Question
Any quaint hotels
or inns you can recommend? I'm looking for a
quiet
place.
Answer
If you’re looking for quaint, you should
make reservations at any of
the many, many bed & breakfast houses
in Old Town. It’s the best way to
enjoy Key West’s unique architecture
– there’s always wide porches and
large windows to maximize cool
breezes. The rooms can be kind of tiny,
but they’re usually decorated
in perfect taste. Parking can be tight,
though, in these older houses,
so leave the car behind if you can and
take pedicabs or rent scooters
or bikes to get around.
Non B&B, I recommend the Pier House in
Old Town. It has its own beach
and private pier from which you can
toast the sunset without the crush
at Mallory Sq. Plus, it has ample
parking which, believe me, is at a
premium for
tourists.
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Question
Any
lively bars you can suggest for nighttime?
Answer
Every bar in
Key West is lively. This is a fun place! I recommend that
you walk
around Old Town on Duval St, and definitely try the
digressions on side
streets and sample as many night spots as possible. I like La
Ti Dah’s
on Duval where I saw an act called Debra & Patrick. I told
Debra
that “Water of March” was my favorite song, and it turns out she
knows
it! She sang it for me, and I bought her
CD.
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Question
Any
good seafood restaurants you can recommend?
Answer
Seafood is
Key West’s specialty, so every restaurant does a good
seafood meal. I
like to eat with a view, so I go to the “Historic Boardwalk
Seaport”
(as it’s designated on maps) in Old Town for my aquatic
grub.
However, if you’re pressing me for specificity, (and I hate to
single
out one place over another because I LOVE everything in KW), but
I'm
vey fond of Kelly’s Place at the end of US Route 1. The
restaurant
is housed in the original home of Pan Am and I’m a sucker
for the
romance of old air travel. The food is as good as KW’s best.
(The
restaurant is owned by the actress Kelly McGills, whose best
movie, in my
opinion, was “Made For Each Other.” But that’s no
reason to go there. Go
because it has a wonderful atmo and good
food.)
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Question
Where's
a good place to go out for breakfast in Key West?
Answer
I like
to eat outside so I like a place called New York Deli on
Duval Sq.
It’s close to a newsstand, where you can get
the New York
Times, and there’s two resident parrots at the deli.
Sometimes cats and
roosters stroll through the place, and I always love to
interact with
nature when I eat. If you want predictability, there’s a
Denny’s on
Duval St. There’s also a Pancake House right at the entrance
on US1 to
KW, But I think it sad and
depressing.
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Question
We're
going to be driving down to Key West. Are there any
interesting
sights or towns along the way you could suggest. I hear Islamorada
and Key Largo can be fun?
Answer
Key Largo has several
chain hotels from Holiday Inn to more luxurious
Westins. I’ve stayed at
both. The Westin has a nice private beach and
two pools, and a free
happy hour. Rooms usually have private balconies,
and I have to have
fresh air when I’m in a hotel or I feel like I’m
breathing used air.
The Holiday Inn is clean and has a nice pool, too, but
no balcony and
no happy hour.
Islamorada I don’t know
about.
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Question
Where
can I get the best Key Lime Pie?
Answer
That’s so subjective. I
don’t like Key Lime Pie because it’s too sweet,
but my husband often
has the KLP jones and he prefers the ones with the
Oreo crust. Every
restaurant in KW offers it as a dessert, so I think
the fun part is to
trawl all the options. However, if you’re like me and
you get a non-Key
Line Pie sweet-tooth munchie at the end of your
evening, I
recommend a stop at the Denny’s on Duval for a brownie a la
mode
desert. It’s
fab.
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Question
Any good
hotels in walking distance of Mallory Square with lots
of
action?
Answer
The action in KW is not at the hotels
because there’s so much action on
the streets. You go to a hotel to
rest.
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Question
I'll be
flying in to Key West and I don't plan on renting a car,
Is there any
type of dependable public transportation available?
Answer
Key
West is very small so there is no elaborate public
transportation
system. However, there are non-car options:
the most fun way to get
around town is by pedicab or by bicycle.
Pedicabs, also know as rickshaws,
are all around Old Town and are a
comfortable way to get from point A
to point B. Many hotels have their
own bike rental concessions, and
since KW is flat, it’s easy to peddle
around the island. And of course,
taxis are available on an
on-call basis.
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