable Lots Resort developers could get approval for 300 new Florida Keys rooms in exchange for protecting (unbuildable lots) sensitive lands, a state agency proposes. Staff with Florida Department of Economic Opportunity recently outlined a proposed new rule as part of the agency’s Monroe County oversight under the state Area of Critical State Concern law. … Read more
By Julia Ford-Carther Just a short drive from Miami, trips to the Florida Keys—stretching from Key Largo to Key West—offer a different way to experience paradise. Surfboards and Adirondack chairs beckon outside The Beach Café at Morada Bay. While Miamians live where everyone else vacations, residents like to sneak away occasionally for a change … Read more
The gorgeous Hawks Cay Resort, Villas and Marina in the Florida Keys has so many guests from north of the border that it is offering discounts of up to 25 per cent to Canadians staying two nights or longer, through Feb. 11. Hawks Cay is a sprawling island estate with 177 rooms and suites in … Read more
After 65 years of shoveling snow in Iowa, Frank Poma was tired. “You get rid of it,” he says, “and then it keeps coming back.” So about five years ago, Poma and his wife Cindi bought an RV and headed for Knight’s Key RV Resort and Marina, an unpretentious, 24-acre campground on the Atlantic side … Read more
The owners of the boutique Marquesa Hotel on the corner of Simonton and Fleming streets in the Key West Historic District are vying to create a 14-room annex less than a block away. Inter-Ocean Holdings acquired the two properties that make up the Pilot House Guesthouse on Simonton Street in August for $4.2 million, Monroe … Read more
Accommodation options in the Florida Keys Resorts, like the island chain itself, are rich in atmosphere and appeal. Now through 2016, eight new properties – comprising just over 1,000 rooms – are planning to open from Key Largo to Key West. Additionally, a number of meticulously renovated lodgings are welcoming visitors. Each one joins existing … Read more
For the first time in more than two decades, a new hotel will open in Key Largo, with the 2016 debut of the Playa Largo Resort & Spa. “As the first new hotel built in Key Largo in more than 21 years, Playa Largo Resort & Spa will offer a level of luxury, service and sophistication … Read more
Heavy machinery cleaned up debris at the former Crystal Bay Resort in Marathon over the weekend, clearing part of the property as developer Marvin Rappaport hopes to start construction in January. Rappaport said there are 30 cottages on the property near mile marker 50 bayside of U.S. 1, which he plans to demolish and rebuild. … Read more
Robert Cvetkovski, who also owns Smugglers Cove in Islamorada, told TRD that he hopes to close on the purchase within three months. He then plans to spend $5 million to renovate the rooms and upgrade the property, including bringing in a new restaurant concept. The 48-room Days Inn, at 82749 Overseas Highway, is spread … Read more
KeysCaribbean Luxury Resort Villas & Marinas salutes four Florida Keys events in September and offers three compelling reasons to enjoy an end-of-summer escape to the Keys. “September in the Florida Keys is a great time to experience events that can only be found here.” said Sam Schorr, KeysCaribbean managing director. KeysCaribbean Luxury Resort Villas & … Read more