Barbara thinks of all of the cozy home touches. She personally walked me through my first visit to Key West and check in to her property. She truly has captured the Key West flavor in her vacation Rental Home. I look at tons of reviews as an avid traveler and always try to determine if there is an agenda and whether the review is sincere or not. Well the reviews for this property were on the money - excellent!!
My first impression as I approached the property was, "wow I'd love to live here." The street is a quiet side street minutes away from the "main Strip" of Key West but perfectly far enough away to avoid the din of the non-stop partying. The house is cooled and adorned by well manicured trees and shrubbery all the way around the property.
The house has soft warm decor straight out of Better Homes and Gardens. The finished wood floors maintain that historical property feel, while the house is upgraded with classy fixtures and furniture. Barbara has done a great job of adding little touches to make it feel like your own home with touches from the decorative sea collectibles, magazines, & nick nacks to the full cable TV and wireless internet throughout the house & in both of the bedrooms. The kitchen and bath are stocked with toiletries and dry goods carefully labeled to make it easy to find things. The bath tub has a classic free standing deep clawfoot tub with a perfect shower head. There is also a cool outdoor beach shower adjacent to the full kitchen and bath. Just outside of the kitchen is a huge shady backyard just begging for a family cookout after a long day of sailing and cruising Key West on Barbara's 5 bikes on the property. The backyard has a fully functional historic well pump, brand new monster gas grill, tiered brick covered back yard area, and a huge inviting hammock strung up in the trees. The yard and house are a true Oasis in the middle of a beautiful city. I hated to leave the place. I'll be back! Bravo Ms. Declemente!

After reviewing many places near Duval street, we stumbled upon this property. At first glance, this house seemed to good to be true. However, we really lucked out with this property. Upon arriving we received a humble welcome from the home owner as she gave us a quick tour. This property is old, like 1860's old, but it very well kept, and has all the modern conveniences you need. As if the house wasn't nice enough, the backyard really takes the cake. The pictures on this website don't do it justice. We had some friends that came down and stayed at a different place right around the corner ( they actually paid more than we did). Once they came over, they checked out the house, and were quite jealous. The homeowner does everything the old fashion way (IE checks through mail,cash deposit on arrival) and doesn't take credit cards; but don't be skeptical, this is not a shady deal, and the homeowner is very nice and we got the full deposit back. Also, we didn't know quite what to expect to bring, like towels and kitchen supplies, but this house has everything you need, just bring your clothes. I would highly recommend this property!

Best vacation home my family has ever stayed in. It is like your best friend offers you the use of their personal home. This house is immaculate. Though it is not fancy it is decorated beautifully with a real Key West charm. We even had fresh tropical greenery throughout the house upon arrival. The beds are comfortable with nice cotton linens. The connected outdoor shower is awesome. The house even came with spices, assorted teas and so many other niceties. If you enjoy outdoor grilling and just hanging out then you will find the backyard to be perfect. There is lush greenery all around, tiki lanterns and wonderful teak furniture to relax on. I love this place and cannot wait to go back one day. One last thing... The location is super too. Our young teen daughters walked every morning to the bakery on Duval for pastries. Super safe feeling. Simply perfect is the best way to describe the Mermaid!

We had a wonderful time staying at the mermaids house. The front fenced in patio was great for relaxing and people watching... the rooms were spacious and the outdoor shower was the best. The large back yard was great for a nice BBQ and a glass of wine. The hammock was a huge hit with our group. We would definitely plan to rent this house again in the future. It was a great place and a reasonable price.