DOUGLAS HOUSE

The location may not suit everyone, as it's very far south on Duval. I found it to be a perfect area for exploring cultural highlights, the Southernmost Point and the Butterfly Conservatory. The walk to Mallory Square was a half hour, and other popular spots are 15 minutes or so. It was great for me and I loved the walking. But do keep that in mind. My room (#8) was above the office with a nice, large deck to see out to Duval, but still tucked away for privacy and a residential feel. It's noisy on weekend nights until 2am, but noticed weekdays were more peaceful. The unit had a kitchen and living area and a bedroom with 2 queen beds. It was very clean and comfortable, and the decor was pretty. Other rooms may be quieter (and more refined) in the back. Not sure, but you may want to inquire if street noise is an issue. or if you want tropical, green views. The pool area looked cute and well maintained. Plenty of lovely foliage and shade. They have a stocked beverage cabana, complete with juice, ice water, coffee and tea - 24 hours a day. I adored this touch; made it very easy to stay hydrated and caffeinated when I didn't want to head out. For breakfast, you can do your own thing in your kitchen or a Cuban Coffee Queen is right there, and it's excellent! My favorite casual spot. Sweet and helpful staff are available until 8pm. Had a wonderful stay!

Very nice, friendly, professional gentleman greeted me on my arrival on the late afternoon of May 23rd. Can’t thank him enough for being so kind, because without him I think this might have been a one-star rating. The late-middle-aged woman who was at the desk the next morning not so much. Room was in a building across the street from the office. There is ***NO*** parking on site as Expedia reports. You can find your own space (do NOT park in any “resident” marked spaces or your car will be gone when you come back to it), or pay to park in a small lot half a block away, which wasn’t bad, but when I called the day prior to my arrival the late-middle-aged woman mentioned above (I recognized her voice when I finally saw her at the front desk) was on duty and about as helpful as a paperweight, so I ended up paying for 2 hours of on-street parking on Duval just to buy time to figure out where I could park over night. Ten minutes after spending $14 on the Duval parking space the nice younger male hotel clerk explained the parking arrangement up the street, and I moved my car there. (Thanks, lady, whomever you are.) The room itself was very small but adequate for just myself, although finding a place to charge my phone was nowhere near bedside and I ended up charging it on the bathroom sink. The lighting was really very poor and trying to prepare to attend a wedding was a challenge without that or any kind of consideration for organizing or applying a bit of makeup: bring your own lighted mirror if you’re planning anything that requires finesse - and even then you’ll be hard-pressed to figure out anywhere you can set it up. There is no room in that room for a desk and nowhere to sit but on the bed. I ended up laying my sparse makeup collection on the bed and putting a small mirror on top of the window air conditioner (yes, seriously, for $393!) and using the little bit of daylight filtering through the tree canopy of that window to apply a bit of powder, mascara and lip color. The building is quite old and I’m not sure the stairs to the second floor are long for this world - they really probably need a good look by a carpenter - and the non-slip strips on two of the steps were missing, which made climbing up and down them the next morning in a driving rain storm …well… interesting, at least. Painted wood surfaces and a layer of water seem to me to be a bad idea, especially for people moving luggage around since there are of course no elevators, but maybe that’s just me. The bed was comfortable and I slept well, so I give them credit on that point since some other reviews have had some pretty spicy words for their beds too. And although other reviewers have raved about the Douglas House breakfast I never saw anywhere that that might actually be offered, nor did it ever smell like anything was being prepared, but as I said, I was housed in a building across the street from the office so that may explain the lack of any indicator of breakfast anywhere. I ended up going out for it. All in all it was a convenient place for me to stay the night following a wedding at the very near-by Hemingway House and museum, but for the price I should have just stayed across town and Ubered back and forth to the event. It was not the treat for myself during my brief sojourn to Key West that I had expected for nearly $400.

The Douglas House was perfect for my sister and I. We stayed in a spacious room with a separate bedroom and living room/kitchen. The bedroom had two queen beds that were very comfortable. The kitchen had everything we needed (stove, microwave, large fridge, cutlery, utensil, pots/pans, etc.). There were several bar stools along the counter. The living room had a comfortable couch, two chairs and table. The location was great! It was a few minute walk to the Hemingway House, Butterfly museum, Duval Street (with tons of restaurants and shops) and Southernmost Point monument. It was about a 20 minute walk to Mallory Square and Fort Zachery Taylor. We got lucky with the parking. The young man at the front desk said his friends (who parked right across the street) were leaving in a few minutes. There was no time limit, so we parked the car there for our entire stay.