The Marquesa Hotel: A Comprehensive Guide to Staying in Key West, Florida.
Welcome to my review of The Marquesa Hotel; A stunning 4-star hotel located in Key West Florida. The location was marvelous, the local food fantastic and the accommodation itself was more than up-to-standard
We decided to visit the Marquesa once we had added on Miami to our revised itinerary, before going onto Grenada. Our original trip to Grenada being cancelled due to Covid back in August 2021 (my still recovering from my bout and at that time being totally unaware of how badly ‘Mrs’ The Private Traveller would experience it after me), we rebooked Grenada via Miami to still fly Virgin Atlantic - the same flights direct from London Heathrow to Grenada in Upper Class had trebled in cost! Having been to Miami before a couple of times (en route to and from Costa Rica for our honeymoon many years ago when there were no direct flights from the UK) we opted to do something different and to visit Key West, the furthest of the Florida Keys islands and the most southerly tip of the US.
With Key West not having any of our usual ‘go-to’ properties like Leading Hotels of the World, Virtuoso etc. I soon spotted the Marquesa and on further investigation decided that this would be the place for us. The choice of accommodations and locale appealed, as did realising that the newer Marquesa 4-1-4 building had the premier suites which seemed to give us the sort of accommodation that we were looking for.
In this review of the Marquesa Hotel, I’ll detail our experience of the location, local activities, the best restaurants in town and of course, the accommodation and facilities at the hotel itself. Read below to find out everything you need to know before your next trip to Florida.
One of the swimming pools at the Marquesa Hotel
Fast Facts for The Marquesa Hotel in Florida:
Address - 600 Fleming Street, Key West Florida, 33040
TripAdvisor ranking - #10/54 (Key West)
Contact - info@marquesa.com
Nearest airport - Key West International (EWY) - 5.8 km or 3.6 miles (11 min drive) or Miami International (MIA) - 256 km or 159 mile (3.5hr drive)
Opened - 1986
Number of rooms / suites - 44
Number of floors - 3
Bars - None
Restaurants - 1 (Cafe Marquesa)
Wellbeing - 3 pools across two locations, many spas available nearby
Visited - April 2023
The entrance to the 4-1-4 Marquesa building
Hotel Accommodation: Convenient & Comfy
With only 44 rooms and suites across 2 different buildings, this was a really good choice for Key West. I had opted for one of their two Premier Suites, located in the newer 4-1-4 Marquesa building, just literally directly across the street from the main hotel building.
Our suite was #31, a good choice being up just a few steps from the pool area, with both front and side terrace, both with outside seating (lounge chairs and dining). There were actually two doors to enter by, one took you into a small entrance hall, the other straight into a living space. Here there was a sofa, comfortable seating and an ottoman, as well as a wet bar with a large drinks fridge, microwave, sink and lots of cupboard space. There were two televisions in the suite, one in this lounge area and another in the very spacious bedroom. The bathroom (shower over soaking tub) was large too, extremely well appointed and supremely clean. There were large bottles of shower gel, hand wash, shampoo, conditioner and body moisturiser, as well as the offer of other toiletries available at reception.
Spacious living room with kitchenette in our suite
There was a huge king size bed, lots of storage throughout including a large walk in closet, and with a morning service the whole suite was kept in perfect order throughout our stay. The wet bar/small kitchenette area was perfect for storing extra drinks, and there was also a selection of miniatures along with Evian water and some snacks. I was a bit surprised that for this standard of hotel there wasn’t any complimentary mineral water provided, but there was an excellent food store just around the corner with a fabulous selection of drinks and snacks (Fausto’s Food Emporium). The only thing that was slightly surprising, considering that they had the most amazing selection of beers, champagnes and wines; that they didn’t haven’t any ‘hard liquor’ like a gin or vodka. Easily sorted, though it was slightly odd buying from a bar, but literally a few doors down from Fausto’s was Rooster, a cocktail bar which also sold spirits. We went to buy some gin to take on a Cruisin’ Tiki sunset cruise (BYOB) but it was cancelled at the last minute because of a weather warning!
“The Marquesa Hotel and Café Marquesa is the finest combination of a boutique hotel and casual restaurant Key West has to offer.”
Facilities & Service at The Marquesa Hotel
Apart from the daily inclusive breakfast and the on-site Cafe Marquesa, there weren’t many facilities nor did there need to be. There were two pools at the main hotel building (and lots of seating around) and another pool at the Marquesa building, where we were staying. The hotel had lots of helpful information like a map of Key West, and on checking in a lot of key landmarks were pointed out, as were good restaurants. There was also a card showing the top 15 things to do in Key West, and the hotel could organise bikes or electric cars/golf buggy hire etc.
Breakfast was good though with a standard self-service buffet being set up daily. There was a choice of teas or coffee, fresh orange juice, and then a separate pastry/croissant table with extra granola or cereal too. The croissants were absolutely delicious, as was the honey which went perfectly with the homemade granola. If you’re a cat fan, you would meet Bob, the rather over-large tabby cat that was want to wander round the main hotel. Very friendly but massively overweight, he looked like a cartoon blown-up cat.
I’ve broken down the key facilities and services and shared my opinion on them below:
Rooms
There was a huge king size bed, lots of storage throughout including a large walk in closet, and with a morning service the whole suite was kept in perfect order throughout our stay. The wet bar/small kitchenette area was perfect for storing extra drinks, and there was also a selection of miniatures along with Evian water and some snacks.
Levels of Comfort
I was a bit surprised that for this standard of hotel there wasn’t any complimentary mineral water provided, but there was an excellent food store just around the corner with a fabulous selection of drinks and snacks (Fausto’s Food Emporium). The only thing that was slightly surprising, considering that they had the most amazing selection of beers, champagnes and wines; that they didn’t haven’t any ‘hard liquor’ like a gin or vodka. Easily sorted, though it was slightly odd buying from a bar, but literally a few doors down from Fausto’s was Rooster, a cocktail bar which also sold spirits. We went to buy some gin to take on a Cruisin’ Tiki sunset cruise (BYOB) but it was cancelled at the last minute because of a weather warning!
Bathroom
The only thing that could have made this better would have been a walk-in shower (my preference), but having the full shower screen over what was a low bath meant it (almost) felt like one. Two sinks are again one of ‘my things’ and there was definitely space for it on the huge vanity unit in the bathroom space. Being connected to both the living space and bathroom was good, it was supremely clean and came with all toiletries and towels that you could need during a stay.
Kitchen
Although having a kitchen area wasn’t a prerequisite, as we didn’t plan on doing any cooking (nor did we during our stay) it was actually super-convenient having this as part of the suite. There was a decent sized fridge with an ice box, albeit there was also a huge automatic ice machine out by the pool, only a few steps away. There was a coffee maker too, which we didn’t actually use either, but the space was very helpful for having drinks in the suite or out on one of two terraces, as we certainly enjoyed a local gin that we’d bought for the cruise that never happened.
Breakfast
The room rate includes a complimentary continental breakfast served in the main hotel, a dedicated room just off the lobby area and next to Cafe Marquesa. Although I’d expected breakfast to be served in the restaurant/cafe itself, this was separate and the restaurant only opened in the evenings. We had intended to eat there, but must say the menu wasn’t the best for vegetarians (though am sure they would have accommodated a request) and with there being so many other great restaurants literally a stone’s throw from the hotel, we ate elsewhere each night of our stay.
Restaurant
Breakfast was good though with a standard self-service buffet being set up daily. There was a choice of teas or coffee, fresh orange juice, and then a separate pastry/croissant table with extra granola or cereal too. The croissants were absolutely delicious, as was the honey which went perfectly with the homemade granola. If you’re a cat fan, you would meet Bob, the rather over-large tabby cat that was want to wander round the main hotel. Very friendly but massively overweight, he looked like a cartoon blown-up cat.
What about the Florida location?
I’d looked at some of the hotels on the waterfront of Key West, but decided they were probably too large and not the standard of what we were looking for, and everything seemed to point towards Duval Street as being the key location.
The Marquesa was rated highly so immediately appealed, as did the fact that it was only one block away from Duval Street and right in the heart of historic Old Town Key West. On reflection, I wouldn’t be so focussed on that again, as there are other great (quieter) areas of Key West, but the location worked very well. It was just about 15 minutes from the airport (easily serviced by Uber and Lyft) to get us to the hotel, and on our return just about 10 minutes with the driver seeming to go a more direct route.
I love a spa, and although the Marquesa didn’t have any spa facilities, there were numerous spas nearby - I tried a couple which were in very close proximity, and with more time there were lots of others that I would have chosen. It seemed like everywhere we wanted to visit was a close walk nearby, so I really would recommend this choice of accommodation for Key West.
Some of the top activities I’d recommend doing in Key West are:
Prana Spa
The Prana Spa was only a short walk from the Marquesa Hotel, and I had done my research online beforehand to book some treatments. It was a small cottage style property, but well maintained and very clean, my treatment was done upstairs in an attic style treatment room with lots of space and very well appointed. Good massage therapist and a pleasant experience. One thing I did note however, that when doing the online booking, this had to be during opening hours of the web portal.
Ocean Wellness Spa & Salon
Looking for more treatments while we were in Key West, and wanting to try a different experience to the Prana Spa, I searched online and also found that the Ocean Wellness Spa & Salon was nearby and had some appointments. This was definitely more professional than Prana, with great treatment choices and the therapist was excellent.
Electric vehicle hire
As soon as we landed, it was clear that there were so many golf carts/buggies and mini electric vehicles on the road. We decided one day to hire one on a day so that we could see a bit more of Key West and it was so easy. The pick up at Hydro Thunder was very simple, having arranged everything online the day before, and after a few minutes from the hire location being shown how it worked, we were off exploring.
Sunset Tiki Cruise BYOB
From landing on the short flight down from Miami to Key West International Airport, I immediately spotted what looked unusual in the water, and these were the circular Tiki cruise ‘platforms’. When we were down at the harbour one day, I spotted them when we were having lunch and thought it looked like fun. I immediately went online to book, and was even more interested when I realised that you could hire them privately, rather than just having places (a maximum of 6 people on the one we looked at). Because there wasn’t a full private hire available for the next day, Sunday, I booked the Monday when obviously there was one time without anyone having already booked. We booked through Cruisin’ Tikis Key West.
Ironically, the weather seemed amazing on the Sunday night, and there was nothing (even during the day) on Monday to indicate that night would be any different. Getting the text to cancel was disappointing however, but we’ll do something similar if we ever go back, or find this elsewhere I’m sure. If you know of anywhere, please let me know!
Audubon House Museum & Tropical Gardens
The Audubon House Museum & Tropical Gardens was the second place we went to visit when we had the electric vehicle, and the timing was good in that we were the only couple there at times. We got a private tour of the original house, and it was lovely to walk around the tropical gardens, visit the on-site museum store and adjacent gallery. Open daily from 9:30am to 5pm.
Hemingway Home Museum
Even although my sense of smell has not fully returned since Covid, the awareness of cats everywhere in this house was! That said, it was an amazing house and we loved reading about the history of it. You could have an organised tour inside (various times) of Hemingway Home Museum or choose to just wander around at leisure. We just opted to do it in our own time, which I think was better for getting photographs without a big group in the way.
Mallory Square & Sunset Celebration
I must say Mallory Square & the Sunset Celebration wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be, albeit it was a nice place to walk around down at the water and indeed (depending on the weather) you could get a great sunset view. The night we were meant to do the Tiki cruise, we went instead to the Sunset Pier bar at the Ocean Key Resort & Spa - it does get busy and the drinks are expensive, but such a great place to relax and watch the sunset, albeit it was quite windy and the water choppy. Although we hadn’t thought the weather was in any way bad when the cruise was cancelled, seeing the water up close, it wouldn’t have been a good idea being on a very flat bottomed open-sided craft!
Fort Zacchary Taylor Historic Park
This was our second last stop on our day out in the electric vehicle, and somewhere we had lunch. Fort Zacchary Taylor Historic Park wasn’t spectacular, but there was a beachfront cafe serving decent food with an outside seated area. From here we then went onto the southernmost tip of the island, and the USA, the nearest point of land then being Cuba.
Food and Drink in Key West
The room rate includes a complimentary continental breakfast served in the main hotel, a dedicated room just off the lobby area and next to Cafe Marquesa. Although I’d expected breakfast to be served in the restaurant/cafe itself, this was separate and the restaurant only opened in the evenings. We had intended to eat there, but must say the menu wasn’t the best for vegetarians (though am sure they would have accommodated a request) and with there being so many other great restaurants literally a stone’s throw from the hotel, we ate elsewhere each night of our stay.
Some of our favourite restaurants and cafes we encountered over the course of our stay in Key West, Florida were:
Café Marquesa
As I said above, we didn’t eat at the Café Marquesa on site, one of the reasons being that I’d planned elsewhere thinking we would eat breakfast here each morning. As it was though, breakfast is actually served in the hotel itself, not the restaurant. It’s in a great location, as is the hotel (two parts of it) and looked like a really popular venue and rated highly on TripAdvisor.
Sunny Eggs
We went a couple of times to Sunny Eggs, a nice local cafe with great menu options and yes, there are more things than just eggs. Literally a stone's throw away from the Marquesa, nicely designed and executed, good coffees and juices too.
Mangoes Key West
In a prime location on Duval Street, Mangoes Key West was the first restaurant we visited for a quick bite to eat on the day we arrived in Key West. It depends what you’re looking for from Key West, if it’s party central then this is the location for you, but for us it was a nice restaurant near to the hotel and it served us well that night. Good food, drinks and service.
Antonia’s Key West
This was a restaurant I’d booked well in advance to secure a spot during our stay, and it didn’t disappoint. Although in a similar area (party central) to Mangoes, Antonia’s Key West is a level above with a much more sedate and traditional restaurant feel. Really excellent food, drinks choice and exemplary service.
A&B Lobster House
I’d thought this was where the hotel had indicated would be great for a sunset view, but we must have got this lost in translation as it’s actually not sunset facing at all. Not to worry though, the A&B Lobster House was a great restaurant and nice to sit on the covered balcony overlooking one of the marinas. There are two restaurants, one above the other, and a bar at the rear. Despite no sunset, it was still a really pleasant evening.
Sarabeth’s
I’d passed Sarabeth’s a couple of times on my way to the local spas and thought it looked great, so we went for lunch one day. It’s unusual in that it’s very much a breakfast/lunch/brunch place only (open 8-2 daily, not in the evening) but it was excellent. There were seated options inside or outside on the covered sidewalk area. Fabulous food, good service and great drinks.
Blue Heaven Key West
On the night of the missed cruise, we had thought we would just pick up some snacky food afterwards, but with having more time we then changed to go out and find a restaurant. There had been one we passed which we really liked the look of, but for the life of us where we were out and about we couldn’t find again where it was. Passing the entrance to Blue Heaven by chance, when we were at the point, was just pure luck and we decided to go in regardless of whether it was rated on TripAdvisor or not. In fact, it was excellent and a really nice last meal in Key West - felt so unique having the large walled garden, and it really was quite an eclectic design. Definitely one to visit if you got the chance.
Highlights of our stay
There were so many highlights of our stay at The Marquesa Key West but here are just a few of the key points, which I hope you find a useful summary.
Location - perfect to be able to walk to lots of locations, not least Duval Street (for us not the biggest highlight), Mallory Square, etc.
The suite space - loved having lots of light from both front and side balconies, and so exceptionally clean.
Although we hadn’t specifically been looking to book a suite with a kitchen area, it was exceptionally handy having it.
So many interesting areas in Key West, but easy to get around and all well serviced by Uber.
Breakfast - so good to just have a very short walk across the street for the complimentary selection each day.
Booking had been easy and we had had to move the dates a few times to tie in with changing plans. We had originally planned to stop a night on the way down through the Keys, but decided to fly instead and spend an extra night in Key West itself.
Areas for improvement
Wherever we stay, I do always like to look on the positives on any property we stay in, and airlines we fly with etc. but sometimes you can’t help but notice things that (for me, but I realise this is always personal) might have made for a better stay. A sister of a friend always recollects their validation of a comment of mine in a very early blog about hotels using fabric softener in towels (a pet hate as it makes them appear soft but absorbency becomes rubbish).
Everything was exceptionally clean, the only thing that could have been improved on would have been for the bathroom ceiling vent to have been vacuumed (there was quite an accumulation of dirt here).
Providing some complimentary mineral water would have been a nice touch, and in keeping with the standard of accommodation offered. There was Evian available at a cost.
There really isn’t anything else I can add here, it was a good stay and we really enjoyed our time here.
Would I stay here again?
Yes definitely - great accommodation and a great central location. Key West, as much as I wanted to visit once, probably isn’t somewhere I would look to revisit, as much as I did enjoy our stay there.
Sunset view from Sunset Key Bar
My final thoughts on The Marquesa Hotel
Have you stayed at The Marquesa Hotel before? I’d love to hear your own thoughts and opinions on it as well as your impression of Key West as a holiday destination/
Comment below to share your thoughts and opinions.
Let me know which hotel I should review next!
