We stayed at the Islander upon the recommendation of a waitress from a nearby restaurant after we decided not to continue our drive to Key West. It was a one night, spur of the moment thing and we were a little taken aback by the "barracks" appearance of the buildings, but upon entering our room, our entire opinion changed! The room was wonderful with high ceilings, a full kitchen, tiled floor (a nice change from grungy carpet) and a private lanai with table, chairs and a ceiling fan. Our opinion of the hotel was even higher when we discovered the pool/bar/beach/pier area after we checked out. Gorgeous! So bottom line, not much to look at from the road or the parking lot, but the room was great and the beachside services looked awesome!

We will definitely stay at the Islander again and may even bring the kids next time!

My stay at the Islander resort with my wife and 2 daughters was great.

The construction is virtually completed with only a bit going on at the east end of the property and it was not at all bothersome. The Tiki bar is nice and serves great food although a bit pricey.

The staff and management were very helful.

The property is large and fairly well kept. The actualy beach area is large with lots of room to lounge. My wife, daughters and I were disappointed that we could not swim there. It is NOT a beach like Daytona or St. Petes. The water is full of seaweed and rocks. However, I think this is the essence of the Keys. There are no good beaches for swimming
anywhere as far as we could find. If you want to swim in the Ocean in this area I think a "snorkling tour" would be the trick and there are many tour operators nearby.

However, there are 3 pools, 1 salt water and 2 fresh water and a large hottub. We used these extensively and they were never crowded.

We had a Garden view room which was $132 per night and we could see the ocean from a distance and felt as though we had nice privacy.

The rooms are all new, very clean and the large, ajoining screened in patio was a great place to relax. The rooms have stoves, fridges, microwaves and dishwashers which is great if you want to whip up your own lunch and keep your favorite beverages cold. The louvered doors to the rooms look odd, like they are from a prison, but that was no big deal.

The continental breakfast served up in the main lobby was great!

If you want to swim with Dolphins, Theatre of the Sea is nearby... it is fairly expesive but if you have kids you will all enjoy the tour, the shows and the dolphin swim.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Islander and if we return to the Keys we will probaly stay there again.