It's a lengthy and tiring process getting to, and then gaining admission to the United States these days. That ordeal, coupled with a rather surreal car rental experience at Alamo left us wondering if we shouldn't just have gone to The Med like usual. But those thoughts soon faded away after just half an hour at Tarpon Flats. It really is a wonderfully tranquil, relaxing and beautiful place to stay, and thanks to previous Tripadvisor reviews we had booked a nice long 5 day stay. It turned out to be every bit as good as the write-ups.
Its only a small guest house and coupled with Carol's marvellous welcome we felt just as if we owned the place. The garden is lovely, kept in fine shape by Teresa who also brought our breakfast in the mornings, and the beach and hammock are wonderfully private and restful areas to hang around. We spent a lot of time just sitting outside on the terrace watching the palms wave about in the wind.
There's a small pool just big enough to cool off in, and 2 kayaks and a rowing boat for pottering about on Largo Sound.
Tarpon Flats forms one side of the entrace to a small marina, and boats coming and going add colour and interest. Especially notable is the marine biology education centre on the other side of the marina where school kids come each day for a short classroom session before going out on the water in 7 or 8 10-seater boats. You don't see them again until about 4pm when the return singing songs and cheering. The rest of the time the occasional fishing boat or pleasure boat leaves or returns. None of this activity could be described as loud or unpleasant.
We stayed in Room 11 on the 1st floor (called the ground floor in the UK) and found it really pleasant and comfortable with a combined bedroom, living and dining space. There's a basic kitchen with fridge, hob, microwave and coffee maker. Being Brits we missed having a kettle, though, as you absolutely need one to make tea properly and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The kitchen had adequate utensils for warming up convenience food or take-aways but you would struggle to construct anything more elaborate I think. That's all we needed though.
Breakfasts were selected from a short menu of likely looking ingredients. We had fresh fruit, juice, cereals and yoghurts and Teresa was keen to help us out with special requests where possible. No plain yoghurt though (we found some in Publix, by the way Teresa!).
Key Largo is a good base for exploring the upper keys and the national parks (including The Everglades NP - a must see). Eating out is definitely on the itinerary for most stays, and Key Largo doesn't disappoint. Carol has a list of recommendations, some of which we tried. Hoping to appear accurate rather than snobbish I'd say we had pleasant meals in beautiful surroundings served by friendly people, rather than excellent food in fine style. As usual for the US there was always too much food on our plates.
If you want to stay in the upper keys and can fit your party into studio suites with a king size bed and a couch don't hesitate to stay at Tarpon Flats. Its absolutely superb and the price is reasonable, especially if you are from the UK, given current exchange rates. Thanks to all the previous reviewers who convinced me it was a good choice. They were spot on.
If its very windy, by the way, don't park under the palm trees. Those coconuts weigh a ton!






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