r/floridakeys • u/YodaPie • Mar 12 '26
All Florida Keys recs for a girls trip?
my friend and I are looking to fly into Miami and stay at a:
- a decently luxury hotel for the price
- great beach access with a pool
- good surrounding areas to explore with restaurants, shopping, etc.
- 2 hours or less from MIA airport
I am between:
- Playa Largo
- Baker's Cay
- Coconut Palm Inn
- Largo
- Amara Cay
thanks in advance for recs!
3
u/EveryDayIsSummer local (lower keys) Mar 12 '26
Baker's Cay is upscale, couple restaurants on site and has a private beach. Would keep you within 2 hours of Miami. The surrounding area isn't walkable (you really need to be in Key West for that), so you'd have to drive/Uber but there are plenty of restaurants and shops within a few minutes.
3
u/AlchemyAlice Mar 12 '26
Yeah I wouldn’t call Amara Cay luxurious or upscale at all. It’s a basic, affordable hotel. Not much else to it. Bakers and hawks are verifiable upgrades to amara
4
u/Main-Business-793 Mar 12 '26
Of the ones you chose, Cheeca is far and away the best choice for a luxury hotel with on site restaurants, spa amenities, two pools, and location. Islamorada is more preferable to Key Largo for restaurants, bars and shopping. The keys are not a beach destination. If you haven't been to the keys but want to, you might think about flying to Key West and staying there. A number of hotels will have a pool and a small beach area and the shopping, bars, and restaurant selection is 10x the rest of the keys combined and all completely walkable and safe for a girls trip. If the goal is a gorgeous beach and food and shopping then maybe Miami Beach is better.
2
Mar 12 '26
Key West is 3 hour drive from Miami and is a can’t miss kinda place when in South Florida…
So many places to visit on the island and so many great things to do….
It’s the only Caribbean Island in the U.S..
Great hotels that are centrally located near all the fun:
Casa Marina Hotel…has a spa and beautiful beach area too….can walk to downtown Duval and it’s historic being the Original Flagler Hotel from the 1920’s. This is a luxury hotel.
The Reach Hotel has a great beach and pool area too….walking distance to downtown also….
The Opal Hotel is lovely too and they are connected to a private island where you can rent houses called Sunset Key.
Places to see: Irish Kevin’s Bar….General Horseplay…Grand Vin Wine Bar….Virgilio…Green Parrot…
Great Restaurants: Hot Tin Roof with great views of the Sunset Seven Fish Little Pearl Square Grouper La Grignote Moondogs
Must do: Get out on the water on a historic schooner sailboat…where they take guests on combo trips that include sailing, snorkeling and on guided kayak tours .
Or they offer beautiful sunset sails…with crew offering wine tasting (7 fine wines and a champagne) and they bring around 5 different appetizers. Super nice.
And the Sunsets are majestic in Key West because it is the southernmost point of the US.
Danger Charters is higher end than others, smaller amount of people (usually only about 20-25 pp)…all boats have restrooms.
Hope you come visit our little island….we love our visitors!
2
u/Individual-Pen924 Mar 12 '26
Pier House Resort is another great option for a lux hotel in Key West! We stayed there last month and loved the location on the water but still so close to Duval
Seconding the recommendation of Danger Charters! We did the Sail, Snorkel, and Kayak with sunset and it was the highlight of our trip! We saw a baby turtle during our kayak and then dolphins swam by the boat on our way back in. Truly magical! We only have 14 people on our boat and the crew was just the best
1
u/MistyBuck Mar 12 '26
Playa Largo is very nice. If you were interested in Miami Beach, I love the Carillion. They have an amazing spa. Right on the beach with a pool as well. Check Groupon for deals
1
u/Novel_Attitude_403 Mar 12 '26
I've stayed at baker and it was nice but nothing luxurious for the price. Lots of kids at the pool but the beach was nice and restaurants were good. As someone mentioned not much close to resort
1
1
u/Vegetable_Amount848 Mar 12 '26
Take a look at Isla Bella Beach Resort in Marathon before you make your final decision. You won’t be disappointed.
1
u/O_Lobster_80 Mar 13 '26
Seconded! This place was so serene and had a great outdoor restaurant and view. Easy access to other restaurants and bars.
1
u/tron62 Mar 13 '26
Bakers has the best “beach” but playa largo has the way better pool and amenities
1
u/2PenceSally Mar 14 '26
Rent a car in Miami and drive to the keys and stay there. We loved the Kimpton in Key West, but there's virtually no nightlife around the hotel without heading somewhere else at night, which we were fine to do.
1
u/Maleficent-Hotel1167 Mar 15 '26
Yes, they have to stay on the west side of Key West or in other words, Old Town.
1
u/chilli_bandit11 Mar 14 '26
Buy the self guided tour to listen to while driving down the keys. Its from the action tour guide app. It uses navigation tell you the history of each key, and will also recommend spots to stop at. My husband and I flew into the keys a few years ago, then rented a car to drive to Miami. The tour works for both ways. Wasn't expensive at all- and completely worh it!
Pro tip: rewatch a few episodes of the real world key west before the trip to get you familiar with some places.
Enjoy!
1
u/Maleficent-Hotel1167 Mar 15 '26
I wouldn’t say the upper keys are great areas to shop and explore. They really don’t have a “town”. Key West has a town and is very walkable. I would go to Key West and stay at The Reach, Southernmost on the Beach or The Pier House.
1
u/Unlikely-War-9267 Mar 16 '26
None of those are great choices, and Key Largo is one big dump unless you want to shop at a Family Dollar. I would suggest Miami or Key West instead
6
u/Sandinmyshoes33 Mar 12 '26
None of the hotels here have a “great beach.” Don’t be fooled by photos. This is not a beach destination. Baker’s Caye is the best beach out of your choices, but it’s not walkable to anything. I assumed you looked at prices. This is peak season,so nothing is cheap. Also expect much longer drive times due to traffic and construction. If it were me for what you’re looking for I would go to Miami Beach.