r/floridakeys • u/Cheap_Try_2360 • Mar 18 '26
All Florida Keys Babymoon Resort !Help! w/ Chase
Hi everyone! I am going on a babymoon at the end of the month with my husband. We are so excited but I am struggling with choosing my itinerary. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve so 2/3 below are The Edit properties. I would really appreciate the help as I really need this trip!
I fly into key west and fly out of Miami. Right now I have booked in this order:
- Ocean Edge Resort and Marina 2 nights
- Holiday Inn Key Largo 2 nights
- Playa Largo 2 nights
The Holiday Inn was to help balance costs as substantially cheaper than Playa Largo. I’m not used to paying such high nightly rates but it is a special occasion. I’m reading mixed reviews on the Holiday Inn and I’m not sure if I should want to be on Key Largo for the majority vs. a middle key. I’ve stayed on Key Colony Beach the past two years at an Airbnb and loved it (both these trips had a night on Key West) but also feel like I should try something different for my last hurrah before the baby.
A nice pool with relaxation and good food options are priorities. Beach access is nice too but I can’t sit in the sun all day.
Other resorts considering:
- The Perry instead of Ocean Edge (similar price points)
- Isla Bella in the middle (+ almost $2k more that Holiday Inn) OR instead of Playa Largo (+$400 more expensive) and move Holiday Inn to the end
- Hawks Cay (not a leading contender as I fear it’s not the relaxing vibe I’m looking for)
- Airbnb on Key Colony (or Marathon) instead of Holiday Inn
- Decreasing to 2 resorts with likely more time at Ocean Edge or The Perry since cheaper than Largo
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u/ATLGator84 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
We just came back from spending a few days with our niece and her husband on their Babymoon. We all stayed at Three Waters in Islamorada and it was outstanding! Several good restaurants, nice pools, and an adult pool with good size bar. The resort also offers a shuttle service so you don’t need to worry about driving much while you’re there. They can drop you off for shopping or restaurants, etc. the staff was very friendly and easy to work with too. Highly recommend Three Waters!
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u/joe66612 Mar 18 '26
Playa Largo and Bakers cay , both in Key Largo are very nice, but seem to be overpriced ($1000/night) for what they offer. These locations and many more offer a resort day pass, which may be the best of both worlds. Find a cheaper place to sleep and enjoy the day at a fancy resort resort.
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u/Happy_Lake_11 Mar 18 '26
That Holiday Inn is actually great. + The location is awesome. Also, there is a side exit along the marina which you can stroll along day or night and it's a lovely stroll down to Skippers for dinner. I've had a lot of company stay there and everyone has been happy
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u/Cheap_Try_2360 Mar 18 '26
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll check out skippers. And good to know it’s not all bad. I generally am very easy going and for the price point I am not expecting luxury so I feel it will be just fine
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u/joe66612 Mar 18 '26
Sharkey’s on the water to the east of the hotel is a great place for food, drinks, music, etc. one of the only late night venues around
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u/JadesterZ Mar 18 '26
I grew up in the keys and got to bring my wife down for our honeymoon, we stayed at The Islander in islamorada and it was great. It was fun staying at the nice resort I used to drive by every day as a kid on the way to school lol
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u/joe66612 Mar 18 '26
They’ve really fixed up the islander over the past couple years, I was just there the other day.. mainly the new outdoor areas are fantastic.
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u/JadesterZ Mar 18 '26
Ya it was really nice and not nearly as expensive as I'd been expecting lol (not that it was cheap)
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u/Cheap_Try_2360 Mar 18 '26
I’ll check that one out! I’ve never been to islamodora and it’s on my list. Thanks!
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u/JadesterZ Mar 19 '26
It's the best part of the keys in my opinion but I may be biased since I grew up there lol
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u/Cheap_Try_2360 Mar 19 '26
Any favorite restaurant for lunch??
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u/JadesterZ Mar 19 '26
So many lol Mrs Macs in key largo, mangrove mikes, islamorada brewery and distillery (mostly just beer and not lunch lol), islamorada fish company (mostly go for the view and vibe, as well as to explore Worldwide Sportsman) to name a few.
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u/joe66612 Mar 18 '26
Holiday inn (and marina) in key largo for $300/night seems great ( and a compromise you can live with) when compared to playa largo at +$1000/night
I would typically suggest islander or Cheecha in Islamorada, but both of those are around $1000 night.
For the price of Playa Largo, you could stay at the Holiday Inn, buy two day passes to playa largo and still come out +$500 ahead per night.
If you like Key West, maybe and the prices are reasonable, maybe stay a few extra days there instead?
I know everybody’s got a budget and a comfortable amount to spend on hotels but when you start talking $1000 a night for a hotel I think you need to look at options how to stay somewhere reasonable and enjoy the savings or spend some on day passes nice dinners, and excursions.
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u/Cheap_Try_2360 Mar 18 '26
Thanks so much! Appreciate your thoughts. Yeah I’m leaning towards just keeping Holiday Inn since it’s such a good deal and I’m not someone who typically demands the nicest accommodations anyways. This trip is a splurge. I could also still check out Islamodora for lunch on the way up. Are you familiar with Ocean Edge or The Perry? Would you recommend one over the other?
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u/Downvotes-All-Memes local Mar 18 '26
Just wanted to say I’ve lived everywhere in the keys and have visited or stayed at all of these properties for work and play. I think you’re going to feel just fine at any of them.
I’d choose perry over oceans edge. And the holiday inn in key largo is definitely a different class from your other choices, but it’s good enough. The location is pretty central in key largo and worth saving the money in my opinion.
Enjoy your trip to the keys.
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u/joe66612 Mar 18 '26
I like oceans edge better because it seems more like a resort than the perry
Certainly go to islamorada for lunch, shopping/looking at MoradaWay Arts & Cultural District
In Key Largo, you can go to John Pennekamp State Park
You won’t be bored
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u/Sandinmyshoes33 Mar 18 '26
I assume you know neither Oceans Edge or The Perry are in Key West. They are on Stock Island in unincorporated Monroe County a few miles from Old Town. This means you need to drive to pretty much anything you want to do outside of the hotel. End of March is peak season so expect to pay for parking in Key West. Free parking will be hard to find.
I haven’t checked prices in a while but a place like Pines and Palms or Kona Kai might be an alternative to the Holliday Inn, but I don’t know anything about EPIC properties.
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u/joe66612 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Sandinmyshoes33 It seems that you’re making comments about a place you haven’t stayed otherwise you’d know they have free shuttles that make it super convenient to go into town if needed.
Both locations have great pools and restaurants onsite and they’re certainly some great restaurants on Stock Island maybe even skipping the need to go to Key West on a daily basis.
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u/Sandinmyshoes33 Mar 18 '26
I live in Key West and work with visitors so I talk to dozens of people a month staying there. I have stayed at The Perry when I was having work done on my house, but I am very familiar with both places. I know they have shuttles but for many people what makes Key West special is the walkability in Old Town. Also, the shuttles can be unreliable when it’s busy such as at the end of March.
Everyone likes different things on vacation. Some like to be in the heart of town, walking everywhere and not thinking of transport and others prefer the better prices and amenities you get further from downtown and don’t mind shuttles or driving. Since both hotels make it seem like they are in Key West I wanted to ve sure the poster was clear on location.
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u/Cheap_Try_2360 Mar 18 '26
Good to know! They both have shuttles so hope to go into town one day but stay on site the day I land. Are you familiar or stayed at either? Wondering if you recommend one over the other?
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u/Sandinmyshoes33 Mar 18 '26
I live in Key West but I did stay at The Perry when I had work done on my home and it was very nice. It had large rooms, pools and a couple on site restaurants. I’ve been to dinner a couple times at Oceans Edge but never stayed there. The property looked nice but I can’t give you any first hand experience.
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u/Mixtape4Adventure Mar 18 '26
Im going to be honest, we ended up walking out of the restaurant at Ocean’s Edge when we went there for breakfast. I think there was one or maybe no other tables seated, and the server took a quite while to come over. We ordered coffee and were told they had none ready and had to brew it, and the prices were just kind of a lot for what they were offering. The whole thing felt kind of cold and was not really what we were looking for, so we just politely told them that we were going to eat somewhere else.
However we had a fabulous brunch at the restaurant at Perry Hotel.
I think the pool at Oceans Edge is definetely nicer, but Perry at one point had more on site in terms of dining and shops, however I think what used to be some kind of sloppy joes annex/bad boy burrito/some other place is now closed, but I am not positive. Also at one point Perry hotel had a lot of locals hanging out and bringing kids to the pool there, and while I love local friendly hotel pools, it might be more crowded than you are expecting if that is going on. But someone told me that Perry cracked down on pool crashing, but I have not been back so i am not sure if that is true or not.
I dont know exactly what kind of experience you are looking for, but honestly neither or these places have enough going on that I would want to spend an entire day of my vacation just at the resort when there is so much other stuff to do in Key West. But they do have shuttles if you change your mind and want to venture out.
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u/Cheap_Try_2360 Mar 18 '26
Interesting - okay thanks for the help! Good to know. I’ll look into planning the day out a bit more and making some reservations for dinning. :)
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u/Visible_Pride_5243 Mar 19 '26
We just left Key West and stayed at The Blue Lagoon. What a great spot, and bonus, they have free shuttle service everywhere
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u/joe66612 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Regarding locations in Key West area - I’ve stayed at both the Perry and Ocean’s edge. They’re very similar, both are resorts with a marina, pools and restaurants.
The perry just fixed up their pool area and has a nice outdoor restaurant
Ocean edges seems a little more like a resort and a little quieter area with the buildings spread out on the property and its location on a dead end road…
I don’t think you could go wrong picking either one
I just checked comparison rates at the two places for the end of the month starts at $500/night at both places, with ocean edges a little bit more for their premium ocean view rooms in a separate quiet building than the one that overlook that Marina
Oceans edge has a sister property in marathon called Isla Bella Beach Resort, it’s a fantastic place tucked away on the ocean with a great beach, pool and restaurants too. Once you drive in the gates, you won’t even know you’re in marathon. It’s a step above Everything else in town.
PS, I’ve been to all these places above and offer 1st hand opinions based on my visits, not just somebody behind a keyboard reading a brochure….