On day three of our trip to Florida we were back with our private concierge to The Keys, driving down to the tip with The Keys Shuttle. Once again it was a just us and we got more interesting facts covering the history and what to do in The Keys. For that recap check out my Day 2 travel post.
Our final destination was The Perry Hotel, which was not in the heart of downtown Key West, where all the attractions and most of the food options were. Instead, The Perry is located on Stock Key. This is the island just before it and a 15 minute drive to downtown Keys. Luckily and conveniently the hotel has its own shuttle to transport hotel guests back and froth on the hour from the hotel to downtown, and on the every half hour from the designated stop downtown back to the hotel. Service is every 30 minutes for both on the weekends and after 4pm. This was very helpful without a vehicle and the stop very central if you are going to walk your way around the town, like we did.
The hotel lobby had a beach home feel with dark wood and leather furnishings. Overhead a series of metal pulleys and rope that mimicked the mast of ships.
Our second floor room was an easy walk up stairs. It had a similar feel with hard wood floors, a soft leather head board, and a propellor in place of the ceiling fan. There was a wooden desk that stretched out to become a credenza with drawers and a stand for the television.
We had two queen sized beds, and once again designated one for lounging on while in our street clothes and the other to sleep overnight in, after a shower. Plenty of starchy pillows and fluffy sheet. I slept well, but my partner had two nights of intermittent sleep here.
The washroom was given an industrial feel with a dark wood vanity and metal tube lights. I loved the little touches they made folding the ends of the toilet paper and tissue into flowers, and the smaller towels into fans.
Blue tile underfoot that followed into the walk-in shower. They had a complimentary pump of Grown Alchemist shampoo & conditioner adhered to the wall, and a bottle of their own branded Key West Aloe body wash to use on the ledge below it.
Our room faced Shrimp Road with a private balcony view of the road and plenty of green around it. This was a quiet space compared to our previous room overlooking the hotel pool area and marina.
We would spent the first night here storm watching, as lightening flickered, thunder sounded, and the water followed 30 minutes after.
It was quite the experience to watch the storm brew with trees whipped from the wind and the building’s siding being pelleted on. Eventually the storm moved on and we were left with over 20 mosquito bites from our time outdoors at night.
We had not gotten any bites from our first two nights and honestly did not expect to get any here. And therefore were not prepared. Luckily The Perry has a mini convenience stop in the lobby. Chips, chocolate, juices, and refrigerated snacks. They even have a pharmacy with hygiene products and bug repellent bracelets that we picked up in hopes that they would deter any more bites. I wore mine religiously as a precaution, and for the feeling that I was at least doing something to ward off any future bites. I would sadly get a couple more with it, but not as much as I would have without it.
Our mosquito journey actually started on their outdoor, marinara-side patio for dinner. The more casual of their two on-property restaurants. Here we actually caught the bugs landing on our faces.
The Salty Oyster Dockside Bar & Grill gave you a view of the harbour and docked yachts. Here, we would order a couple of small plates to share, now apprehensive of resort restaurants, but still wanting to trying local seafood dishes.
We started with a couple of frozen drinks. The Key Lime Colada, was like a piña colada, but less pineapple and more of their name sake fruit. Deep Eddy Lime Vodka and Pina Colada Mix it tasted like a drinkable pie.
The Watermelon Refresher has a similar churned creaminess. Ketel One Botanical Vodka and Watermelon Puree. It was as refreshing as the name promised with the faint notes of my favourite fruit.
I have been seeing them on many menus, so we finally tried some conch fritters served with both a creamy tartare-like sauce and a tangy creole cocktail. I expected whole chunks of sea snail breaded and fried crispy. Instead this was chopped up bits of snail intermingled with breading. They were still tasty as a bar snack, but not something you would order to enjoy snail meat.
I was skeptical of the Yellowfin Tuna Poke Bowl, having plenty in BC to compare it to. However I was surprised and delighted by the amount of sauce and tuna we got in this. More fish than sushi rice and the accompanying Avocado, Cilantro, Kimchi, and Nori Ponzu Sauce. I just would have liked the avocado chopped up as evenly as the tuna, plus more variety of toppings for more chewing mouth interest.
Noticing their menu earlier in the day, when we walked around the hotel taking note of what was available in the neighbourhood, we stopped by Bad Boy Taqueira & Tequila for a couple of burritos to go, should we be hungry later at night. Or in our case, for breakfast the next morning, as we have an in-suite mini fridge and there is a communal microwave in the lobby to heat up our leftovers with.
Fresh and authentic Mexican at affordable prices. We ordered a couple of burritos deeming then easiest to pack and travel with, need be. From $10-14 depending on chosen protein. These were 12 inch flour tortilla with rice, beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, shaved cabbage, and cilantro. My partner went with the skirt steak and I the vegetarian zucchini & squash. With each you had your choice of sauces. I thought the pico de gallo with its fresh tomatoes would go best with the vegetable and ordered the spicy pineapple habanero for the steak. There is also the option for add ons, but they were already so tasty as is.
The hotel is not within walking distance of too much, and there is only a handful of neighbouring businesses to shop and eat at, so when we were on property we spent our time by the pool. There were plenty of lounge chairs, a few hanging hammocks, and even a couple of walled off couch cabanas with pillows for rental.
The on site attendant passed out towels and offered cups of iced water with lemon and lime slices to help cool off to. And the servers from the Salty Oyster would wander in to check in on guests, asking if they wanted any food our drink out by the patio.
I was more enamoured by the chicken and her chicks that were digging a hole to nest in.
We would bob around the pool to cool down and kill time as we waited for our second Uber order of the trip. We had such luck with smaller food truck businesses, that we sought out Jamaican cuisine from Yahman’s Authentic Jamaican Jerk Shack. This we would pick up from the lobby and eat on our room’s balcony table; doing so still wet in our swim suits.
The best way to get a feel for their food is through their combo plate that includes Jerk Chicken, Jerk Pork, and BBQ ribs with rice&beans, cabbage, sweet plantain, and jerk sauce.
Worried that this would not be enough food for two we added on a side of chicken for $8. And to our delight, this was more than 1 leg of chicken. Well worth the price.
All the meat was tasty, dipped into their tangy and savoury spiced jerk sauce. It pulled everything together between the drier chicken, the fattier pork, and the chewy ribs. We just needed more of it.
The cabbage was like a less creamy slaw that added freshness and the rice and beans were the perfect base. My favourite was the plantains as a palate refresher in between bites, you don’t see slices of this starchy sweet fruit often, so I relished it.
We didn’t think to ask for utensils, nor did we want to go through the hotel’s front desk to get a pair, so we went the authentic route with our hands. It certainly added to the experience as I did not grow up with this, nor do I really like soiling my hands.
We also got a couple of their Jamaican Pattys with a special for 2 and the ability to choose which 2 from their choice of 3. However the request didn’t go through and we received two of the conch & shrimp ones instead. The filing is little and doesn’t really flavour the pocket. For me the highlight was the patty crust that reminded me of a harder and denser corn bread. This made for a lovely side to enjoy in between bites.
The rest of our two days spent at the Southernmost point of The Keys would be done exploring, taking in sights and appreciating the views. All of which will be recapped in its own post.
The Perry Hotel & Marina Key West
7001 Shrimp Rd, Key West, FL 33040, United States
+1 (877) 496-8712
perrykeywest.com