Secluded relaxing resort on a grassy water area with on-site market, restaurant, pool and rooftop…read morebars. 3.75 stars Highlights - Secluded area: very chill and relaxing - Nice staff: especially Jeff the bartender - Market was fantastic assortment of quality items - Grass hut pool bar: large covered area with some fun games spread around (connect 4, string hook, cornhole, ring toss, etc). - Waterfront with beach chairs on little sandy areas, sitting hammocks, and a pier. 2 pools-- one for adults - Aqua cabana: cool option to rent to float on the water for a while. Has a table and is covered. $199 for the day including bucket of beer/seltzers or a bottle of rose. - Basic kayaks and paddle boards included and other activities offered like kite surfing. - Restaurant and rooftop bar on site were great and convenient - Had a family 3 bedroom unit with kitchen which was nice. - Not so crowded when we were there mid-April Midlights: - Tide changes made it harder to do water sports since had to plan around low tide times. - Beds and sheets weren't the most comfortable - Day without Jeff the drinks were not great by the pool. - Adult section is more recently renovated than the family side. - Adult pool actually more crowded and set back in shade. Lowlights - Restaurant and rooftop bar closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays - Water ground is sludgey and not fun to walk on. Also sometimes an unpleasant odor. - Door to our main balcony was broken after our first night so for several days we couldn't go out there. Bummer cause was the main place we planned to hang out. And hub missed part of our aquacabana day waiting for someone to come up since his suit was out there. - No service for rooms while we were here 3 nights

Easily one of the biggest hidden gems on Marathon Key ... literally hidden because aside from the…read morenon-descript sign on the highway, the dense tropical foliage hides the place! Get past that and you find a first-class resort, dense beautiful tropical gardens, great staff, all the perks one wants in a Keys resort... pool, bar, water sports, super nice/clean rooms, plenty of parking! Mia helped us check in and gave us the property tour, did a great job... thanks Mia. Complimentary prosecco upon check-in! Nice little gift shop at the office. The resident cat Wilma will follow you around, so be aware, she'll join you for bed! Family and adults sides to the resort, which is nice. Only had one night this time around, but we'll be back for sure! Highly recommend!

Do not stay in villa 1. There is a sea turtle rescue next door and they have loudspeaker sessions…read moreeveryday. You will learn everything about turtles. Resort was nice. Food from tiki bar was average. Lunch for family of 4 was 150, dinner was 300. They allow dogs, so dog poop on beach was a thing. Gym was very small. Parking was tight also.

Gorgeous scenery, sunsets…read more Accommodations were lovely. Had a couple issues with room, staff resolved early on and quickly, but felt like for the insane $ we paid, have never done this kind of $ before, coffee maker should work, filtered water should work, things should not be left in shower.... We had room next to turtle rehab, could hear them talking on microphone every day, not horrible but ya know... seemed odd the left of our room outside was storage for house repairs, not a pretty view to the left but overall, nice experience, overpriced for sure, but it's the keys and vacation. Lots to do which was great! Key skis were great too, pools amazing! Weather was a mix. There were a couple days although the wk after Labor Day, weather was amazing, felt like for a wkend when it was busier, tiki bar should have been open earlier and longer, plenty of business. We were always looking for its staff. Bar tending staff wasn't impressive, didn't act like they remembered us, just kind of guys in 30's, good drinks but... eh Will prob be back.

We loved this resort! The staff were all very friendly and accommodating. Chrissy was a server in…read morethe pool area was incredible. So nice and had great recommendations. Try the crème brûlée oatmeal, yum! Clean accommodations, great food, boat rental on property for snorkeling and sunset cruise. Only 50 minutes to Key West. We will be back!

Great hotel! Rooms are spacious and super clean! Great helpful staff. Prime location…read more Pool area is amazing with great views! Breakfast was excellent with lots of good choices.

Great Stay With Some Service & Logistics Gaps…read more Overall, we had a genuinely great experience as first-time visitors traveling without kids but with service animals. The property shines in many areas, especially if you're looking for a relaxing resort atmosphere with beautiful water views, pet-friendly accommodations, and a fun, laid-back vibe. That said, there were a few frustrating misses that held this back from being a 5-star stay. THE GOOD * Beautiful beach & lagoon area - Easily one of the highlights of the property. Relaxing, scenic, and fun overall. * Salt + Ash is a must - Exceptional food and one of the best dining experiences on property. The wine selection was top-notch and the beef tenderloin was outstanding. Easily our favorite restaurant. * Incredible staff throughout the resort - Bell staff, valet, oceanfront servers, housekeeping crew, and pool staff were consistently kind, personable, and welcoming. * Staff who go above and beyond - Huge shoutout to Joshua, who helped us secure chairs near the adult pool, and Danielle, who took time to chat, swap stories, and made us feel genuinely welcome. Hospitality like that sticks with you. * Captain's Suite is worth the upgrade - Strongly recommend spending the extra money if budget allows. The added space made the trip: dining area, living room, fridge, two toilets, large balcony, and beautiful water views overlooking the pool and lagoon. It elevated the experience tremendously. * Extremely pet & service animal friendly - This place deserves serious praise here. Few resorts feel this comfortable and accommodating for travelers with animals. Staff were respectful, welcoming, and there were no awkward restrictions or friction. If you travel with pets or service animals, this property stands out. * Tiki Grill - Great atmosphere for drinks and relaxing. Perfect for unwinding poolside. * 20% off dining on property helped offset costs - Appreciated perk considering resort pricing. THE NOT-SO-GOOD * Front desk communication & housekeeping logistics need work - This was our biggest frustration. We stayed in a Captain's Suite and requested both a room cleaning and balcony cleaning (bird droppings had accumulated on the balcony) around 10 AM. The front desk wrote down our room number and assured us it would be taken care of. When we returned around 3:30 PM, neither had been done. By after 4:30 PM, the room had finally been cleaned, but the balcony still hadn't been addressed. When you pay extra for a premium room and oceanfront balcony experience, this feels disappointing. There also seems to be a mild pigeon issue, and balcony maintenance should really be part of a regular checklist. Some simple bird deterrents or more proactive cleaning would go a long way. * Concierge/text support didn't materialize - We were told we'd receive a concierge-style welcome text shortly after check-in for support/questions. Unfortunately, we never received it. To make matters worse, the room phones didn't work, meaning concerns had to be addressed in person while waiting in the front desk line. * Food quality was inconsistent - Salt + Ash was phenomenal, but not every dining experience matched that standard. Tiki Grill: Great drinks and atmosphere, but the food was forgettable, under-seasoned, and not something we'd order again. Fine in a pinch. Angler & Ale: Beautiful waterfront views and exceptional staff, but the food leaned heavily fried and felt more like average bar food than resort dining. Fish and chips were disappointing. Oddly enough, the banana split ended up redeeming the meal. * Convenience store prices were shocking - Convenient? Yes. Affordable? Not even close. A few sodas and snacks escalated to $60+ surprisingly fast. I expected a slightly easier option versus restaurant pricing, but the markup felt extreme. * Parking costs add up - Valet runs about $40/day and self-parking is roughly half, but expect around a 10-minute walk with luggage, making valet feel almost mandatory. FINAL THOUGHTS Despite some communication breakdowns and uneven food experiences, we truly enjoyed our stay. The Captain's Suite, peaceful balcony views, fire pit at night, lagoon, beach access, pickleball, and pet-friendly atmosphere made for memorable moments. My advice: upgrade to the Captain's Suite, eat at Salt + Ash (seriously, get the beef tenderloin), enjoy the tiki drinks, walk the grounds, soak in the sun, and be selective about food choices elsewhere. Use the convenience store sparingly. Fix the housekeeping/communication gaps, improve how guests can raise concerns without standing in line, and clean those balconies consistently--and this place could easily become a 5-star destination.

We recently stayed at Hawk's Cay and had nothing short of an awful experience from start to finish…read more I was so incredibly excited to stay here, as I've heard incredible things about the resort. I can confidently say I would never stay here again after our visit. We arrived about 30 minutes before checkin time (around 3:30pm) and were told our room was not ready yet. No problem. Our baby was due for a nap so I took him around the beautiful property to sightsee. At 4:05pm they called me to tell me our room was ready. We went upstairs and I was about to put him down for a nap, but I realized we were in a double queen when we had booked a resort king. Also, there was no pack 'n play set up as I had requested in our reservation. With a now crying baby in my arms, I called the front desk and let them know they had put us in the wrong room. The woman told me to come down to the lobby and she would meet me there to bring us to the last remaining king. Why weren't we put there in the first place? We went down to the lobby and waited about 20 minutes before asking to speak to a supervisor. The woman told me the original person coming to meet me was on her way. I expressed my concerns to her while she took me to the new room and she apologized politely, but after arriving in our new room (again with no pack 'n play set up), the entire checkin process took an hour and a half. My now overly tired and incredibly cranky baby was crying as I tried to get him down for a nap in our new room. We were interrupted by the woman coming back with our keys, then 10 minutes later a man knocked on our door with a folded up pack 'n play and asked, "You know how to set this up, right?" Now on the verge of tears, I asked him to please set it up for me. He cranked it open and told me there were "linens to put in the bottom for the baby." When I inspected it, it looked broken and rickety on the bottom with no padding. Linens are a serious SIDS risk for babies, so I'm not sure why such a nice resort couldn't provide us with a safe, non-broken crib. We did not end up using it. That evening when we were getting ready for dinner, there was an ironing board with no iron in the room. We called and they brought one relatively promptly. The air conditioning must have had an issue because it could not have possibly been any louder. On top of everything that had made our evening so stressful, the alarm in our room went off at 5:45am, waking the baby and myself up an hour earlier than normal. This threw off our entire next day as well. The resort does not provide "do not disturb" tags inside your room, so during his first nap of the day housekeepiAng knocked loudly and barged into our room! I tried to speak to a supervisor and all I got was an insincere, unconvincing apology. What was supposed to be a relaxing stay at one of the most highly-regarded resorts in the Keys was the most stressful (actually, the only stressful) experience I have ever had in the Keys. To have spent over $400 on a room and had such a disappointing stay was unacceptable. Do not recommend.

This was our first time staying at this resort…read more The good: - there are 6 pools, one big one and five small ones. We didn't have an issue finding seats at at least one of the pools and they were salt water which was great! The adult pool was difficult to get a seat at times. - the beach area is nice but too shallow for adult swimming, would be great for kids. Resort is super kid friendly, which may be good or bad depending on what you're looking for. They had tons of activities for kids each day. - overall for being resort food the food wasn't bad and the servers were all friendly, although service was pretty slow. - gorgeous location and overall resort. - rooms were spacious and loved the lanai. It was really nice to have two bathrooms. - didn't feel super crowded. - we had a car but didn't feel the need to leave much, so you could probably be fine here without a car at all. The bad (normally I wouldn't have this many but at almost $1000 a night cash rate I'm more picky) - No food service at any pools but the big one so you have to walk over to the beach bar if you want drinks at any of the smaller pools. - Housekeeping never came during our stay, we were out and about until 3pm or so each day and they never came by during the 8 hours we were gone so we ended up just putting up the dnd sign when we got home as we were reading to shower etc at that point. - The fees - almost $90 a day in parking and resort fees. It seems at this price point you could include parking. The only value I saw from the resort fee was water bottles which is kinda bare minimum to provide in my opinion. When asking about the resort fee we were told it covers the pools and towels and waters. At the rate you pay per night, seems excessive. - We had a late night flight and asked if we could use showers to change after we checked out. We've done this at many other resorts before no issue. We were informed it would be $31 each to be able to use the spa showers. Every other resort I've been to either has a shower at the gym/pool bathrooms you can use for free (including both other resorts we stayed on our keys trip) or lets you use the spa changing room if you arrange it for free. Overall we enjoyed our stay and the resort. We paid on points but if I was paying what is listed as the cash rate, the bad would have been much more at the forefront for me.

We booked Isla Bella staying four nights after three nights at the Opal in Key West. If I could get…read moreout of my reservation and book Glunz Resort I would switch. Upon arrival they inform you that the property is no smoking anywhere on the property. There was no mention of this when I booked it. The Opal in Key West does not allow smoking on your balcony or at the pool and restaurant. I have no problem with that. However, you can walk a very short distance off the property to smoke. At Isla Bella no smoking anywhere on the property entails a half mile walk off the property, hello I am in Florida, not California. The last time I checked, smoking cigarettes is still legal in Florida. There should be a smoking area somewhere away from non-smokers! I have stayed at Glunz Resort on Key Colony the last three years, but I thought I would try something new this year. I am NEVER coming back to Isla Bella in Marathon "California". Anyone looking to book in Marathon should consider Glunz Beach Resort. It is more friendly, it has less restrictive rules, better view and hot tubs; and it has a fun bar next door (Havana Jacks). It also has better amenities in the room, and it is less expensive. On a positive note, the food at their restaurant is probably among the top five restaurants in Marathon and the staff is very friendly. The management needs to update their booking on their website to make it clear and honest that they have an insanely restrictive policy about smoking.

6/2023- Great family vacation! The hotel is so quite and relaxing. The beach was beautiful. My…read morehusband enjoyed standing in the water and flying his kite, and fishing with daughter. My son and I relaxed beachside and floated in the pool.

This is one of those cases where you just want the place to be better. The grounds are well-kept,…read moreincluding the pool, gardens and small beach. Staff is helpful. The units, though, are dismal. The furniture, carpeting and curtains are old and dingy, with dark green carpeting and burgundy curtains and furniture. Because of visibility from one unit into the others, you feel compelled to keep the curtains drawn for privacy, which makes rooms feel very dark. The units have a unique configuration. You walk upstairs to the kitchen and wrap-around porch level, then upstairs again via a spiral staircase to bedrooms, bathrooms and the sitting area. This was not a problem for us, but the group next door included a woman who'd just had foot surgery and she was struggling getting in and out of the unit. You will also need to be able to carry your suitcase up two flights of stairs. Our unit had an updated kitchen, but bathrooms really need updating as well. They are tiny and sad, with shelving and cabinets made of particle board. Location is fine, though you have to drive down a rather industrial road to get to the property. But that hodgepodge seems kind of indicative of the Keys.

Where to begin! The check in was smooth and the desk attendant very friendly. The room was very…read moreclean and so comfortable. The resort has two pools overlooking the ocean. Unfortunately, it was too cold for us to swim because of a very unusual cold front the keys haven't experienced in 15 years. The pools are heated, but we found the hot tub more enjoyable. The beach is private and beautiful. Very well maintained and rocks picked up every day. The restaurant on site was very convenient and live music played daily. They even have a grill with utensils that we utilized. I can't say enough good things about this resort. We absolutely loved it and had a wonderful time. I hope someday to be able to visit again!

MeliZa with a Z is amazing! She is the nicest person I have met at a resort to date she deserves a…read more10 star she even told me about an aloe plant outside the resort for my sunburn.

Loved this resort! Best part is you have access to 2. Both…read morehave pools with bar and ocean views. Music never stops and neither does the relaxing fun. Check in was easy (they even got us in early). Rooms were nice, sheets were clean, room was stocked and cool. Fridge in every room and all toiletries available. We jumped from pool to pool and when needed relaxation went over to the private beach area. The weather was sunny and windy. It was the perfect combination of a nap on there numerous provided hammocks. There's always some festivity going on to choose from but we went our own route. Happy hour is available even on the weekends and make sure to grab some bites. There are a couple of fast food places around just in case and local restaurants but all you really need is here at the resort. Our days were filled with ocean breezes, cold cocktails, naps by the sea, and the perfect sunsets. Also available were spa services and gym. Take advantage of it all!

General - We came here for our 2026 winter vacation. We were looking for sun and sand and found it…read morein Marathon, Florida! Location - This hotel is located right in the middle of Marathon in the Florida Keys. Marathon is a fairly large city when looking at the keys and this hotel is right in the middle of everything this island has to offer. You are close to many different restaurants, a Publix, famous 7-Mile Bridge and the one of the best beaches in the Keys, Sombrero Beach. Rooms & Building - Rooms are all suites and spacious. They reminded me of what you would find normally at an Embassy Suites. The style and theme was modern, nautical which fit the surrounding area. The room had a fridge and microwave and a small living area. The bathroom had a spacious rainfall shower and large vanity with plenty of room to spare. Amenities - The hotel has two outdoor pools onsite. The pools are heated and stayed comfortable throughout our stay. The site also offers a small butterfly garden, green space with firepits and hammocks, and beautiful marina views (and sunsets). The property grounds are well maintained and beautiful. Food - Breakfast is not included in your stay but there is a restaurant and coffee shop onsite. The coffee shop serves Cuban-style coffee which was unique and very good. The breakfast sandwiches at the coffee shop were also pretty good. We didn't eat at the restaurant but the food menu looked interesting. Vibe - Easy going staff and customers. No complaints. Reality vs. Online - Pictures that I saw on their website and online matched the quality and condition of the hotel and rooms in-person. No surprises. Price & Final Verdict - If you are looking for a luxurious stay while in the Florida Keys, Faro Blanco offers a good mix of luxury and hotel-styled amenities. One neat perk - if you are a Diamond member, you can use the amenities at their sister resort next door (infinity pool, hot tub, and man-made beach). Prices tend to fall into the $300's+ for a night, so this place might not be in everyone's price range or interest.

I very much enjoyed my 3-night stay at this hotel…read more Compared to other Hampton Inns I have stayed at, this one had the most spacious room. It even had a wet bar with an extra sink and an outdoor patio area with a couple of chairs and a small table. There was also a larger-than-average fridge, microwave, and safe. Possibly my favorite thing about Hampton Inns is the included breakfast. It's so convenient to have a wide selection of foods available to start your day. There's always some meat (typically sausage patties or bacon), eggs (typically scrambled or frittatas), and breakfast potatoes; oatmeal, yogurt, and some toppings; cereal (frosted flakes, cheerios, and I forget the last one) and milk; bagels, bread, and toppings (cream cheese, butter, jam, etc.); fruit (typically bananas and apples); waffle batters (vanilla and a rotating flavor like blueberry or banana) and an iron; juice (typically OJ and apple or POG); and I'm probably missing other things. There is ice, hot and cold water, tea, and coffee available 24/7. Other amenities include a pool, tiki bar that serves drinks and food in the pool area, room service, a decent gym, and a little dock where iguanas like to hang out throughout the day. Service was excellent. Parking is $10/night with in and out privileges and there are plenty of stalls. And because of the layout of the hotel which only has 2 levels of rooms, you may be able to park right outside your room's patio door.

The hotel is amazing clean, decorated beautifully. Staff is so friendly. Breakfast has many items…read moreto choose from, coffee delicious Only improvement needed are the lounge chairs around the pool

We stayed at this resort while exploring all the way down to Key West, and it was very convenient…read more It's a small, one-level property, which we liked. The rooms were spacious, clean, and reasonably priced. There's a small area for sunbathing, but it's not really suitable for swimming. The location is great--close to Walgreens and several restaurants. The only downside was that the sign was hard to see when driving back at night, and the entrance is a narrow driveway that fits only one car at a time. Overall, a good and comfortable stay.

Great motel with lots of stuff to do if you have kids. Clean rooms and well appointed. Bigger…read moretowels would be a bonus. On Route 1, so pretty much everything in Marathon is a 5 min drive