Island Time: Latest Updates From the Florida Keys

By Susan J. Young Feb 1, 2022 10:24am

If luxury travelers desire an enticing vacation beyond “the norm,” one way to break the mold is to head south of the Florida Peninsula to the Florida Keys and Key West, FL. Connected by U.S. 1, the Overseas Highway, this 125-mile-plus chain of isles delivers a subtropical climate, adventure and eco-activities, a “laid back” often quirky style, and plenty of fun, one-of-a-kind activities.

Land’s End is Key West, which is closer to Havana, Cuba, than Miami, FL. Even further beyond are the Dry Tortugas, without road access but reachable for day visits via a float plane or boat tour. Heading into 2022, much is new in the Florida Keys and Key West — everything from new, expanded and upgraded hotels to new and enhanced eco-experiences, updated attractions and more.

To reach the Keys, luxury travelers can take flights directly into Key West or Marathon, or arrive at a plethora of Keys’ marinas via their private yachts. But many travelers instead choose a flight into Miami International Airport, and then rent a car or hire a private car/driver to enjoy the picturesque journey along the Overseas Highway, U.S. 1 southward into the Keys. Helping drivers see their progress, green-and-white mile marker signs begin with MM 127 south of Florida City on the Florida Peninsula and end at MM 0 at Key West.

Upper Keys

Known as the “Dive Capital of the World,” Key Largo is home to the offshore John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, a highly rated snorkeling and scuba diving spot. Many divers head underwater to peruse the famous “Christ the Redeemer” statue. That state park and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary have partnered to create two new maritime-focused exhibits at the park’s visitors center. One is a new interactive 360-degree dive experience about Upper Keys wrecks, the other involves 3-D printed artifacts that tell the stories of dangers mariners faced when navigating Florida’s coral reef. One story features Guerrero, the Spanish pirate slave ship, and how enslaved people survived its 1827 wreck off the Upper Keys.

In Key Largo, plans are underway to redevelop the eight-acre Rowell Waterfront Park (MM 104.5 bayside) by summer 2022. Visitors can expect a realigned park entrance, new restroom facility and small parking lot with lighting, as well as new landscaping and a walking trail.

In 2021, Playa Largo Resort, an Autograph Collection Hotel in Key Largo, unveiled four luxurious oceanfront residences — the Playa Largo Ocean Residences — for overnight stays with access to resort amenities. Located on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Overseas Highway, the open-living-style homes range from 3,300 square feet to 3,800 square feet. These three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath and four-bedroom, four-and-a-half--bath homes offer a grand foyer, master suites with soaking tub, a laundry room and private parking. Guests can savor the outdoor lifestyle with the homes’ summer kitchens, front porches and private terraces. A two-night minimum stay is required.

In northern Key Largo, the private Ocean Reef Club’s 165-room inn (which can accommodate meeting/incentive/private groups) has a newly renovated lobby, dining room and lounge. The resort’s guests can access the Buccaneer Island recreational beach and pool area, two 18-hole golf courses, a full-service 175-slip marina and private airport.

On Upper Matecumbe Key, the new Islands of Islamorada is a complex of luxurious vacation rentals, including 22 three-story waterfront villas with full bedrooms, a full kitchen and outdoor recreation space; each can accommodate eight to 10 guests, perfect for groups of family members or friends. In addition, this new property features the Ocean House, home to an additional eight one-bedroom suites, each accommodating up to three guests, and directly fronting the Atlantic Ocean. Guests will have plenty of activity options as the new resort’s amenities include an oceanfront Tiki bar, paddleboards, kayaks, a fitness facility and classes, yoga lawn, two swimming pools, whirlpool tub, pickleball, a private marina, oceanfront event spaces and 24-hour on-site concierge. A minimum three-night stay is required.

The Cheeca Lodge and Spa has a 1,100-foot palm-lined private beach.

Well-known to luxury travelers is the iconic, 214-room Cheeca Lodge and Spa in Islamorada. It’s recently added a third pool and second open-air Tiki bar. Most notably, though, it’s acquired the one- and two-bedroom Casitas at Cheeca Lodge and Spa. Encompassing 750 square feet to 2,100 square feet, these 10 private villas are secluded by tropical palms and tropical foliage. All Casitas offer personalized butler service, resort or ocean views and large furnished porches.

In addition, these pampering accommodations also have full kitchens with stainless steel appliances; bathrooms with rain showers, large soaking tubs and Molton Brown bath products; and a washer and dryer. Luxury Travel Advisor likes that the Casitas guests have access to all of Cheeca Lodge and Spa’s signature amenities and dining, plus exclusive access to the Casitas’ private beach, pool and tennis courts.

The Florida Keys History and Discovery Center in Islamorada has added a new permanent exhibit featuring the tombstone of John Jacob Housman, the notorious, 19th-century Keys “Wrecker” (someone who’s a salvager of wrecked ships); visitors can see interpretive panels and learn about “wrecking” stories. The center is at the Oceanside Islander Resort at MM 82.

Middle Keys

Famed for its historic lighthouse that’s guided guests to the property since the 1950s, the 125-room Faro Blanco Resort & Yacht Club in Marathon is restoring its hotel grounds and debuting an expanded pool area, waterslide, Tiki huts and other perks. An adjoining 74-slip marina can accommodate vessels between 35 and 140 feet, and marina guests have access to most of Faro Blanco’s outdoor amenities.

A sister property, the 199-unit Isla Bella Beach Resort, an upscale boutique property at Seven Mile Bridge, opened in 2018 with stylish rooms and more than 20,000 square feet of function space, including a 3,800-square-foot Hibiscus Event Center. There’s also a marina, a 4,000-square-foot spa, five pools and three food/beverage venues.

In Marathon, at the Crane Point Hammock Museum and Nature Trail, the pink Crane House, designed in the 1950s style of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, has reopened following a $319,000 exterior renovation. Also at Crane Point, the historic red railroad car formerly based for decades on Knights Key is being restored as an extension of the museum.

Wildlife enthusiasts should check out the Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters in Marathon, which recently opened a new Mangrove Terrapin Exhibit, home to two adults of that species within the attraction’s Everglades area. Found almost exclusively in the Florida Keys, the terrapins resemble freshwater turtles but inhabit brackish and salt water. They’re a subspecies of diamondback terrapins found across the southern United States.

At Grassy Key, the Grassy Flats Resort & Beach Club is expanding with a new second pool and 28 new oceanfront guestrooms this winter season. Its oceanfront Humidor House will include four king suites with four-poster mahogany beds and private balconies, while the Wrecker’s House will offer several rooms and three king suites with private wraparound balconies. The on-site Barrel & Bale bar is being expanded with 152 seats and a rooftop bar; it will open early this year.

A key attraction: Snorkeling is a popular activity in the Florida Keys and Key West. (Photo by Rob O’Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau)

An early 2022 groundbreaking is slated for the new 66-acre, 110-unit Valhalla Island, a Middle Keys resort on Crawl Key. When complete, it will be among the largest resort properties in the Florida Keys. While this project has been in the works for more than 15 years, it’s finally moving forward. The developer is Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, and his Floridian Holdings LLC, which already operates two Johnny Morris Signature Resorts in the Midwest. Conservation and retaining the site’s eco-beauty will be at the forefront, with the Valhalla Island resort itself covering only 25 acres of the total property.

Guests will stay in a new three-story, 29-room Valhalla Island resort as well as 50 new villas, cottages and homes. Eight types of stand-alone units (each with at least one porch and outside shower) will range from 379-square-foot studios to four-bedroom, four-bath, 3,700-square-foot homes. The resort will also have a 12,000-square-foot spa, retail space, a 3,400-square-foot fitness facility and golf carts for guest transportation.

Lower Keys & Key West

Highly popular with Lower Keys’ visitors is Bahia Honda State Park, which is currently undergoing a nearly $3 million restoration of its mile-long Sandspur Beach, campgrounds, parking area and two shower towers at the day-use area. Look for the work to be completed in 2022.

On Stock Island, the 20-acre Oceans Edge Key West Hotel and Marina has completed a multimillion-dollar renovation. Its 175 suites and rooms each offer 382 square feet to 575 square feet of space and waterfront balconies. Separately, Florida Yachts Charters, a boutique company specializing in barefoot and crewed charters, has a new partnership with the Moorings of Clearwater, FL. So, new Keys yacht vacations on monohulls, sailing catamarans and power yachts are now being launched from that Oceans Edge resort as well as from the Stock Island Marina Village. For a minimum of five days, yacht trips can be captained and crewed or self-chartered and include itineraries to Dry Tortugas National Park and to Marathon and beyond.

Also on Stock Island, the Perry Hotel & Marina has partnered with Sloppy Joe’s — the famous watering hole in Key West once frequented by the late writer Ernest Hemingway — to open a second outdoor Sloppy Joe’s Dockside on-site at the Perry. Open daily, it offers a light menu of sandwiches and salads, plus happy hour and live music nightly.

The new Island Farm, a private, 50-acre farm and apiary (think “hives of honeybees”) on Stock Island now offers such activities as paddling and kayaking, eco-tours and farm-to-table, celebratory and special events. Attractions also include ticketed “fire+honey” sunset celebrations and bonfires and s’mores at its Lost Beach.

Formerly a tobacco warehouse, the Hemingway Rum Co. Distillery in Key West has opened a 2,400-square-foot center for hosting events. It also offers private “Papa’s Cocktail Classes” which include a tour, tasting, mixology class and cocktail glass for a maximum of 10 participants from Tuesdays through Sundays from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Reservations are required. The facility houses the Papa’s Pilar Rum production facility, an experience center, tasting room and trading post.

Fury Water Adventures

Key West has a new Ultimate Adventure H2.0, with a catamaran trip to Florida’s only certified and largest ocean water park — over 3,500 square feet of inflatable waterpark fun — offering parasailing, reef snorkeling, jet skis and banana boats. The six-hour adventure includes breakfast, lunch and unlimited beverages.

One highly anticipated Key West hospitality development was the recent opening of the three-story Margaritaville Beach House Key West, created following a rebranding and multimillion-dollar makeover of the former Barbary Beach House Key West, which itself was renovated in 2020 following a transition from the former Sheraton Suites Key West. Located along a half-mile stretch of Smathers Beach, this new Margaritaville resort offers 186 spacious accommodations, including standard rooms, one-bedroom suites, two-bedroom suites, and mobility-accessible suites. On-site amenities include the Tin Cup Chalice Bar & Chill venue, bar concepts, a lagoon-style pool, 24-hour fitness center, expanded retail outlet space, 4,000 square feet of meeting space and family-friendly activities.

In addition, guests can expect complimentary welcome frozen cocktails, daily poolside refreshments, including fruit smoothies and popsicles, concierge service, complimentary Key West International airport pick-up and drop off, and nonmotorized watersports. One plus for travelers determined to bring “Fido” is that the resort also allows dogs under 30 pounds (for an added fee).

This is the only Margaritaville resort now in Key West, as the former Margaritaville Key West Resort and Marina, adjacent to Mallory Square, has been rebranded as the 178-room waterfront Opal Key Resort and Marina, part of the Opal Collection Hotels & Resorts. We’d head to this resort’s Sunset Deck as it’s a prime spot to savor a tropical libation and enjoy the nightly, celebratory “sunset celebration,” a popular Key West activity.

The Margaritaville Beach House Key West has a lagoon-style pool.

On the attraction side in Key West, renovations have been completed for a collapsed historic archway and citadel at the Civil War-era West Martello Tower, a National Historic Site built in 1866. A scenic focal point of gorgeous subtropical gardens, the brick arch was part of a tunnel that allowed Union soldiers to enter the citadel safely. Travelers can find it at the Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach Park.

Expected to be completed in summer 2022 is the new Big Pine Key Swimming Hole and Nature Center (MM 29) at the Lower Keys Scenic Viewing Area, an extension of the Overseas Heritage Trail. It will offer an 11-foot raised viewing deck, a 9,500-foot-long boardwalk, Tiki huts, picnic areas with tables and barbecue grills, bike racks, kayak and canoe launch area and parking spaces.

On the tour side, “Up the Keys Eco Tours’” half-day nature tour, offered at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily, has been expanded to include the Keys’ famed Seven Mile Bridge in addition to Bahia Honda State Park, the Key deer (a species of small deer endemic to the Keys) and the Blue Hole. We’d also check out this group’s Dolphin Research Center and Tiki Bar Crawl tours.

Key West’s Island Vibe Charters, a new LGBTQ-owned-and-operated “all welcome” charter boat operation, offers private excursions to offshore sandbars and to the reef for snorkeling trips for families and groups of up to six. Four- to six-hour trips on a 28-foot, twin-engine Edgewater boat offer sandbar and snorkeling excursions. Separately, Key West’s Honest Eco, known for its dolphin watching, kayaking and snorkeling trips, has acquired Blu Q Sailing Adventures, providing gay all-male snorkel, sandbar and kayak tours since 1996. Blu Q is continuing its nightly sunset sailings that are open to all adults.

In Key West’s Truman Waterfront Park, the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center has completed the first phase of a renovation with new exhibits to focus on maritime history, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and ways to protect Florida Keys habitats. A second renovation phase will begin in 2022.

New Terminal Coming

Monroe County, FL, which owns and operates Key West International Airport (EYR), plans a groundbreaking this year for a new $80 million terminal expected to open in October 2024. Travelers can look forward to a new concourse that includes an enhanced security checkpoint, concessions and baggage claim areas; a spacious departure area; and glass-enclosed jet bridges that connect planes to the facility.

Currently, nonstop air service to Key West International is provided by six airlines — American, Delta, JetBlue, Silver, United and Allegiant. On the “new service” front, Allegiant has just started twice-weekly nonstop service from Asheville Regional Airport (AVL), NC; St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE), FL; and Indianapolis International Airport (IND), IN.