The Islands of Islamorada

Islamorada is a beautiful area in the Keys. The Islands of Islamorada were in a great location to access many things to do, from driving to Key West, to other family activities and couple activities on the islands. Good restaurants nearby as well. The resorts accommodations were top tier. The townhomes had lots of room for our travel group of 9 to spread out. We had 6 kids, 4 of them teens, in our group and there were enough bathrooms and beds for them all to have space and kitchen space to feed them all. Lots of comfy seating both inside and outside for everyone to sit at and do nothing else at the resort. That is where my compliments end for this resort. The amenities offered in the resort were paltry. The beach, to quote my teen, was "low key the worst I've ever seen". It is 50 percent sharp rock that is 2 feet under water and near impossible to safely navigate in high tide. In low tide, the beach is 2/3 gone, exposing the rock and losing the esthetic charm that it at least holds when the water is there. There is a dramatic drop off directly before the floats they placed out there, so if you make it out that far, delicately, cutting your feet up, you'll fall off the rock, slicing your arm and stirring up the muckiest murky water while you sit on the float and wonder how you're getting back to shore. Young children will need shoes just to wade ankle deep so they dont cut their feet. Sand toys wont be necessary, the beach outside of the water is small gravel. Not deep enough to dig a bucket sandcastle. Oh, did I mention the beach smells really bad. The decaying sargassum smell at the resort beach, and the adjacent properties, permiates through the resort. I had to hold my breath at some points of our exploration of the resort property on day 1. They have 2 nice pools. The manager yelled at our family when we asked why they were closing them at 750pm when the posted hours are sunrise to sunset. He snipped to us its actually half hour after sunrise and half hour before sunset. Its Florida law, he yelled, apparently. Of course, its also the law that all this resort has to do is get the pool and deck lighting certified and then they could be open. But this "luxury" resort isn't paying to do that. If you've been to Disney you know that. You can swim until 11. We've stayed at plenty of resorts up and down the Florida coastline and have swam past dusk, so those resorts have also gotten THEIR pool lighting certified. NOTE, The Islands of Islamorada pools are lit up all night, as is the pool deck, with soft inviting music playing, all night. But you can't go in after 7:50 pm (I cant imagine how early they close in October or March?) There is a golf mat at the end of a pier. Its 3 dollars a golf ball (do you know how much more money they'd make if they were a dollar a golf ball, or $35 for 30 balls?) They had 1, 1 adult right handed club to use for that activity. Guess who wants to do it, the youth. They can't though, because it was a half thought out activity that they spent considerable marketing space on their website advertising. They told us at check in there were fresh coconuts they'd cut for the kids at the beach. We asked the guy who was manning the kayaks and paddle boards and said no they are all cut down for hurricane season? They don't do that. He also said the property was on its 3rd management, "so maybe it will get better". But then....later in the week, one afternoon, they were giving away free slushies and were cutting up coconuts at the beach? One of the kids stumbled upon it, it wasn't being advertised, even the bar tender at the pool 30 yards away didn't mention it to us. So we missed most of that activity just by poor advertising. Also, why did one employee and another bar tender not know about the coconuts or mention that it would be offered a different day? Also why didn't the resort offer anything to do after the pools close, or heck after 5 when the dismal food offerings end. It seems more like a retirement community then a family resort. The teens did go to the pickleball courts a time or two, they are fine. The bicycles are locked up under the suites. No one around to get access to those. No one told us how to access any golf carts (also shown as an amenity on the website) Lastly, one afternoon, while the teens and adults were showering and getting ready to leave to go off property for an evening activity, because if you want entertainment you're not finding it at the resort, the manager just walked into our townhome. We heard the doorbell. But no one answered because housekeeping (who were fabulous btw) had already been there and no one was decent for answering the door. Anyway, a couple min after the doorbell rang all off a sudden my husband heard footsteps in the house and had to quickly get dressed to find the manager just casually walking in. He was asking if a black truck was ours!!! Nope, no black truck, but what the heck. Made us all feel very unsafe that he would just walk in. Why wasn't that a phone call? What justified him barging in like that. We had 3 teen girls in the house, never felt like we could leave them alone after that. So there is my review. If you need greatly appointed townhome accommodations to spread a large group out and do absolutely nothing else on a property this is the place for you. If you wanted a family resort with well thought out activities, especially any at all in the evenings, this is not the place for you. On a side note, we booked through Exclusive Resorts, this is absolutely not worthy of being and Exclusive Resort property. We have been to many others that are much more well appointed, both the accommodation and resort offerings.

Great experience at this hotel. You can tell when a hotelier pays attention to customer reviews and comments. Things may happen, and excellent customer service means making things right and keeping the customer experience #1. My family of 3 (including a 13 year old) had a great time. The room was spacious, our balcony had a great view of the ocean and the resort staff were friendly & helpful. What more can you ask for!

Our stay at Isla Morada Resort was excellent—easily one of the top places to stay in the Keys, and it’s clear why it’s so highly rated. The property itself is stunning. The grounds are lush, meticulously maintained, and feel like a private tropical retreat. Every detail—from the landscaping to the layout—creates a sense of calm and exclusivity. The buildings are relatively new, and it shows: everything feels modern, clean, and thoughtfully designed. We stayed in an Ocean Suite on the second floor, and the space was impressive—easily around 1,000 square feet. The layout was functional and comfortable, with a large bedroom, a spacious bathroom with dual sinks and a generous shower (hot water almost instantly), and a balcony overlooking the tiki bar, pool, and ocean. Sitting out there in the evening with the breeze and sunset was a highlight. The amenities are well done without being overbearing. Multiple pools give you options—one more family-oriented near the tiki bar, and another quieter pool that felt almost private during our stay. There’s also a scenic walking path, pickleball courts, a gym, and even covered areas with games for when the weather turns. Bikes and fishing gear are available, and staff are around if you need anything—but otherwise, they let you enjoy the property without constant upselling. Service was excellent and accommodating. Requests for extra towels and daily sheet changes were handled promptly without issue. A couple minor drawbacks: parking can be tight, especially near the Ocean Suites, and while food can be ordered and delivered anywhere on the property, there’s no true on-site sit-down restaurant—particularly noticeable at breakfast. Also, for a property at this level, the in-room coffee setup feels like an afterthought and could be upgraded. That said, these are small critiques in an otherwise outstanding stay. The overall experience is peaceful, polished, and thoughtfully executed.

Great place, super clean, good service and beautiful views! Great place to stay in the keys and would highly reccomend.

My husband and I stayed here to celebrate his birthday. It was a very costly stay and things were wrong the entire time. The lock on our door was broken almost the whole time, leaving us locked in our room. They tried to fix it twice, but it was never right. The resort really does not provide any food. There is a small food service from 9-5, that does not begin at 9 and certainly ends before 5. We ordered food at 4:15 one day, the hamburger we received was completely raw, when we sent it back, the food people were already gone, therefore we were stuck with no dinner. The worst experience we had however, was basically being kicked out of the hotel. Before our visit we extended our stay to a 5th night, which is a lot considering the cost per night. On this last day, we were in a boat in the ocean when the resort calls to state that we left things in our room and should they mail it to us (huh??) we explained that we were not checking out, we had extended our stay. They proceeded to tell us that maids must clean the room instantly for new people and the maids will collect all our things. I would like to state that spring break had ended and it was noticeable how empty the resort was. The bartender even told us how most people left and the resort would be very quiet. Which made the rude behavior of kicking us out even stranger. Obviously, we had to end our day on the boat, return it and get back as quick as possible. As we had arrived back to the marina to return our boat, quite upset about our day being ruined, we get a call stating that if we would like to keep our room, we can. After being locked out/in our room, terrible food service, the inability to even get ice on our own, and now the rude behavior to us on the phone, essentially kicking us out and ruining our day and trip, not to mention, they clearly did not want another $1100 for the night, we left!. I would love to recommend the place because it is pretty, but it is not worth the excessive cost per night, especially with all the problems and rude behavior from management. A real shame.