If you follow my social media, then you know I just spent 3.5 glorious days in Key West courtesy of the Gates Key West Hotel. It has easily been 20 years since the last time I traveled to this island and I really am not sure why I waited so long to go back.
I was blessed enough to travel with one of my good friends and fellow blogger Lacey of and she was an incredible person for Key Westing it! On Thursday, I boarded a 6am Southwest airlines (my faves!) non stop to Fort Lauderdale and was promptly picked up by Lacey in our Chevrolet Trax vehicle courtesy of GM. From there we headed straight for the Keys in hopes of getting there with time to sunbathe before the “supposed” storms were to come in.
The minute we arrived at the Gates Key West Hotel, we noticed the beautiful blue and white color scheme, the coziness of the lobby, the genuine friendliness of the staff and most importantly the delicious Rum Punch we received while checking in. Serving us a cocktail before asking us any questions is always the way to go when dealing with us aka “Cher & Dionne”.
Thursday afternoon for us was devoted to preparing for the Scandal and the How To Get Away With Murder season premieres and we were both ecstatic that there was a Publix near the hotel. Being both previous Florida residents, Publix is our JAM! But I have to admit I knew nothing of “Pub Subs” until Lacey told me. More about those later! At Publix we bought snacks and wine (YES to Florida for that liquor law) and went back to the room. I had tons of 9-5 work to do so I devoted my time to that and Lacey worked diligently on projects for her clients. THEN it was TV time! I wont go into detail about the rest of the night because it involved breaking not one but 2 wine keys trying to open a bottle of Rose and lots of girl talk and giggles! (if you follow my snapchat then you know EXACTLY what I am referring to)
Friday was all about the sun. We woke up early, went over to The Blind Pig (permanent food truck outside of the hotel) and noshed on a super delicious breakfast by the pool. Lacey chose the breakfast taco and me being on this Cuban bread kick, decided on the Jake and Bake. It was AMAZING!
After eating, we proceeded to follow this routine: lay out in the sun, jump in the pool, lay out in the sun, jump in the pool etc
Friday night was the most epic snapchat story of my social media existence! Lacey and I both were craving BBQ and found a restaurant with a 4.7 Yelp rating! I mean that’s HUGE! So we got “casually dolled up” in rompers and cute flats. I donned a hat because the Key West humidity did not allow my curls to stay in tact and we headed to Charlie Mac’s for the ABSOLUTE best BBQ! Lacey being from Texas stated that it was comparable to Texas BBQ so yea…. that good! I recommend getting the sampler tray for 2. You really do not even need sauce because the rub they use is oh so flavorful and for lack of better words “finger lickin good!” Oh and their service was pretty phenomenal as well, I mean they let me charge my phone while I ate (lol). It’s the little things hahaahah.
After dinner we headed over to the Green Parrot for live music and a few drinks. We stuck to Dirty Shirley’s the whole night (sprite, vodka and grenadine) but the bartender there talked us into trying the Root Beer Float shot. We both were petrified of its size of it but in the end it really tasted like a root beer float so we chugged it as best as we can. We are not expert “shot takers” given we both went to party schools (lol). I suggest this shot if you go there! Its CC and ALP approved lol!
After Green Parrot, we headed over to Duval Street where we proceeded to follow the music and walk into any bar that floated our boat musically. We had a Dirty Shirley at the Bull and then went over to Coyote Ugly where I lived out my teenage bucket list of dancing along with their dancers right on the bar!
After Coyote Ugly it was all about Sloppy Joe’s Bar where we had more Dirty Shirley’s and sang along to lots and lots of Taylor Swift. After our Taylor Swift wanna be karaoke session, we imbibed on banana and chocolate tasting frozen drinks from Fat Tuesday’s while dancing to 90s rap, hit up the McDonald’s drive through and then finally made it back to the Gates Key West Hotel to cuddle into our super soft Cosabella Pjs in our super soft beds!
Saturday we rested. All. Day. Long. then had Pub Subs and watched football. Later on in the evening we took some outfit shots around Rum Row and then had a few cocktails at the bar!
All in all our stay in Key West and most importantly at the Gates Key West Hotel was memorable and well worth it. My sister and I are planning to bring our parents to the island for Thanksgiving and without a doubt, we will be patrons of this hotel again.
Fave amenities at the Gates Key West Hotel
- USB and outlets on the side of the bed for easy instagram scrolling at night while phone charges
- in room complimentary tablet for use
- superbly fast wifi (2 laptops, 2 phones and a tablet connected with NO lag)
- Wine Keys provided in the room
- Super fluffly robes
- Complimentary fresh fruit ice pops served to you pool side
- The Bling Pig food truck open from 7am to 10pm (yummy breakfast and lunch/dinner options island style)
- Rum Row. Awesome outside bar with live musical entertainment and chances to win prizes
- Very comfy seats at Rum Row
- Bike rentals right on the property to venture out in Key West without having to drive
- Key West Aloe bath and beauty products… (aloe and key lime pie scents!!!)
- Cigar Lounge near the lobby
- Rum Punch in the Lobby
- very close access to supermarkets
- beautiful blue and white decor
- lots of onsite parking
- and soon there will be an adults only pool and of course a family friendly one
- Tons of hangers to make sure your clothes stay wrinkle free but who needs clothes in Key West (lol)
- Branding and hashtags everywhere| marketing genius certainly worked for them
Many thanks again to the Gates Key West Hotel for your hospitality!
-all photos taken with iPhone 5s minus two outfit post pictures and also posted on the wordpress mobile app-
What a dreamy and fun vacation you had at the Gates hotel! I like the fact that there are bicycle rentals on the property, I like having bikes when I stay at hotels it makes it more fun when checking out the area.
xx
This looked like such a fun and amazing trip! The Gates hotel looks perfect and comfortable and your looks are FAB!