We stayed for 4 night Jan 2011. The room was lovely, sparkling clean with very friendly staff. Felt very at home. They have 2 dogs who were "the hit of the show". Breakfast was delicious with a wide selection served outdoors in a fantastic garden! You could spend the day at the B&B using their heated slashpool/relaxing/using a hammock. We all most had to tear ouselves away from our cozy spot to go explore Key West. They have cocierge service to arrange any trips you might like to take. Mermaid & Alligator pays huge attention to detail. We would return there anytime and would reccommend it to anyone who loves the B&B experience. These folks have it down to an art form. And the dogs are just the cutest! Thanks to all who made our stay so wonderful!

Found our way there easily using GPS. Off street parking, which in Key West is really a must. Park your car and you'll probably not need it again during your stay. Walk to great restaurants or Duvall Street. Take a cab if you need to go further afield as they are quite inexpensive. The location is really conveninent to everything. Our only complaint about the location was that Truman Street is a busy one but fortunately calms down at a sensible hour. Not terribly fond of the proximity of the church across the street as the church "bells" could be quite loud at hours when we preferred to be sleeping in. Neither were major annoyances and would certainly not keep us from staying there again.

Loved the enclosed private garden from the minute we entered. A picturesque grotto framed by beautiful palms of every size and description. Gorgeous orchids everywhere and the soft peeps of lovebirds and parakeets in cages scattered among the trees. Several little nooks and crannies where one could read or simply relax in private. If you don't love dogs, don't stay here. There are two adorable and thoroughly engaging flat coated retrievers who are actually the owners of this inn despite what their masters might tell you. I'd have loved to stash them in the SUV and frisk them away. I miss them already.

Hot breakfast is served every morning in the garden and everything tasted excellent. There is a desktop set up for all to use but wireless service is available in your room if you somehow feel you need to use your laptop. We headed out everyday shortly after breakfast. Returned in the afternoon for a relaxing half hour in the pool, which is really a huge hot tub, then had a lay down before heading out for dinner. Staff were always available to suggest restaurants and made all of our reservations and sent us off with a map and directions. Their suggestions were always spot on.

We chose the Garden Room on the first floor because of its close proximity to the heated pool. It was a little small for two people, but you really don't expect expansive rooms in older B&B's and our only complaint would have been that it was adjacent to the front door and you could hear people coming and going. A lot of thought has been put into updating the interiors of rooms. Everything has been accomplished tastefully with tremendous attention to architectural detail. Baths feature new Euro style fixtures, the bedroom has attractive furniture and interesting artwork adorns the walls. Towels and linens are very upscale.

All in all, it was wonderful. We are very picky travellers and I would say without reservation we would return to the Mermaid and most likely will do just that. We're pleased we picked it.

Having read several positive reviews on trip advisor I decided to spend a little extra ($288 per night) on what I hoped would a relaxing and enjoyable stay at the Mermaid and Alligator. We stayed for 3 nights in mid-late january.

This place would pass as good if they charged a $100 less per night. Overall we enjoyed our stay but you should expect more for a premium price. So the following feedback on our stay would be much less harsh if the price point was lower:

1. Paul and Dean make a great deal of welcoming you into their home in the contact prior to arrival. However during our stay Paul never said hello (apparently he was busy with other stuff) and Dean was quirky and cornered me about British visitors not paying tips and I had to make sure I did! His aggressive manner was not the 'relaxation' they promise on their promotional literature.

2. We wanted to make reservations for dinner after 6pm on sunday night. However there was no one available to help us. We came back later around 7 and still no staff on duty were visible.

3. We stayed in the Bamboo Room. The bed was very soft and my back hurt after one night. I decided to check under the linens to see how old the mattress was. As you can see from photo 1 and 2 there are multiple wet fluid stains all over the mattress, the mattress cover was also heavily stained.

4. The bathroom had communal toiletries (picture 3). These dry out over time so the shower gel was too solid to lather without forming unattractive lumps (which were hard to rinse off).

5. The walls in the bamboo room are paper thin, so you quickly become acquainted with other guests nocturnal habits.

At $288 a night I would go elsewhere and would not recommend this place. However this price could be justified with some new mattresses, improved personal toiletries, and better staff availability/friendly guest manner.

The Mermaid & The Alligator was just a wonderful experience. My husband and I spent 2 days at one of the resort hotels in Key West for a meeting, then moved to the B&B. Upon arrival, I was thrilled with the location, the cleanliness, the GREAT staff, the fantastic 2 mascots of the B&B, Caya and Havana. 2 beautiful dogs that greeted us and entertained us during our stay. The breakfasts were the best, and thoroughly able to relax in the beautiful Tropical Gardens that surrounded the inn. If you are looking for a B&B in Key West, this is where you need to stay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!