Heron House

Heron House staff needs overhaul

by A TripAdvisor Member

George at the front desk needs a refresher course in hospitality. His attitude was the opposite of what one expects in laid back Key West. Do not stay at The Heron House. There are many, many lovely B&Bs in Key West that are charming and FRIENDLY. Give the Heron House a pass.

Fantastic stay at he Heron House

by A TripAdvisor Member

Just got back from a very pleasant vacation in Key West. My wife and I stayed at two places while down here on vacation. We first were at the Wyndham Reach resort and had a nice time. The room was clean and in decent condition. Overall we thought it was not up to the other Wyndham resorts in which we stayed at other times. Next, we went to The Heron House and we were very impressed right from entering the door. We were greeted by a very nice hotel staff who even offered us a glass of wine after checking in. They gave us a tour of the ammenities and we both fell in love with this place even more. The room was nice with a large clean bathroom with a whirlpool tub (for two). We were told every night between 6-7 pm they served wine and cheese for all the guest. We must say, the selection was very good and fresh. Each morning breakfast was served (for free) to all guest outside in the patio. Everything about the Heron House was fantastic!! The grounds were kept in very good condition and the pool was just perfect. Did I also mention it is located only one block from Duval street and kinda close to Mallory Square. It is a great location, close to everything and very quiet, even at night. If we every get a chance to go back to Key West I will definitely stay at the Heron House.
We also ate at Michaels Restaurant and Conch Republic Seafood Restaurant, both restaurants were very good.

Great gardens

by TripAdvisor Member cosmo1234

We have been staying at the Heron House for three years and have always had a great time. The new fish pond with natural stone wall and small stream was the latest addition...accommodating staff....relaxed atmosphere...pool and wine and cheese really a welcome sight at the end of the day.

Delightful !

by TripAdvisor Member 4pawsFlorida

After planning several trips to Key West over the past twenty years, I finally made it down. All good things happen to those who wait apparently, the Heron House was simply delightful. Accommodation
was spotless, service impecable, all dinner reservations were made in advance for us by their staff and reconfirmed upon arrival. We dined at Cafe Marqueza, Pisces by Cafe de Artists and Michaels, all excellent. The nightly wine and cheese provided before we ventured out for the evening was just the right touch and the very nice continental served daily was fresh and tasty. Plenty of shady areas for those who avoid sun, upper deck just perfect for sun worshippers. Highly reccommend, you won't be dissapointed.

Honeymoon Review

by TripAdvisor Member Ckthomas00

My husband and I stayed at the Heron House for our honeymoon - we stayed in the honeymoon suite upstairs next to the sunbathing deck. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and would recommend it. Here's our opinion:

Location- great location and only one block away from Duvall. Parking can be a hassle, but George suggested a location and we left our car there the entire stay without any problems. Also felt very safe, because it is gated and locked at night.

Check-In- was a breeze and the chilled glass of white wine on arrival was a nice touch.

Room- large in size, but guessing because it was the honeymoon suite. Furnishings were average, but overall - we were very happy with our room. The bathroom was quite large with exposed beams and a ceiling fan.

Pool- perfect temperature and never crowded. Lots of room for lounging and sunbathing in a relaxing atmosphere.

Food- they served complimentary wine and cheese every afternoon, which we loved. Met a great family from England and it was nice to chat with them every afternoon. Breakfast buffet is so/so - probably because we woke up so late and wouln't get down there until 10:00 or so.

Ground- Beautiful!!! The gardens and fish ponds are so pretty and relaxing. And all of the flowers were so bright and vivid around the grounds, that I actually took my camera around just taking pictures of them.

Staff- I can see why some people might think they are rude, but overall- I wasn't at all offended. We told George that we were interested in snorkeling and he booked a day trip for us to the Dry Tortugas - and it was awesome! I highly recommend it!!!

If we go back to Key West, we would definately stay here again. No compliants from us and we had a lovely honeymoon - thanks to the Heron House.

Perfect place for our Honeymoon

by A TripAdvisor Member

If you would love a secluded, quiet private oasis, this is perfect.... Yet, only a block away from the biggest parties south of New Orleans. The complex is beautiful, clean and intimate. Very friendly staff and great guests. We were overjoyed at the friendliness of everyone there. And, then comes the night life. We were able to walk a block and be right in the heart of Key West's PARTY! We watched the sunrise over the Atlantic and sunset over the Gulf. And never had to drive. Wonderful Resort, and wonderful City.

OK, but not great

by TripAdvisor Member DrDebi

Grounds and location were great. Pool and breakfast were good, nice sun decks on top of one building for soaking in the rays.

BUT......room was not up to expectations, especially for the price ($189). Our room was TINY, with a DOUBLE bed. There was barely room to move around the bed. T.V. was very tiny. Bathroom was very small. Two people absolutely couldn't fit in the bathroom at the same time, and I don't mean "comfortably fit", I mean unless one person was standing on the toilet, there was not room for the other to occupy floor space.

Still had a great vacation just because Key West is Key West, but you can really do better. If you must stay here, get specifics about bed size and room size and location before reserving.

Key West & Fantasy Fest

by Tony&Cheri

"No idea what to expect"

We had heard about Fantasy Fest, a huge party held in Key West around the end of October and so we decided to give it a try and celebrate Tony's birthday instead of having our usual Halloween party at home. After reviewing all the reports and looking at photographs we really had no idea what to expect but as usual we went with an open mind and were ready to join in the fun.

We soon found out that that you can party with 70,000 people who are all interested in just having a great time and let everything hang out for seven days or more. We used to go down on Wednesday and stay through Saturday but now we arrive on the Sunday and depart Saturday afternoon before the big parade and the young crazy people who drive down from Miami get too drunk and spoil the fun.

The first time we hit the party scene, an area on Duvall Street which gets enlarged as the weekend gets closer to the whole length of the street on Friday & Saturday we were amazed at all the ladies being body painted or wearing great costumes. We were overdressed that first night and very soon we realized that to enjoy this event we had to join the majority. Something we have been doing for a number of years now but the hardest thing to do is come up with different ideas for costumes and body paint every year.

But you can follow the nightly party theme with Monday being Kinky night at Kelleys, Tuesday, plaid at Capt Tony's, Wednesday - red night, Thursday-Toga party and then it's what ever you want.

"Hurricane moves FF to December"

October 2005 saw a major hurricane hit Florida's west coast and force the cancellation of Fantasy Fest but the organizers could not let a year pass without a party so after many discussions they were able reduce the days and move the event into December, which of course brought out quite a few different Santa's.

After a few years staying out of town we now stay closer to the main area so we were able to walk and not bother with a rental car. Something we certainly advise as driving and parking is a tremendous hassle. The Heron House is our favorite B & B with a wonderful sun deck to relax on and rest up for the nights activities

"Cheri wins 3rd & 1st prize"

Cheri won 3rd prize in the annual "live art body painting painting contest in 2006 and followed that in 2007 with first prize. Pashur, the artist worked on Cheri for over 4 hours this year. Was it worth it, for Pashur yes, he won $1,000. For Cheri, well she had her photograph taken 1,000's of times.