We loved our stay! The resort advertises "comfortable, not fancy" and that accurately sums it up. The place was beautiful and reasonably, though not immaculately, maintained. Pros: the pool was very nice. It's large for the size of the resort and is tile. It has a fun dolphin mosaic at the bottom. It was well maintained and clean. There is some shade and some sun. The chairs were fine and there was a bin for water toys and floats. The gulf view is beautiful, and the lounge chairs by the water are nice. It's important to know ahead that it is a basking beach and not a sandy beach that you can access to play or swim. The water up to the resort was very shallow and had sea grass, etc growing in it. There is a nice outdoor eating area and hammocks. The tetherball was broken the first night we were there and was fixed promptly the next morning. We had a nice table outside our unit for our private use. The indoor furnishings were not great--the futon seemed particularly on the shabby side--but the beds were some of the most comfortable I have ever slept in while traveling. The linens were all white and high quality. Comments on things observed in other reviews: two kayaks remain and we enjoyed them. There are no paddleboat or canoes (as mentioned on the website and on the sign by the dock). I hope they add to the fleet and keep the kayaks. It's a nice additional activity on site. They even allowed us to check out the paddles overnight as our teenagers particularly wanted to have a sunset paddle. They loved it. The birds and turtles have moved to the dolphin center next door. Hopefully they will take the cages down and repurpose the area as it now looks a bit dingy. They brought in additional gravel for the parking area while we were there, so the management is maintaining and updating things. They had a good contactless system for fresh linens and necessities. The Keys are just expensive. While it wasn't cheap to stay here, it was the best value I could find for our dates. It was relaxing and we would love to come back! The nearby beaches were beautiful (Sombrero is particularly nice especially if you have smaller kids) and Key West was an easy day trip. Oh, and Christina in the office was amazingly helpful and friendly!…
Not sure how this is a “resort,” but I have stayed at Motel 6’s that cost one fifth the price and were more luxurious. Staff was very pleasant but there was nothing pleasant about the accommodations. Second floor room with no luggage cart, had to walk everything up a flight of stairs. No front door. The “doors” were sliding glass patio doors with cheap locks that did not feel secure at all. Room was barely adequate, double beds instead of queen, dirty bathtub. Sleep was impossible. Air conditioner was wall mounted with bright digital display which lit up the room and it was too noisy to keep running all night (although when it was running it drowned out the noise from the highway). Worst of all, our second day there they installed fire alarms in all the rooms. These flashed all night long like a strobe light and kept me awake and gave me a migraine. We finally had to step on a chair and put towels over it so we could get some sleep. We shared a connecting room with friends. (One of them slept with black underwear over his face to drown out the strobe lights.) The doors between the rooms had no door handles so couldn’t be easily opened and didn’t close completely. The patio deck outside the rooms was shared with adjoining rooms so that until 2 in the morning there were people talking literally outside our front “door.” The grounds were not really useable. Had a couple of kayaks (but no life jackets or paddles that we could see), a boat dock, a tetherball pole, a couple of hammocks, a couple of grills. Didn’t check out the pool because just sitting outside on the patio, we were eaten alive by mosquitoes and/or noseeums. My legs and arms are itching like crazy. We chose this place for it’s convenient location midway down the keys, and it was at least a good location. I understand there are new owners and I wish them luck. As it is now, it was one of the worst experiences I have ever had on a vacation and I could not recommend this place. What a waste of money.…
The new-ish owners should update the website. Some features are no longer here, such as the aviaries, canoes and paddleboats. That said, my husband and I enjoyed the beautiful landscaping, the wonderful pool, the hammocks, sitting on our room's balcony for sunrise and seeing the sunset over the Gulf. The property dates to 1 the 1960s. There are 2 kayaks available, which could use some carrying handles but fun to use. Especially charming are the several large lizards that live along the edges of the shoreline. They are shy, so no worries if you watch from a distance! We stayed in the Dolphin room, which wasn't featured on the website. It is newly renovated featuring a new bath, roomy bedroom and cozy sitting/kitchen area. On the second floor of the office building, it faces the Gulf, with a balcony facing east. The kitchenette has only very basic cookware and dishes/utensils but we were able to make breakfasts and lunches. There is a small gas stove/oven, an apartment sized refrigerator, a basic Keurig, a microwave, toaster, some cabinets and a good-sized sink. The laundry room is shabby but functional. It coast $4.00 a load for both washing and drying. All staff members were professional, friendly and hard working. Like everywhere, they are short handed. Winn Dixie and Publix are about 15 minutes away.…
We have stayed at Gulfview many years and always had the same room and were very comfortable with it. We could not book that room this year for the 12 days that we were there. We were in a room that had a hallway to the toilet and we had to step up to get to the toilet, sink and shower. Not a big issue, but being in our 70's there was a concern of having a problem with that step in the middle of the night. Fortunately, not a problem. When entering the room, the beds were in the front with the "kitchen" in the back of the unit. The kitchen sink was on a wall without any counter space on either side to accommodate dirty or clean dishes. The bed was comfortable. We did not receive any room service.....had to clean our own floors, change our own bed sheets, etc., etc., etc., etc. .......supposedly due to Covid.....we could order towels, etc, and they would put them in a container but we had to do all the work......NOT A VACATION in our opinion!!!!! In the past year there has been a change of ownership from a "mom & pop" operation to a "corporate" operation. I went to book next year's dates in the room that we used to occupy......due to Covid we did not travel in 2020.....the room we had been in in previous years was $185 (in 2019) and they were quoting $299 for 2023. That is a huge increase and I am not interested in reducing their mortgage that fast!!!!!! So, we will be moving on........this is a nice property, but it is not the Hilton.......…
This hotel is a good value for the keys. It seems that this property is under new ownership and they are trying very hard with running the hotel. That being said, they have a lot to do. The back area is beautiful. Nice grass area with hammocks, well kept pool. The turtle area/side area could use a lot of work. The room was adequate and clean. It was nice to have the outside patio table, yet some of the chairs were torn. The beds were fairly comfortable. The sink area and bathroom were dated and there were scratches on the shower. The laundry area was a bit dirty. It would be nice to have a change machine available. The room and facility as a whole could use some TLC which I'm sure is on the agenda. It was a nice stay and I would definitely stay again.
5/6/21. Check in was not until 3pm. The lady behind the check in desk was a bit disheveled but nice. We stayed in room Scarlet Mccaw #14. They were installing a new wax ring on the toilet and still needed to clean the room, so we changed into our swimsuits in the employee bathroom (Eek!) on the front of the building and hung out at the pool until check-in. The unit was spartanly furnished but nice, the beds were comfortable, and the AC worked great! Nothing fancy, but reasonably priced for the area.
Loved this place!! Hidden gem will definitely come back and bring my family. Will highly recommend to our friends and family! Best place to stay if you want to travel north and south Gulf View is right in the middle
Stayed here for 4 nights in a 2 bed apartment. All very clean, well kept and well equipped for simple cooking - outdoor gas barbecue and indoor gas stove. We loved taking out the kayaks to look around the bay (all very shallow and safe). Pleasant grounds with dockside seats to watch the sunset. Friendly and helpful reception staff mean that the whole place seemed to be laid back and accommodating. This in a bit of an undiscovered gem, and in a great location half way down the Keys.
We stayed 8 nights at Gulf View in November 2021 and enjoyed our stay very much. We booked an efficiency apartment on the second floor which had a lovely view of the water. The room was clean and neat. The resort manager, McKenzie, was very helpful and knowledgeable. We enjoyed visiting Cocoa, Happy, and the tortoises each morning and evening. This a a great place to stay in Marathon to explore the Florida Keys and less than an hour from Key West for day trips.
The room was comfortable, clean and had everything we needed. When we booked it , we had requested a waterfront view and we actually couldn’t see much of the water from the room. We did enjoy sitting on the dock/boat launch every morning with our coffee. It was a very peaceful and quiet place to be. We enjoyed the birds and the tortoises. The new owners were very nice and friendly. We will definitely stay here again when in the area.
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