Fall in Key West on the Beach

What’s Happening in Key West for November and December

Now is the best time to plan your next visit to Key West.  Here is a calendar for upcoming events.

Thanksgiving in Key West  -  November 26, 2009

A nice long weekend in Key West is really a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving 2009.  Most of the local restaurants will have a special Thanksgiving menu with traditional fixin’s in addition to their regular menu offerings.  So don’t worry about missing out on turkey and pumpkin pie, if that’s what your personal tradition includes. Bring your family and/or friends and start a new Thanksgiving tradition in Key West.

Pirates in Paradise 2009 – November 29 – December 06

This festival celebrates the rich maritime history of Key West complete with tall-ships, pirate attacks and sunset sails. It all takes place at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and on the waterfront. Bring your pirate costumes (or not) and revel in the buccaneer adventures. For more info on this event call 305-296-9694.

Key West Holiday Parade — December 5th

Our annual Holiday Parade is small-town charm at it’s best.  Come enjoy our high school marching band, civic and social clubs, local politicians, veterans, and community volunteers as they show off their Key West pride and holiday spirit.  The parade route follows Truman Avenue past  Key Lime Inn and  Chelsea House and then makes the turn down Duval Street.  The best viewing is from the sidewalk along Truman Avenue in front of our inns.  We will be serving spiced cider at Chelsea House during the parade.  The public is invited and it’s all free.

Decking the Hulls in Style

Key West Lighted Boat Parade – December 12th

Deck the hulls with festively decorated boats as they cruise through Key West Harbor and the Historic Seaport. This magical movement of color through the waters is a wonderful tribute to Key West’s maritime history, and its a lot of fun too.  There is good parade viewing all along the waterfront at the Seaport, Simonton Street beach, and Mallory Square.  You can walk to good viewing from all of the Historic Key West Inns.  This is a free event.

Last Days of 2009 Super Travel Values, thru December 23rd

At Historic Key West Inns, we responded to the 2009 recession with a five year rate roll-back.  The lowest rates of all, our “fall rates” have been extended through December 23.  This is the last great opportunity to visit Key West on a frugalista budget before winter season and holiday rates take effect, and 2009 becomes history.

Key Lime Inn at Christmastime

Christmas in Key West — December 24th to 26th

Key West is absolutely charming at Christmas time, with tropical holiday decorations, Christmas concerts, and special menus at local restaurants. All of our hotels will serve our special Chelsea’s eggnog with the breakfast on Christmas Day.  You can even ride your bicycle or walk to one of the many local churches and parishes for services. Our reduced holiday rates apply with no minimum stays over Christmas.

New Year's Eve on Duval Street

New Year’s Eve in Key West — December 31

New Year’s is a great celebration every year in Key West, but this year, saying a hearty goodbye to 2009 will be especially sweet.  There are several midnight countdowns on Duval Street as well as parties at restaurants and bars all around town.  Our favorite place to be at midnight is in the 800 block of Duval Street to watch Sushi, a famous local drag queen, descend in a giant version of Dorothy’s red slipper (think: Wizard of Oz) for the midnight countdown.

CNN is usually here to cover all the action with a live feed to their New Year’s Eve coverage at Times Square…..Hey, would you rather be freezing your booty off in Times Square, or be down in Key West in 72 degree tropical weather?

If you stay at any of the Historic Key West Inns for New Year’s you will be a short stroll from all the countdowns on Duval Street.

When it comes time to plan your next trip to Key West, Historic Key West Inns is here for you!  You can check availability and rates for all the inns 24/7 on our website, or call our reservations desk at 800-549-4430.

I hope to see you soon.

Julie

Solomon's Busy At Work...

Solomon is the newest addition to our Historic Key West Inns family, arriving today from All Animal Clinic.  He is a four week old puppy, a mix of  Labradoodle (mom) and Australian Shepherd (dad), which means those big paws are going to come in handy!  The mother died giving birth, leaving Solomon an orphan.  His new Dad is our Director of Operations,  Marlon Garnett, who received a call from the vet’s office requesting he provide a new home for the puppy.  Solomon is still being bottle fed, and is a bit woozy today from his first shot. Everyone here is excited about the new arrival.  We will all see  him most days as he accompanies Marlon to work.

It is time to change the name of Chelsea House?

Chelsea House Pool & Gardens, one of the five Historic Key West Inns, was named over 30 years ago for one of the owners cats, who was a British Shorthair named Chelsea.  Now that Chelsea is no longer with us…..is it time for an update of the name to our latest furry friend?  Well, we have many furry friends around here and they are all special to us……so I think we will stay with tradition and keep the Chelsea name.

If you have a beloved pet that you like to travel with,  Chelsea House is our pet friendly hotel in Key West.  We have designated  13 of the 34 guest rooms as pet friendly.  These rooms all open directly to the outside and have hardwood or tile flooring.  There is plenty of room around the Chelsea grounds for walking your pet, and we’ve placed doggie “convenience stations” with plastic bags and waste disposal around the property.  Chelsea accepts most varieties of pets, including cats, dogs, birds, and goldfish (does anyone travel with their goldfish?)…..  When planning a trip to Key West with your pet please call the hotel directly at 800-845-8859 to check availability of the pet friendly rooms, and to answer all your questions about house rules and accommodations.

Our Other Key Lime Inn Office Friend, Lucky Dog

Kelly McGuire Sets the Mood for a Lazy Afternoon Filled With Music

The 2009 “Meeting of the Minds” is underway in Key West and all of the Historic Key West Inns are filled with Parrotheads (these are Jimmy Buffet fans, for those of you new to the scene).  I just came from Lighthouse Court over on Whitehead Street, where Kelly McGuire is leading his daily afternoon jam session in the central courtyard.  About 200 music lovers are gathered there at the moment, hanging out around the pool enjoying the show.   Josh is behind the bar mixing up key lime margaritas and other adult libations while Andy is at the grill on cheeseburger duty.  It looks like everyone is having a great time.

At Key Lime Inn this morning, the local Parrothead Club in residence there arranged for their own live concert around the pool.  Here is video on our Youtube channel of them gettin’ the groove. This MOTM is looking like a songwriters festival.  There is excellent live music all around and a lot of guests with smiles on their faces….  This is what makes an innkeeper happy.

Relaxing by the Pool While Kelly and the Band Jams

Listen to Kelly McGuire jam this week at Lighthouse Court,  2 to 5pm, Nov 4 to 7.

Join us this week at Lighthouse Court for live music daily, featuring Kelly McGuire, our favorite singer / songwriter from Texas.  Wednesday, Nov 4 thru Saturday, Nov 7 the jam sessions will be each afternoon from 2 to 5pm.   Then Sunday, November 8 join us for a “brunch jam” from noon to 2pm.  It’s all free and open to the public.  All music lovers are welcome.

Lighthouse Court is located at 902 Whitehead Street in Key West, one block west of Duval Street, next to the Lighthouse.  Come through the front gate, across the street from the Hemingway Home, and make your way back to our center courtyard and pool area.   Our pool bar will be open serving key lime margaritas, cheeseburgers, and all your favorites.  Kelly will have his latest CD available for sale.  Come kick back with us at Lighthouse Court for an adjustment of attitude and a re-adjustment of latitude.   Arrive,  Relax,  Be Local.

Julie

Which Way Is This Parade Going?

It’s Saturday, the big parade day for Fantasy Fest.  The street fair is wrapping up on Duval Street to get the world famous ‘drag’ cleared for tonight’s parade.  The weather has been really beautiful (sunny, clear, 80 degrees or so) and there will be a full moon tonight.

Here is video from the Masquerade March and Fantasy Fest yesterday as the “southern route” passed Chelsea House.  The March is a walking parade for anyone who wants to join in, either in costume or not. The parade starts at the Key West Cemetery and takes two different routes to Duval Street. Luckily, we have hotels on both routes! The southern route goes past Chelsea House and the northern one goes past the Merlin Guesthouse. At both hotels we set up a bar that serves our coveted rum punch.  This year we named our punch recipe our “fang banger”. We also had D.J.’s blasting tunes to get everyone dancing.

The Masquerade March is a free-style parade.  People just show up at the Key West cemetary around 5pm and start following the crowd in one direction or another..thats how you end up on the “southern route” or the “northern route” of the parade.  The groups are not always equal in size, so its a challenge for our teams at Chelsea and Merlin to anticipate how much punch to make….so we just make a lot!!!  We never have leftovers.  This year we made up about 55 gallons of rum punch.

Our Guests Go Out in Style!

We Got Soul!

Here's Denice Welcoming Guests to Key Lime Inn.

Our hotel guests generally start with our party, and then join the parade as it passes by and continues toward  Duval Street.  We had two great parties this year, one on Truman Avenue out front of Chelsea House,and one on Simonton Street, out front of Merlin Guesthouse.  We did something new this year, cooking up hotdogs at Chelsea House to hand out along with our punch,  so everyone had a little food to balance the booze.

The photos you are seeing and the video in this post are from the Chelsea House party. I was so busy shooting pictures on Truman, I didn’t make it to the Merlin party.  But, Abby (our Merlin manager) had a video camera there and shot these videos for our YouTube channel.  There are some great costumes!! I hope you enjoy them.  See you on Duval tonight!

Julie

Pink Pasties and Big Headdresses

The Crowd in Front of Chelsea House

Getting the Party Started with Fang Bangers and 'Dogs

Rum Punch in One Hand and ??? in the Other?

Watch the Masquerade March on Friday from the front garden at Chelsea House.

Wednesday, October 28  – Mid-way thru Fantasy Fest 2009

I can already tell you Fantasy Fest 2009 will be one of the best.  All the inns are full at this point for the remainder of the festival…more visitors are arriving in town each day.  The weather is fantastic.

Its great to see our guests rolling in with their latest costume creations in tow.  For those that packed light, there are many places to get a last minute costume (or not) or find some beads to throw around your neck.  Parties are happening every day all around Old Town.

The body paint shops have become one of the big attractions during Fantasy Fest, as many people choose to have their “costume” sprayed on, as opposed to, well, wearing a costume.  Key West has many talented artists that set up temporary “paint shops” for Fantesy Fest with air-brush guns and body paint.  Hanging out to watch these artists in action and to watch their subjects bare their canvas has become a popular activity during the festival.  For anyone that wants to do this I would recommend setting up an appointment with the artist.  The artists tend to be very busy.  They can paint subjects for 18 hours a day, if they have the stamina, during the last three days of FF.

The Masquerade March is coming up on Friday, and we are busy getting ready at Merlin Guesthouse and Chelsea House.  Both inns are on the parade route and are official stopovers.  We have DJ’s that will be playing tunes for the event, and Andy (our manager at Chelsea House) will be grilling hotdogs this year.  But, the main attraction at our Stopover Parties is our Rum Punch, which we will be serving to all who stop by.  We have named this year’s recipe our Fang Banger.  It’s all free, so stop by and have a drink with us.

I promise to take some pictures and videos on Friday during the Masquerade March.  I will post some here, so stop by later and check it out.

Julie

Last Minute Availability (As of October 14)

As of this writing we have only a few rooms left for this year’s Fantasy Fest. Call our Reservations Desk at 800-549-4430.

All Historic Key West Inns still have availability for the early event dates that start with Goombay Festival over the weekend of Oct 23 and 24. There are also great events on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Fantasy Fest week, when rooms are plentiful and rates are low.

One of our favorite events is the Headdress Ball on Tuesday night, Oct 27. It is a costume party of headgear only, but you won’t believe what some creative folks come up with. This party is hosted by the Key West Business Guild. The event is known for it’s talented performers, outlandish costumes, and a good dose of very gay entertainment. You can view the entire party schedule at the official Fantasy Fest website: www.FantasyFest.net.

All of the Historic Key West Inns are located within walking distance of the Fantasy Zone.  Come and have fun in our beautiful island paradise. See you then!

]]> http://blog.historickeywestinns.com/2009/10/14/fantasy-fest-availability-update/feed/ 0 http://blog.historickeywestinns.com/2009/09/21/come-stay-with-us-during-these-key-west-events-powerboat-racing-parrot-heads-fantasy-fest/ http://blog.historickeywestinns.com/2009/09/21/come-stay-with-us-during-these-key-west-events-powerboat-racing-parrot-heads-fantasy-fest/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:15:00 +0000 Christina http://blog.historickeywestinns.com/?p=370 Powerboat Racing in Key West – November 8th to 15th

The 29th Annual Key West World Championship Race takes place in Key West in November.   If you haven’t seen powerboat racing before, you will not believe the excitement from the roar of these boats racing through the harbor.  The viewing stands are right in front of the action.  The Key West race is the culmination of a year of racing for the teams.  You will see the biggest, the fastest, and the best.

Race Village, with the Wet Pits, Dry Pits, and race viewing, is at the Truman Waterfront on the western shore of Key West.  All of the Historic Key West Inns are located within walking distance of Race Village. Race week begins with a parade of Superboats down Duval Street on Sunday, Nov 8.  Race days are Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, Nov 11, 13, and 15.

Albury Court and Lighthouse Court offer a 5 Night Superboat Race Package that covers all the race days.   The package includes lodging (Wednesday thru Sunday), entry to Race Village for the 5 days, daily continental breakfast, and 2 complimentary “Wet Pit” cocktails from the Lighthouse Court pool bar (a short stroll from Race Village).

5 Night Superboat Race Package
Lighthouse Court $875                    Albury Court $797

Lodging is available at all of the Historic Key West Inns for Powerboat Racing.  Key Lime Inn and Lighthouse Court require a minimum 4 night stay during the event. Chelsea House, Albury Court, and Merlin Guesthouse require a 3 night stay during the event.  Reservations for the Race Package should be made by calling the hotel.  All other bookings can be made on-line, by phone or email to the hotel, or with your travel agent.

Reservations: Call 800.403.2866 or visit our Reservations page

Parrot Heads – Meeting of the Minds, November 4th – 8th

Join us for our free (and unofficial) Parrothead Event at Lighthouse Court:
Our 4th Annual
Daily Jam with Kelly McGuire & Friends
every afternoon at Lighthouse Court 2 to 5pm. Come relax around the pool, sip on a Key Lime Margarita, and listen to the best new songwriters.

Hotel Availability for MOTM

We are very close to fully booked for the main dates of MOTM.  We have a few rooms available at Albury Court Hotel, where rates start at only $137 per night.  We occasionally have some cancellations too, so don’t hesitate to call the hotels to check on last minute availability.

For reservations and information please call 800.549.4430

Fantasy Fest, October 23 – 31

Our biggest party of the year in Key West is Fantay Fest. This year’s event takes place over 10 days from October 23 through October 31, 2009. We have many repeat guests that come every year for this event, and we hope to meet some new visitors this year too. It’s only a few weeks away now, so most of our rooms are already reserved for the end of the week. A few rooms are re-opening when we receive a cancellation. As of this writing (Sept 21) we have 2 rooms open at Chelsea House and 2 rooms open at Lighthouse Court for the final days that include Parade Night on Saturday, Oct 31. Both hotels require a 4 night stay for any reservations that include Parade Night.

All inns still have availability for the early event dates that start with Goombay Festival over the weekend of Oct 23 and 24. There are also great events on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Fantasy Fest week, when rooms are plentiful and rates are low.

One of our favorite events is the Headdress Ball on Tuesday night, Oct 27. It is a costume party of headgear only, but you won’t believe what some creative folks come up with. This party is hosted by the Key West Business Guild. The event is known for it’s talented performers, outlandish costumes, and a good dose of very gay entertainment. You can view the entire party schedule at the official Fantasy Fest website.

All of the Historic Key West Inns are located within walking distance of the Fantasy Zone.

So come stay with us and have a great time at these events!

The first wedding we want to showcase is that of Lisa Grass and Robert Geoffrion who held both their ceremony and reception at our Lighthouse Court Hotel.

Lisa and Robert Geoffrion in front of Lighthouse Court

Here are their comments about their wedding experience with us:

Dear Andy and Julie:

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!! It was a great idea to have our wedding at Lighthouse Court! Your staff was amazing! Every time I went in to see Andy with another; “I just thought of this” request, he always said, “yes, no problem!” He was terrific. Thanks to him, his quick thinking helped our party escape a torrential downpour which threatened to ruin our meal…hehehe…but alas, the show went on and I can truly say that we had the best time of our lives! All of our guests commented on how beautiful the property was and how great an atmosphere it provided. For one long weekend, people from all across the country (and the world for that matter), got to hang out and chill and enjoy one another like we all lived on the same block at home! It was fantastic and we will be back next July to celebrate our one year anniversary! Oh, by the way…if I can mention the really great folks who run the Eat-n-Grin restaurant on Truman…they were great! They made us breakfast for 11 people, to go, with no notice and even gave us a ride back to the court! We went back three times and some of our guests did too! They are a wonderful couple who run that place!

Cheers!
Robert and Lisa Geoffrion

Our second couple are Ricardo and Ingrid who stayed at Key Lime Inn.

Ricardo and Ingrid's Wedding

Here are their comments:

Thank you Denice:

This past weekend was the best we have ever experienced, and we owe much of that to you. Our guests LOVED the Key Lime Inn! I look back on the day Ingrid and I were searching for hotels and we are so glad we found you. You did everything you could to accommodate us and our guests including finding us last minute rooms, contacting the scooter company, giving us advice on planning, making sure our guests were taken care of…the list could go on and on.

We never knew how difficult it would be to plan a wedding, and we also realize how much more difficult it would have been if it weren’t for you and the staff at the Key Lime.

We want you to know from the bottom of our hearts that we will never forget how helpful you were and how thoughtful you were to us for the most important day of our life. Thank you so much for everything and we hope to see you again whenever we go down to Key West!

Sincerely,

Ricardo & Ingrid

Fireworks in Key West

We like to start our holiday weekend off July 2nd with the First Thursday Art Walk. The Caroline Street Art & Design District is a neighborhood of galleries, shops and design studios in the historic Key West Bight community. They are presenting an evening of open houses from 6-9 p.m. with art, coffee shops and restaurants. This walk is held the first Thursday of each month and the admission is free. For more information contact (305) 296-9100.

Our Key West 4th of July celebration is always magical and there are two events that we like to do most. The first is the performance of the 13th Army Band, Florida Army National Guard.  These citizen-soldiers of the 13th Army Band play patriotic and concert band music  for the Fourth of July celebration. Concert begins at 4 p.m. at White Street Pier and goes through the night. All band events are free and open to the public.  For more information just call SSG Ralph Morales at 954-893-5070.

The other July 4th event we attend is the picnic hosted by the Visiting Nurses Association.  This 25th anniversary celebration is a fundraiser that is both delicious and beautiful. You can donate $100.00 per person and see the fireworks in their ‘Best Seats on the Beach’  while munching on a special buffet; donate $25.00 for adults and $10.00 for kids to  get a picnic buffet or donate $10.00 for general admission which includes free watermelon, soda and popcorn. Either choice it’s a fun way to spend a summer evening.

Each year from July 16th -to July 20th, Mel Fisher’s family and friends celebrate the legendary treasure hunter’s  accomplishments, unquenchable optimism and exuberant zest for life with a festival events. You can contact them at (305) 296-6534 or email them at skwiley@melfisher.com

Look-alike 'Hemingways'

The always zany and somewhat serious Hemingway Days are held this year from July 21st  – 26th .  Scheduled events include a look-alike contest for stocky white-bearded men resembling Hemingway, readings and book signings by nationally acclaimed authors, an awards ceremony for the renowned literary competition directed by author and Hemingway granddaughter Lorian Hemingway, a commemoration of the 110th anniversary of Ernest’s July 21 birth, a one-man play about Hemingway’s life and motivations, an exhibition of rare Hemingway memorabilia, a maniacal  “Running of the Bulls” and a three-day marlin tournament ( July 22nd – 25th) celebrating Hemingway’s devotion to the sport. Other information can be found at (305) 296-2388 (Look-Alike); 294-0320 (literary).

Our July restaurant ‘fave’ Nine One Five

Summer specials at Nine One Five, a bistro with an upstairs wine lounge on Duval Street, is always a real treat. This year’s theme is called:   Party Like It’s 1929! 3 Courses – $29-includes 1 free glass of champagne.  Some of the ‘Starters’ include: Devils on Horseback, Chipotle Conch Chowder or Flash Fried Calamari with fresh aioli. The ‘Mains’ include Sizzling Thai Yellowtail Snapper, Steak Bruscetta on Toasted Ciabatta or Free Range Chicken with a mustard seed Potato Salad. They always have a dessert of the day so make sure you ask about that. Yummy! Contact them for further info and reservations at (305) 296-0669.

You can find this ’specials’ menu here. Just cut-and-paste this address into a new address bar field:  http://mail.google.com/mail/?attid=0.1.0.1&disp=attd&view=att&th=12231f8819871aaa

Looking ahead to August, we always await Lobsterfest August 7th – 9th. Festivities include Friday’s Lobsterfest Duval Crawl, a Street Fair featuring art, crafts, merchandise and of course, lots of lobster, and a free concert at the corner of Duval and Green Streets  on Saturday.  You can find more information by contacting (305) 294-2000.

Our beaches await you!

So come join us this summer at any of our Historic Key West Inns hotels. As we like to say:   Arrive.    Relax.   Be local.