It used to be a really nice place, many years ago. We bought a two bedroom unit (sleeps six) when it was still being developed around ten years ago and purchased the Premium week of Christmas. We had three kids and vacations can get pretty pricey so it seemed like a great idea. We looked forward to our trip for about the first five years. After that we have actually forfeited our week and have let the points expire (there goes about a grand) because it is such a hassle to go through the machinations of rescheduling anything that makes sense. The hoops you have to jump through to reschedule any week but your own and the Resorts International nightmare maze is just not to be believed.

After the initial purchase costs were finally paid (somewhere in the neighborhood of 20k and that took till my kids all grew up), the yearly maintenance fee has grown to become ridiculous (approx. $1000.00). Yet the rooms are worn, the appliances and furniture are only replaced if something is unusable and it doesn't look like there will be modern upgrades to be incorporated any time soon. As an insulting addition they offer wireless Internet as a "convenience" to the guests, however they don't bother to mention the exorbitant rate they CHARGE (something like an additional $10 dollars a day per computer) anyplace on their website and only post it in the signage where you can connect. However, the Mc Donald's in Key West offers it for free, so figure that one out. Consequently, the place is really showing its age (where is the maintenance fee going??) and in dire need of repair along with some major improvements.

I would have been better off burying my money in a hole. I honestly must say it was the most naive financial decision I have ever made and I must have been overcome by the sunshine fumes and the margaritas that year. Good luck trying to sell this "Lifetime Deedable Investment" and get even half of your money back. Never again, never. Do I still stay there? Yes, on occasion since we have family in Florida (though we live up North now) but honestly we try to avoid it whenever possible and hope the stars align so that we can go someplace else in the network. We have only managed to accomplish that four times in all these years though so I have learned to not hold my breath.

Management is non-existent and the conceige is pathetic. On the plus side the grounds are well kept and the resort is beautiful.

We stayed at the Hyatt Beach House Resort from 6/23 - 6/30/07. It is a great place to stay if you want a "home away from home"--two bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, dining area, living room, nice screened porch with wicker furniture (glass table and four chairs for dining, wicker couch and table and rocking chair). The kitchen was well stocked with dishes, glassware, silverware, pots, pans, towels, pot holders, paper towel, dish soap, dishwasher detergent...the list goes on. Very comfortable dining area and living room spaces. The second bedroom was great for our 16 year old daughter--gave her space with a TV, which she loved. My 13 year old son slept on the queen sleeper sofa, with his own TV in the living room area. We had the huge master bed/bathroom, which had a great glassed in shower, double sinks, jacuzzi tub, separate toilet area, good closet. Drawer space in each bedroom was not an issue with a built-in set of four drawers per room. Each room also has an apartment-sized washer/dryer combo, which was a great convenience--it was nice to go home with clean clothes, even supplied with two individual-wash sized containers of Tide!
The pool is shallow (not more than 4 feet deep) but very nice for families with small children, which a nice sandy area with sand toys for the kids to play in, plenty of comfortable beach chairs and cabana-style double chaises with pads. There are picnic tables with grills available to grill food (the front desk is helpful to provide grilling tools, charcoal, lighter fluid and matches in a shed where the grills are).
Don't go to Key West expecting gorgeous, sand beaches because that is not what the Keys are about. Higgs, Smathers and the other beaches along the southern side of the island are sandy and nice with very calm, warm water--parking can be expensive. We went to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, where there is a nice beach with breakwaters that are great for snorkeling--has a nice snack bar with chair, umbrella and other types of rentals, plus plenty of shaded picnic tables--nice place to spend a day for less than $10 per car with 4 people.
The waterfront area is a "waterfront area" not especially a beach but a great place to sit on the dock and watch the sunset. Although it is sandy and there is a nice dock to fish from with water equipment rentals, there is a big sign warning people about the current in front of the property. The property sits on the corner of the Gulf and a channel that has a strong current and not a safe place to swim or snorkel--nice for kayaking, jet skis, etc.
The concierge in the front lobby was very helpful in booking trips and activities and with moped rentals--definitely a great, less expensive way of getting around when parking is $10-12 per day down by Duval Street. Our kids loved skooting around the island on the mopeds for the week--we just parked our car in the parking provided under the buildings that was free and shaded at the hotel.
I know there have been notes about the cleanliness of this hotel however, we found it clean with the exception of the tile floor-it was not 100% clean but tile floors with heavy traffic will get dirty, even if they are clean and maintained.
Overall, we would stay at this hotel again and highly recommend it to couples or families that are looking for a condo-type atmosphere, in a quieter area that is very comfortable and well-maintained.

I spent 2 nights here this month with mother. We had a 2 bedroom in building A with a nice view of the water. The unit was reasonably furnished and I cooked several meals that we enjoyed eating on the screened in porch. I enjoyed the jacuzzi tub and made drinks in the blender. I did not use the activities or boats and was surprised at the location. I knew Key West has no natural beaches, but I thought at a place called the Beach House with trucked in sand there'd be some way to get in the water. There isn't, just the pool. We had already spent 3 days closer in to town sight-seeing and the point of these 2 days was to have a resort experience. This is the wrong location for that and that is just not an experience they can provide. So come enjoy the quirkiness of KW and stay closer to the action but skip the resort.

This hotel was full of families with badly behaved children which put a serious damper on relaxing by the pool. We paid $400+ a night and were expecting something a bit more, well, if not upscale then certainly subdued. Instead I would be jolted amake from a poolside doze to moms in cowboy hats screaming to their kids to "Shut up or I'll call X to come smack you!" This was not one family, it's a pretty representative sample of overheard conversation over the course of 2 days. I felt bad for the kids and agonized over saying something, but in the end concluded we were the odd people out and the only people who had a problem with it. As a point of comparison, I'm aware that children cry sometimes and parents get worn out. I spent the 3 previous nights at the Southernmost Hotel also in KW (see review) which was less than half the price of this place and which also had families with children by the pool. I far preferred the pool scene at Southernmost because I felt welcome, it was more fun, and it was not a crowd that shouts obscenities at children.