Seashell Motel & Key West Hostel

Our stay was extremely disappointing, and we ultimately felt unsafe enough that we had to leave. While in the parking lot, a grown man made inappropriate comments toward my daughter. We were essentially the only other vehicle in the parking lot besides his van, and my daughter felt unsafe. As parents, we were not comfortable staying after that. We contacted the motel and requested a refund because we felt we could no longer safely remain there, but they refused. There were also several other issues with the property. The pool was advertised as being available, but there was no pool for us to use. The walls were paper-thin, and our room was isolated in the back of a separate building, which made us feel even more uncomfortable given what happened.

My husband and I visit Key West approximately every three months and we always stay at different hotels. We had never had such an unpleasant and disrespectful experience as the one we had at Seashell Motel & Key West Hostel. We arrived unexpectedly and, upon finding no availability at other hotels, we decided to stay here. It was a big mistake. At 4:30 in the morning, two women entered the pool area, located just a few meters from our room. They started shouting, smoking marijuana, and playing with a ball, making such a loud noise that they woke us up. It was impossible to keep sleeping. At 4:38 a.m., my husband left the room to look for the manager on duty and ask for help. To our surprise, the employee who should have been attending to the hotel was asleep, so no one controlled the situation. My husband ended up speaking directly to the two women to ask them to respect the rest of the other guests. In the morning, my husband spoke with the manager, Krysy, to explain what happened. Her response was even more outrageous. She told us, in essence, that it was normal for people to be in the pool, playing, making noise, and smoking marijuana, and that we, as guests, should be more tolerant. That response demonstrates an absolute lack of respect for those who pay to rest. As if that were not enough, the room does not allow for rest either. The door has a glass panel through which all the outside light enters. During the night they leave lights on and, from very early on, the daylight comes in. Resting in those conditions is practically impossible. Furthermore, the hotel is under renovation. There are deteriorated, faded areas with a strong smell of paint that makes the stay uncomfortable. Even so, they charge rates similar to or even higher than other hotels in Key West that do offer well-maintained facilities and a pleasant environment. But the worst happened on the morning of check-out. Check-out was at 11:00 a. m. However, at approximately 9:30 a. m., while I was completely naked inside the room, they opened the door to come in to clean. It was a total violation of my privacy. I felt exposed, humiliated, and deeply disrespected. No guest should experience a situation like this. When I went to complain personally to the manager about what happened, I expected at least an apology or for them to investigate what occurred. Instead, she told me that could not have happened, insinuating that my account was not true. I asked her to check the security cameras to verify what happened and she refused. Immediately after, she closed the reception window and told me that since I had already checked out, she had nothing more to discuss with me. The way they handled the situation was as serious as the events themselves. There was no empathy, there was no apology, there was no interest in investigating, nor the slightest intention to resolve the problem. A hotel has two basic responsibilities: to guarantee rest and to respect the privacy of its guests. This place failed in both in the worst possible way. After this experience, I can say with total sincerity that it is the worst place we have stayed at in Key West. There are many better options, even for less money. If you value your rest, your safety, and your privacy, think twice before booking here. We will never return.

I tried to reserve the Key West Hostel. No go. So I ended up booking a room for 300. Well, once I got there, I learned that the Key West Hostel that was part of the Seashell Motel has become a thing of the past; the new management is renovating the hostel dorms into multi-grand a night luxury suites. At $80 a night, that Key West Hostel was a great bargain during Fantasy fest and all around was a great place to stay for cheap. The dorms were great, very similar to college dormitories, they had bunk beds which were really neat, each bunk had orange curtains for privacy and also a light and a fan, you could socialize with other guests, make some friends. And now they're taking it all away and replacing it all with unaffordable luxury suites. The second cheapest places to stay in Key West even out of season start at TEN TIMES what you'd pay staying at Key West Hostel! And during Fantasy fest, the cost of one night at any of the other cheaper hotels in Key West (yes, including even that "Nyah" place) including security deposits would get you no less than 8 to 12 nights at the Key West Hostel. And now those dorms are being renovated into luxury suites projected to cost no less than 50 to 70 times what they used to cost when they were the dorms for the Key West Hostel. Whoever has done away with the hostel and whoever kept complaining about it having been a hostel needs to take their livelihoods back to Beverly Hills, California.