I made my reservation through Center Court Historic Inn & Cottages (or Key West Vacation Rentals). We booked the Orchid Suite for three nights during late May 2008. Did a late checkin, meaning we picked up the condo keys from the office after they were closed and then went back to the office the next afternoon to pay the balance and 'offically' checkin. Check in/check out process went very smooth.

Location - EXCELLENT. I can't say enough about being on Simonton St. This street paralells Duval so you are within walking distance of EVERYTHING. We walked Duval, to Mallory Square, to the Historic Seaport, to Southern Most Point. All with no problems. Granted, it was HOT as can be, but that is to be expected during this time of the year.

Parking - GREAT. Offstreet parking in a small gravel lot directly behind condo. Safe and convenient.

Condo - PERFECT. It was clean and suited our Key West needs. Husband and I had the bedroom and my step son slept in the living room on the pulled out queen side sofa bed. Small kitchen completly meet our breakfast needs. Choose the top floor unit since in most cases it is quieter (you don't have to listen to anyones foot steps) HUGE shower (although I'm not a shower person, I compromised for a few days and gave up my bath tub). The street noise was minimal.

Only issues - and these really didn't deter our stay in anyway, just worth mentioning since this is a 'review'.

Ceiling fan in bedroom is very out of balance. AC unit in bedroom is a little on the loud side (but cooled the bedroom sufficiently!). Outside light coming in the bedroom windows did annoy me. Seems the condo unit next door, had a hallway light that was constantly on and our bedroom window was across from that hallway. Certainly not Center Courts issue - just noting that I like a very dark bedroom and the light coming in was a small problem for me.

I would highly recommond this condo unit if you are looking for a small, clean, adequate place to rest your head and shower up during your Key West vacation or extended weekend. It meet all of our needs.

I stayed in the Key West Hideaway from 4/3-4/8 with my family, which included my husband, grandma, grandpa, mom, stepdad, and 2 brothers. We absolutely LOVED the place! There is a decent sized pool directly off the back porch with pool tables and chairs, which we all loved. We all went to Key West for my uncle's wedding, and when my uncle, new wife, and her two kids came over to hang out, we all still had plenty of space.

The house was extremely beautiful and clean and housekeeping was on the ball everyday. The location is PERFECT, just a few steps from Duvall Street. The Hemingway House is just a couple of blocks away. There is a CVS on the corner, which we found ourselves patronizing quite often, for water, snacks, etc. I would say the only potentially bad part is the parking, if you have a car. There is no reserved parking for the house, and it is a tight squeeze if you do find a spot. There are two little driveway-ish areas that look like they are designated for the house, but they are not. We had a rental van (since we flew into Ft. Lauderdale and drove from there) and the way we worked out our parking space was kind of funny, actually...There was a random orange cone nearby in the road, so whenever we left we put that in our spot, hoping no one would pull in there. It worked everytime!!

I was only there during the checkout process, and the lady at the desk was very nice. She was very glad that we all loved the house.

Here is where we ate:

Denny's: Half a block away, just your typical Dennys!

Willie T's: Great, fast service, especially since we had a large party! Food was good.

Sloppy Joe's: You gotta get the Sloppy Joe! It is AWESOME! I only tried a bite, but I had the nachos w/ Sloppy Joe on it, and it was surprisingly amazing!

The Mexican Cafe: HUGE burritos, good service, good food

Two Friends Patio: Karaoke was so much fun, food and drinks were great! It did take awhle to get our food, but we had 18 people, so it was understandable. Gotta try the Key Lime Martini!

Blonde Giraffe/Key Lime Pie factory: Not the best Key Lime Pie at all. VERY sour, made my eyes water! I had a bite of the Key Lime Pie at Crabby Dicks and it was much better.

Conch Republic Restaurant and Bar: We had drinks and food here, but we reserved it and had special food for the wedding reception, but it was good. We even saw an extremely drunk lady fall over the edge into the water and barely get saved by about 6 men.

The bakery/cookie place right next to Ripleys: (I can't remember the name, but it has huge cookies in the window display) Chocolate chip cookie was AWESOME!

Margaritaville: We had a great time there late at night, having drinks and watching the band, and they were incredible! We also had lunch there the next day and were really disappointed. I ordered a Cheeseburger in Paradise, but it was pretty awful. The food was cold and their menu is limited. Nothing like the Orlando/Universal Studios Margaritaville. I think that is because it is a Margaritaville 'Cafe', not "Restaurant".

Just a few other notes about Key West...

-If you want to go parasailing, talk to the guys behind the Hyatt at "Almost Heaven" parasailing. They were sooo nice and let us stay up in the air longer than 5 minutes, like the big companies on the island. I've never done anything like that at all, so I was really nervous, but I had the time of my life. BEAUTIFUL!! They even let my family go on the boat with us for $10 altogether, even though they usually charge $10/person.

-Irish Kevin's was alot of fun...A big bar and concert area. Fun show.

-The Hemingway house is beautiful

-Rent a moped or electric car if you want to venture off of Duval St. (which some of us did since we couldn't all fit in the van we rented)

-Go see the sunset at the end of Duvall

-Try at least one Key Lime Shot (or martini). I'm hooked!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email and ask!! Hope this was helpful.

-Jessica
24
Lawrence, KS

The wife and I stayed here in Dec, 2007 and loved it. We split our time between Honeymoon Hideaway, and Romantic Retreat, both on Center Court. Loved both places, very clean. Housekeeping was great too. Enjoyed the private hot tubs. Check in staff was friendly. Great location, an easy walk to everything.

DO NOT RENT FROM KEY WEST VACATION RENTALS. EVER. I am stubborn and rented again this holiday. last year my fiance's mother passed away on december 25. we had to cancel and key west vacation rental refused to refund our deposit of $881 even with a death cetificte. i was hoping to contact the owner this year but after looking at the nov 2007 review i see even this does not work. against better judgement i rented the buena vista cottage (WHICH HAS NO DOOR ON THE TOILET!!)again this year with insurance and the hope of making this up to my fiance. mistake. the first three days were filled with loud constuction noise.hammering. sawing. chain sawing. I called the office and was told that these were not their property and "sorry". they lied. next, about 8 guys moved into the rental next directly door. the one with the hammering etc.. we were woken up night after night many times with loud yelling etc. their two house and pool unit were right outside our bed room. again the agents said "sorry" when we called. they would not move us. we left two nights early as we could neither relax nor sleep. it seems the insurance will no cover this either. so..............DO NOT RENT FROM KEY WEST VACATION RENTALS. THEY DO NO CARE ABOUT PEOPLE..........THAN ONLY WANT TO KEEP YOUR MONEY..............AND THEY DO.