A trip to the Keys is always a good idea, but for some reason, we don’t do it nearly as often as we should. Then when we cross the bridge from the mainland onto the islands, weaving our way down the Overseas Highway, we wonder what took us so long to get back.
This time, it was a trip to Key West with a stay at the historic La Concha hotel, set right on buzzing Duval Street. The hotel, which will be celebrating its centennial in 2026, is hard to miss, as it’s the tallest building in Key West.
When we arrived, staff was putting the finishing touches on a two-year renovation, bringing the hotel into the 21st century without cutting ties with its history. In fact, it was right here at La Concha that island hero Ernest Hemingway wrote “To Have and Have Not.” In the lobby, shelves are filled with books, letters explode from a typewriter onto the walls, and wall art by the elevator is rows of calligraphy pens—just a few of many literary touches throughout the property. In fact, the annual Key West Literary Seminar was going on just a few doors down at the San Carlos Institute during our visit.
Food is what brings people together at La Concha. In the morning, hotel guests and the public can step into El Dom for what was perhaps my favorite area design-wise on the property. Dominos are embedded into the table tops and used as accent tiles on the pink walls. Stay for coffee, or get a cup and pastry to go.
Adjoining this coffee shop is Tropicado; with its deep terrazzo floor, cane furniture, and splashes of tropical wallpaper surrounding the bar, it was a hub for sports fans to catch football games. On the contrary, Perla was an open dining room with a flamingo pink and white design serving breakfast, and soon, dinner. History and cuisine were married to create the dinner menu at Perla (which at the time of our visit was being served at Tropicado). Chef Juan Cuadra went through historical archives to get a feel for what people were eating in Cuba before communism. He found recipes for wild boar, alligator, golden pheasant, and he created a menu that encompassed the South Florida and Caribbean experience.
Chef selected dishes for us, and some standouts included octopus over cheesy bread and a surf and turf with churrasco and swordfish. For dessert, he presented Rosalina’s bread pudding, a recipe handed down to him from his grandmother. For cocktails, we tried mojitos (the bar hosts mojito tastings at 2 and 6:30 p.m.) and signature cocktails; La Concha partnered with Papas’ Pilar to craft a one-of-a-kind rum aged in a sherry cask.
As mentioned before, La Concha is the tallest building in Key West at seven stories tall. The top floor was converted from a spa to a collection of seven villas. Each is themed in tribute to an element of Key West, including the Hemingway suite, with specialty concierge and even daily themed cocktail deliveries.
As the hotel enters its second century, they’re upping the ante with programming. While it was too cold for us to lounge on the pool deck, it was set up for those wanting to enjoy some outdoor fun. There was cornhole, table tennis, seating for cigar smokers, and cabanas to escape the sun after some time in the water. Soon, the hotel will be starting weekly salsa classes.
When we weren’t lounging in our room—we noticed there were special accommodations for guests with hearing impairments and allergies—we hit the streets of Key West to explore. That meant a tour of the Hemingway House, getting a new pair of leather sandals from Kino, shopping on Duval and Southard Streets, jaunts to Mallory Square, and listening to live music at Bull Bar. For lunch, we made sure to go to Bo’s Fish Wagon, then walked along Caroline Street to visit the row of boutiques.
Then it was time to return back to reality—back to the grind of daily life, heading north through the Keys. But thankfully, we were returning with the delightful haze of a refreshed and relaxed body and spirit.
La Concha Key West, 430 Duval St, Key West; 305/296-2991; marriott.com
