Lighthouse Hotel - Key West Historic Inns

Tiny rooms, the hotel feels a little drab, but awesome location and friendly bar staff. This is the third Kimpton property I’ve stayed at in Key West (Winslow’s and Ella’s) — I think these properties were a great idea and were probably wonderful when they first opened. However, since then, they all feel a little tired and not up to the Kimpton standard. The room: King room was incredibly small, and unbelievably I saw rooms that were even smaller. AC very noisy and runs nonstop (doesn’t bother me, I enjoy the noise to sleep, but others may not.) Room was very clean, comfy bed, but low ceilings and a closet bathroom. The property: mostly well kept, needs some painting and maintenance. The pool is small, but the live music was great. Nice outdoor seating areas and a lovely bar. The location: just one block from Duval and right next to Hemingway House. Perfect location. Walkable to everywhere. It’s the reason to stay here, it’s the reason we stayed here. I’d stay here again — but wish Kimpton would reinvest a little in these properties. The Hemingway suite looks lovely, but pricey.

My husband and I are big Ernest Hemingway fans. I booked a stay at Kimpton Lighthouse because it’s across the street from Hemingway’s House, where he wrote 70% of his works. I had this vision of spending New Year’s weekend reading Hemingway on a private front porch under the palms with a view of where he wrote the book in my hands. So I was willing to pay more than I normally would for that experience. The king suites with a front porch aren’t exactly as advertised. It’s a historic property with three shotgun bungalows and a hotel, and the bungalows are chopped up into rooms. So there are 52 different rooms available, and they can’t provide a picture of every room. We paid $2300 for two nights for a king suite with a front porch, because it has a view of the Hemingway House across the street, or at least that’s the way it’s advertised on the website. But when we got there, we were put in a larger suite in the back. The upstairs deck, which was not a private porch, was the “porch access” that we were paying extra for. However, when we explained that to Laura, she was very quick to get us in a room with front porch access. So it’s not the hotel’s fault or the staff’s fault, it’s the fault of Kimpton’s website. If you’re interested in having a view of Hemingwag’s House from the front porch, just make sure to put that in your special requests box. (I attached a picture of the map, which Kimpton should put on their website, but the private front porches are rooms 1, 3, and 6.) I’d also call them to make sure they got the request. The hotel itself was very nice. I loved the property. Other reviewers mention roosters but I really liked it. There was also an iguana in the palm tree next to our room! I thought that was cool. Ans yes, it might be a little noisy, but that’s because it’s across the street from one of Key West’s biggest attractions. I actually thought it was pretty quiet and private, all things considered. I cannot emphasize enough how accommodating the staff is. Laura is so friendly, and I really loved talking with her. She recommended restaurants for us and booked us reservations on New Year’s Eve! That’s a big deal! She also told us about the best sights to see on the island; she was extremely knowledgable. I would absolutely go back to Kimpton Lighthouse because, due to Laura’s quick thinking, I got my vacation wish of reading Hemingway looking Hemingway’s House under the palms, and it was as magical as I dreamed!