A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Key West, United States by TravelPod blogger Aiiyosu titled “Key West Weekend Getway”
Aiiyosu’s travel blog entry:
“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… http://www.westwindskeywest.com/
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 (http://www.keysislandgrill.com/) 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 (http://www.foodreference.com/html/k-shanna-irish.html) 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 (http://www.betterthansexkw.com/) for the best Key Lime Pie of my life.”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aiiyosu/1/1242425100/tpod.html
Photos from this trip:
1. “Remnants of the Flgagler Railroad”
2. “View from Island Grill dinner”
3. “Island Grill menu”
4. “The Key West sign”
5. “The outside of Westwinds”
6. “One of the pools at Westwinds”
7. “Our bathroom!”
8. “View from the boat before snorkeling”
9. “Beautiful ocean!”
10. “Shanna Key”
11. “Shaunna Key from the outside”
12. “Crusing along the ocean on our scooter”
13. “Beautiful sunset”
14. “Sunset from Mallory Square”
15. “Entertainment at Mallory Sq”
16. “Duval St at sundown”
17. “Best Sno Cones!”
18. “Shadow of us on the scooter”
19. “Beautiful building”
20. “Statue display”
21. “Roosters are everywhere!”
22. “Love the Key West style”
23. “Key Lime Pie at Red Fish Blue Fish”
See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00d2-f584-3093?ytv4=1
Duration : 0:2:34
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Technorati Tags: 8220key west weekend getway8221 aiiyosu8217s photos around key west united states, island grill dinner, key lime pie, Key West, key west charm, key west weekend, those were the days, tripadvisor™ tripwow slideshow, west weekend getway, westwinds inn
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