Presently Key West Youth Hostel at the Sea Shell Motel is the only hostel in Key West, and this is reflected in the high room rates.
The Location
The location of this hostel is excellent. It is just a few blocks from the Southernmost point in America and from the beach. It is also an easy walk to Key West's main street (Duval Street), making it ideally placed if you wish to enjoy the many bars and restaurants. The hostel is easy to find by car and offers free parking to guests. However, guests traveling by Greyhound should note that the hostel is located a few miles from the Greyhound station, so it's not very accessible on foot.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The dorm rooms are clean and minimal, however, the buildings are old and could use some modernisation. The windows and door locks do not inspire confidence in security and there are no in-room lockers. There are six bunk beds per dorm and one bathroom per room, which is not ideal during busy times. The bathroom itself is clean and functional but very small and with little room to change; there are no hooks or shelving space for clothes. Also, there is no soap dish or shelving in the shower cubicle to hold toiletries. As this hostel also operates as a motel, private rooms are available at motel rates.
Common Spaces
The hostel has a large outdoor common area with plenty of tables and chairs for dining or socialising -- this is also the best place to pick up the hostel's free Wi-Fi. Interestingly, the kitchen is also outside in the courtyard. Although there is an oven, a microwave, a fridge, and access to the BBQ, the kitchen is not very well equipped in terms of utensils and cutlery -- making cooking a meal quite challenging. The kitchen area is also very small and has no shelving facility for storing guests' groceries.
There are some lockers available in the courtyard but guests must pay to use these (and they charge each time you open them)! They are also quite small so may not accommodate a large backpack. There are bookshelves outside some of the dorms, so you can exchange books here. The atmosphere here is somewhat subdued and not overly friendly -- although we were here during off-season, so it may improve during peak times.
Summary
In general, although the location is very good, this hostel is overpriced for the facilities offered (of which we were offered no information and were also not shown around). Security here is a potential issue as the courtyard is freely accessible at all times by the general public.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
January 2009
Location/Contact
2.6 Average from 44 Ratings
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