Although pricey, you get what you pay for! We were greeted on arrival with a glass of champagne and it went uphill from there. The staff could not have been friendlier. They were helpful and very professional.The accommodations were spectacular.Oceanfront lodge rooms were top-notch. Facilities were excellent. Spa treatments were heavenly,although the locker rooms could use a face-lift. All in all a wonderful experience. Would definitely return.

Just got back from a 5 day trip between Christmas and NY, just after the resort re-opened after the fire and renovations. We booked a 1 bedroom suite with a golf course view (we have 3 kids and we wanted the kitchen to make some quick meals for them, including our 8 month old). We were located in the 800 building (J), which was a walk to the main hotel. While we were fine with the location, the room itself was not worth the amount of money we paid ($400/night). The rooms are very old inside - it seems nothing has been updated in about 15+ years. A few lists of our complaints: -our view was of the golf course alright, but it was of the one hole that is not open yet because this is where they were keeping the enormous dump for the renovations. There were huge piles of debris and other construction items that were not very pleasant to look at. -the kitchens and bathrooms were very poorly outfitted - the cabinetry was all particle board that had seen it's last day many days ago, the faucet fixtures were broken or dripping, the small refrigerator moved out from the wall anytime I opened it - just disgusting! -the ceiling in the bathroom sink area was peeling and actually fell on my head when I was blow drying my hair (the blow dryers are a joke by the way - bring you own!), some of the switches for lights were not working and they were filthy with fingerprints. The turning knob to open the slats for the bathroom window was actually broken (but still sitting in the slot), so we couldn't open the window, one of the bedroom light bulbs was burned out, so I left it on the night side table for housekeeping to change - they never did - the bulb was still sitting there the day we checked out and needless to say - I never did any reading in bed. -the draperies and bedspreads were quite sub-par - again they looked like something out of the 80's. -we had to make so many requests for things that should have been in our room that were not - a pack and play for the baby, tea bags and sweetner for the coffee and tea, a room service menu, extra pillows and blankets for the pull out couch for the kids, on and on. -I tried reaching housekeeping, the conceriege and room service for over 35 minutes one day to only continue to get a busy signal. I thought that to be so odd that all lines were busy - turns out it was the phone that was broken. When I finally got through to room service - was told I could just dial 4444 - but no where on the phone does it say that. -The service was very slow at the resort and it seemed as if they did not have enough employees hired yet. We found out that about 10 called out sick on Christmas Eve, so the hotel fired them all. -We paid a resort fee of $39/day/room to include kayaks, bikes, and a few other ridiculous things - there were neve enough bikes - there was always always a wait to try to ride and by then it was the middle of the afternoon. There were never, ever enough lounge chairs on the beach. If you didn't go down at 7:30 am and get your chairs, you were out of luck! The food was average, although the sushi at Nakai was excellent - but be prepared to wait over 45 minutes before getting it. The other restaurants were very limited on choices and again the service was extremely slow. The only good thing about the breakfast buffet was you could go up and serve yourself - meaning no wait! -On NYE, they did do a nice fireworks display, but upon returning to our room with our 3 kids at 12:45 am - we were locked out. My husband had to return 2 times to get new keys. All in all, this resort was not worth the price we paid and I don't think we would ever return. The manager did give up our resort fee back as a credit and an additional $50/night credit - but it still has not changed our mind to return. Friends stayed in the main lodge and their accomodations were lovely - but the room was twice the cost as ours and I think $400-500/night is the most I would ever spend on a hotel room.

We recently stayed in December right after the renovations and it was wonderful! Enjoyed kayaking and spa services along with lounging at the pool and dining a few feet from the ocean. Staff very friendly everywhere we went.

We have always loved and enjoyed staying at the Cheeca. For years it has been our favorite. However, our most recent stay turned out to be very disheartening and most upsetting. The service in the dining room and at the tiki bar was excellent but the other services have lowered standards apparently. We stayed in a beach bungalow, that we had stayed in before #516 in front of the lagoon. The bed was broken underneath which made for extremely uncomfortable sleeping. The decor was run down, veneer peeling off the table, broken fishing poles, badly worn and stained bedding, the rug was worn and filthy, no more full bar, only water, no beach towels were set out for us, all of which had been their prior norm. And when we spoke politely to housekeeping about the bed and room condition and lack of amenities, we were very *rudely* responded to. They did not investigate the condition of the bed and told us the fishing poles were for decoration only. When we tried speaking to the front desk we were refused our 3rd night which we had booked and told there were no other rooms available. The cost of the room is $500 per night plus a standard fee which we found to be not at all a good value this time around. In conclusion, we will no longer plan our vacations there or recommend the Cheeca to our friends and family. It is a very expensive place to fall so short on so much. It once was a place that prided itself on THE most comfortable beds stocked full of pillows and great service and wonderful amenities. But sadly it is no longer the same place. We finished our vacation at the Moorings Village next door, please see my review on that. :-) ~L.Schafer and L. Globe~

I recently stayed at Cheeca after staying at the Islander in Islamorada the week prior, what a complete disappointment. The resort in itself is beautiful, but in my opinion this does not make up for the lack of customer service. We had problems with everything from housekeeping to the food. We had asked for a late checkout due to the fact we were scuba diving in the morning, normal checkout is 11, we did not get back till a bit after noon and the housekeeping starting knocking on our door at 1155 requesting us to vacate. (my mother had stayed back that morning) They proceeded to knock every 5 minutes for the next 20 minutes with rudeness. The dinner prior was alright, but when paying $30+ a plate I would expect better food, 2 star at best. The following day we went for lunch, where we waited 20+ minutes to even be greeted by someone. When we asked for the manager we were told that our waiter would be right over, when JJ arrived, we had mentioned that we were waiting 20+ minutes and his response was "well I am here now so what do you want". We then asked for a fruit and cheese platter (which we knew they had from breakfast), JJ was unfamiliar with anything of the sort, he said he would check with the "Chef" who then brought us out fruit and 4 sandwich slices of cheese. WOW... We then asked for the manager who came over and said she was acting as such for right now, she never got around to apologizing for the terrible service but offered to buy us a round of drinks, 15 minutes later she personally delivered them with the FULL check for lunch. This to me was unacceptable, I then asked to speak to the hotel manager, I was then greeted with the front desk manager who was completely aloof, but none-the-less took care of our lunch bill, heard our complaints about the rest of our stay, yet still never apologized just continued to give excuses for the problems we had. The next day Cheeca sent me a email to review my stay, I gave a detailed description of all the issues we had, it has been over 10 days and I have not rec'd anything in form of a response. If your headed to Islamorada, I would most definately skip staying here, albeit the resort is pretty but it is not worth the constant frustration you get for the price. I have no problem spending the money for a nice resort, but Cheeca is NOT WORTH IT. Stay at the Islander, save a few bucks and enjoy your stay, it has a beautiful beach,pools, hot tub, and good rooms (the view is much better, Cheeca only has a resort room left when we booked, that consisted of a small pond with dirt surrounding it and the houses adjacent to it) all rooms at the Islander are within walking distance from the pool and beach with a nice patio and their staff if VERY friendly and accomodating. Islamorada is beautiful and you should enjoy your stay!!!

If your not in a renovated room expect the worst. We were charged over $300 a night plus service fees and it looked more like a $39 motel room. The staff is untrained and the management not available. I wrote a letter after we got home and no one responded to it. I would NOT go back.

We went here in mid October. This hotel does not measure up to it's 4 stars. The only good service we got was from the Bell staff, they were wonderful. Even though the hotel was only half full the service in the restaurants was horrible. The first night we were seated at a table and it took forever to be greeted and then were told that they were short staffed. We eventually were given water, but no menus or offer of drinks. After about 15 minutes we, and several other tables got up and left. I tried to complain at the front desk, but was told there was no manager on duty. I also reported that the shower door flooded the bathroom and that there were 2 lights out in our room, but they were still out when we checked out three days later. For all our problems, the only thing they did was offer to take off the $29 a day service fee for one day. Which was actually doubled on our bill by accident. Check your bill carefully.

The service is the worst for any resort EVER. We stayed in the most expensive rooms and for much of the weekend did not have hot water, phone service, remote to tv did not work properly, and the A/C did not keep the room very cool. On top of all that the staff was terrible. Not enough servers at the pool or for lunch. Long waits for drinks and food. Cheeca owners are to blame for hiring weak management. Stay any where but at Cheeca while in the keys.

Made reservations the day before and was upgraded to a suite. The staff was very friendly. Beautiful hotel with lots to do. My only complaint would be that the conch chowder was sub par. But thats about it! I plan to visit again very soon.

As a short break from the kids and cold NE weather, my wife and I decided to spend 4 days at the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. We couldn't have been more pleased with our experience....our room was luxurious (we stayed in main lodge), the food delicious/service impeccable (we had breakfast, lunch and dinner at the resort), sports programs enjoyable (we played golf, road bikes and kayaked) and spa invigorating. I would highly recommend for relaxing, romantic get-away, but not necessarily family vacation given lack of beach and children's programs. We would return in a heart-beat. I highly recommend lunch at Morada Beach, dinner at Pierre's (sunset and meal was incredible on the upstairs outside veranda) and breakfast at Islamorada Diner (Home of Bob's Buns; located across the street from Cheeca). If relaxation is your goal, avoid the hustle and bustle of Key West and enjoy the simpler pleasures of life at Cheeca in Islamorada!