La Concha Key West

Great hotel and location.. BUT ... they are undergoing major renovations that were never mentioned... you will spend half your trip waiting for the 1 working elevator... and somehow there is no stair option... so we had to wait everytime... just to get to the second floor.

La concha is a beautiful & historic hotel in the heart of beautiful Key West. The location is unbeatable & the balcony rooms, while smaller than other standard rooms, offers excellent people watching & beautiful blue sky views. A parking space is included, which is great to have right on Duval & Fleming Streets. The staff was mostly very friendly, but the service level varied. At one point in our stay, the front desk went out of their way to make us a key card to use the microwave located in the conference room. When I asked to use it the next day, another staff member says there wasn't one in the building. I went & took a photo through the window to show him. He then said he could not grant me access as the desk had previously done. No biggie but a little frustrating. Our main issue with the hotel was HIDDEN FEES. Upon arrival, we were told we would be charged a fee of over $80 per room as a "destination fee," which was never explicitly disclosed & was certainly not fairly advertised. I asked about waiving this fee & the night desk said it was possible to check & see with day manager. The next day, they insisted the fee could not be waived & were unwilling to help with it further. I let them know I booked through a 3rd party prepaid, it said fees & taxes were included. They said read the fine print. They charged my card for the fees. Not being forthcoming and clear about the destination fee was the issue I had. And having parts of the hotel amenities, including outdoor areas, being closed off during the stay make this resort/destination fee more of a slap in the face. To highlight this point, the staff at this "destination" hotel warned us that if we see some stuff a little run down or not in operation, its because the hotel just got bought & things wouldn't get straightened out until the new company takes over. Also minor issues for such a pricey hotel included missing slats on the inner balcony door & similar minor cosmetic issues. Other than that it is a beautiful building & top-notch location. Overall the experience was very enjoyable. P.S. The awesome bar tender makes delicious key lime martinis!