does such a thing exist - especially in key west - not doing too bad in the other areas. Gwen

I thought we had a thread about that a couple of months ago here in Budget Travel, though it may have only been for hostels.

Since you are not geting any help here, I'll move the thread to the Florida forum, maybe someone there will help.

There is a place right off Duval called Southern Cross Hotel that's fairly reasonable, but it's been years since I stayed there. My last time in Key West about a year ago I was going to stay at the IAH Hostel, but after I paid for it a women saw me and asked if I wanted to rent a room at her place instead.

Didn't get my money back from the hostel even though I haven't even put my things inside yet, but the private room was so much better than the 8 or 10 person shared room that I just let it go.

I have also stayed in some of the mom and pop motels up to 70 miles outside of Key West, and just drove in for the day because it was much cheaper than accomodations there.

EmailKid

Not key west, but you can rent 2 bedroom cabins at Bahia Honda State Park for $136/nt. Big Pine Key is 30 miles north of Key West, about a 40 minute drive. check out the photos, the park is beautiful.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/bahiahonda/default.cfm

I Pricelined a 1* at $41 in KW itself (a block from Duval St, toward south end). Old, damp motel affiliated with a more expensive place nearby. The real jaw-dropper was that the 1* place charged at $10/night mandatory "resort fee," making the real total $51+ taxes +junk. At the time the Comfort Inn and another place on the other end of the island (near the bridge) were going for $55+. Of course, this is midweek if no events happening.

Generally, though, it's hard to get deals, though you often get a dollop of attitude thrown in for free. I remember back around 1987 the area still had some shabby-alternative cred, but today it's all "gingerbreaded" (i.e. renovated to give curb appeal, but in a very commercial way), and the cruise ship passengers will overwhelm the place. No wonder many of the locals are grouchy. And David Allan Coe points out that Jimmy Buffett sure don't live there anymore.

good deals are very hard to find in KW. The parks are a good idea if you are not looking to experience Key West's nightlife - which i totally recommend. Not a good idea to drive back late at night with drinks, it gets very dark and lots of cops around.

if you can afford it, pay a little more and stay in one of the b&b. Like someone said, most of them are very well kept and have been remodeled. you cannot tell from the outside, but some have amazing backyards, with pools, bars, etc...