jphripjah

I do want to post a warning here. Be very careful about what type of room you book. I booked a premium room, a suite, and the website says it's modern but the suite wasn't modern at all. I understand that some rooms are better/newer than others but it's really hard to tell from the website what the new/better rooms are.

If I were going back, I'd actually call the hotel before reserving my room and talk to a live person and ask about what the new rooms are and what the old rooms are and get some advice on avoiding booking the "bad" rooms that people complain about, because the "bad" rooms are a real letdown here, much more so than at other Waldorf Astorias.

I did have a look at a room in the "historic Flagler wing" and it was OK, much nicer than my room. My room wasn't historic or charming, just dated.

hyy369

Just came back from Thanksgiving vacation. I was on points/free nights, so only had a basic room, as diamond upgrades were nonexistent here. The building I stayed in was very dated. The staircase was worse than that of my elementary school that I went to more than a decade ago back in Asia. Common areas were better. There were roosters everywhere so you might see some black feather floating in the pool. Other than that, they have one of the better beaches on the island. Most information on the app was wrong. Parking was valet only (the lot across street was also for valet now) and costs $35+7.5%tax. Street parking is available on nearby blocks and I was not sure about security. Diamond continental breakfast buffet was free (instead of the $15 credit mentioned in the app). Normally breakfast was served the ballroom. There was a table in the center that had the free items (juice, breads, scrambled eggs, yogurt, fruit cuts, etc.), and you have to upgrade to take items elsewhere. On Thanksgiving morning, the restaurant was closed, so everyone had full breakfast at the poolside grill (free for Diamonds). Also surprised that bottled waters were not in my room when checked-in as that's not an elite benefit here and everyone should be getting those for the "resort charge." The staff was friendly but had nothing memorable. Stay at the Hyatt Centric if you want a chain hotel that's better and closer to the attractions. Stay here if you want to enjoy the sun on the beach.

JayRich

$35 for valet parking on my goodness. I've stayed for almost 30 years, at a resort right down the street and have parked on the street many times. I would not hesitate to park on the street around the hotel.

Red Raider LV

Just finished up a stay here, and I echo the same sentiment seen in previous posts. There's nothing "Waldorf Astoria" about this hotel other than perhaps the prices.

The elevator wasn't working, so I had to walk up three flights of dirty, dingy, stairs. How is that acceptable at a luxury hotel?

There is not a single amenity in the bathroom that could be considered upscale. There isn't even a rainfall shower head. The bathroom was without exaggeration no different than one would expect to find at a Hampton Inn in a rural part of the USA.

The room features were very basic. The room clock showed the wrong time. The only "upgrade" perhaps was the Nespresso machine. I would describe the room as a typical DoubleTree that was built 20-30 years ago.

There is no elite recognition to speak of here. For a one night stay in low season I was given a basic room facing the parking lot. When requesting a 2PM checkout the associate didn't even ask for my room number, he immediately responded with "that's not available today." The hotel was not sold out.

I paid the $15 surcharge for breakfast and that granted me access to a typical full hotel breakfast buffet. Bacon/Sausage/Omelette station/Juice from concentrate in dispensers/American Style drip coffee.

The pools and the beach area were nice, and if you don't care about the quality of your room then this might not necessarily be a bad place to stay, but do not expect for even one single second that this will be a luxury resort. I would not be the least bit surprised to see this rebranded as a Holiday Inn, a Wyndham, or a DoubleTree at best. There are many better options in Key West.

Dcislander

Any recent experienced here? I thought that some of the rooms were being or had been renovated?

htran88

Will possibly have a staycation here in October, can update with how bad it probably still is

hhoope01

My spouse and I are thinking about heading down to the Keys in late February and work from there for a week (and maybe enjoy the beach and area as we have never made it down to the Keys before.) It is only 63K points/night here (or a little less points at The Reach next door.) I went ahead and grabbed a reservation here, but wondering if staying at The Reach next door would be better? I also noticed the other 3 Hiltons (HGI, Doubletree, HI) are all available for 49K/night as well. From pictures it looks like only the HI might be on the beach, but my wife isn't normally a big HI fan.

Thoughts on which might be best for a working vacation? We would like to be on (or at least very close) to some beaches and my wife likes to have a nice pool to spend a little lounging time at. We will have a car as we will be flying into MIA. Since WN has round trip flights there from DAL for about 5K points (and I have a CP as well.) The $22.40 Security fee will be the most expensive part of flying there for us.

Dcislander

hhoope01 Going in with low expectations... maybe you'll be happily surprised? Curious if you did your stay

hhoope01

I just looked at the most recently Casa Marina TripAdvisor reviews. Not a one of them was positive. The Reach reviews were a bit mixed, but at least there were some recent positive posts. So I have changed my February trip to The Reach instead of the Casa Marina (and saved 35K points for the trip).

TTT103

Having stayed at both properties, I can tell you that I generally prefer the Casa Marina over the Reach. The Reach has a nicer beach, and water access, but I truly enjoy the historic nature of the Casa Marina. I think part of the problem with the negative reviews of the Casa Marina relates to the fact that the property should never have been branded as a Waldorf Astoria. If you recall, the Reach was also branded as a Waldorf property, but they then changed it to a curio collection property. I would postulate that the Casa Marina would receive far better reviews if it was branded appropriately. The Waldorf brand establishes a certain mindset and expectation level from guests. The property just cannot reach those standards.

hhoope01

So lets go with a different approach. Will either have an appreciably better Diamond upgrade chance? It looks like both charge quite a bit for on-site parking. Will either waive parking fees for a Diamond? Of the pool/beach area, which one is better/nicer? Or can we stay at either and use the pools at both? Are the two hotels easy walking distance between each other?

Also, the Casa Marina is 63K points/night where The Reach is 56K points/night. This about a 35K point difference for our stay. Is the Casa Marina that much better?

TTT103

Diamond status isn't what it used to be since you can secure status simply by charging $40K a year to a Surpass card or having the Aspire card, so no, don't expect much of anything in terms of added perks, other than the usual Diamond benefits. We have been upgraded at both resorts on nearly every stay, but don't expect a suite. For example, you may get upgraded at the Casa Marina from one of the rooms in the wing to a room in the historic building.

The Casa Marina beach is much, much, larger; however, water access stinks (rocky). Their swim pier is also still out of commission. Seagrass is an issue at both resorts, so swimming in the ocean may not be the most desirable. We much prefer the pools at the Casa Marina, as well as the grounds. Yes, you can walk between both resorts, but the Reach is a bit closer to Duval Street. We usually either walk into town from either hotel, or sometimes just grab bikes. Most of the time, we walk, as parking in town can be a mess.

With all of that said, temper your expectations, as neither resort is very high end despite the branding. If you are interested in history, the Casa Marina is the way to go, but if you want to save a few points, you can't go wrong with the Reach. If all things were equal, I would definitely pick the Casa Marina over the Reach. You may also want to look at cash rates versus points, as neither hotel is expensive, unless during a special event.

Half of the fun is driving from Miami. I mush prefer the drive versus simply flying into Key West.

The last thing to keep in mind is that Key West is a place to explore--from Hemingways House to the Little White House to the shops and restaurants. Make sure you do get out of the hotel for a bit.

Super Mario

I just got back from a stay at the Reach. It was a very nice resort. The beach was nice, the pool was nice, the room was decent. I've never stayed at the Casa, but I did walk there and inspect the pool/beach area. It seemed far nicer at the Casa. The beach was like 4x bigger. Double pools. I chose the Reach because the reviews on the Casa were brutal. I had a friend stay at the Casa a week prior to me, and he received an oceanfront upgrade. I did not at the Reach. I got a "resort view" that could still see the ocean though. The Reach doesn't have as many oceanfront rooms. The Casa has plenty. There was no avoiding the parking fees. It was nicer having the shorter walk to the Reach from Duval.

enviroian

I'm staying at the Reach later this week over Thanksgiving. Rooms were 53K points a night and I only had 120K so my out of pocket cost was roughly $400 including tax and resort fee (applies fully even if two of my three nights were paid for with points ). I tweeted Honors and they said sorry nothing they can do. Will I have better luck trying to only pay for one night of resort fee upon checkin?

I stayed at the Waldorf 10 years ago and it was nice but like someone else mentioned it was mis-branded.

One other thing...I notice Hertz wants $350 to rent a car for three days. If memory serves 10 years ago when I rented a car at EYW I might have it used it once and otherwise it sat in the lot. I'm a walker and if I need to get somewhere outside Uber or Lyft it will be. Just wanted to see if others that fly in rather than drive down from MIA also forgo getting a rental.

muzthe42nd

You should cancel and rebook as two separate stays. One for two nights entirely on points, avoiding any resort fees, and one for whatever points you have left plus balance. That'd be the way to avoid resort fees. Points and money averages out the cash portion across each of the three nights, which is why resort fee applies.