This might be the best hotel deal in the state of Florida…read more
We booked the "Forget Me Not" room, and we were shocked to see what we got for less than $150 per night. The room is huge, with numerous windows along the length of two walls facing the gulf. It's open and airy, and you can open the windows to hear the sounds of the gulls and the water breaking on the pylons. The east facing side of the room (a perfect sunrise viewpoint) has a large deck stretching the length of the room with an extra bit jutting out in the center that you can fish from without accidentally hitting the rod on the overhang. You can't look out onto the gulf for more than 30 seconds without spotting dolphins playing in the water.
The building is old but the interior is immaculate. I have to admit I was surprised at how clean and well kept it is. If you've ever stayed at a locally owned hotel in the Florida Keys, you probably know what I'm talking about -- you have to judge them with a different measuring stick. Harbour Master's rooms aren't like that at all. They look great.
Parking is on the street and on a busy day, you won't find any. However, there is car parking near the trailer parking area in a few places. If you have to park out there (it's about a 5-minute walk to the hotel), they will take you back to your car in a golf cart so you can get your bags. We just waited until night fell and people started leaving Dock St., and then moved the car to a spot just a few steps from the room.
Wireless internet access is free with the room, and it is VERY welcome. Cedar Key is a dead zone for cell service, so this is most often going to be your access to the rest of the world. But you're in Cedar Key to relax, right? Maybe just leave your phone in the room. :-)
As far as room for improvement, there really isn't much (obviously, none is enough of an issue to affect my rating):
The air conditioning is strong and feels great after a hot day on the water, but the A/C unit itself is on the deck. When it kicks on, if you're out on the deck, it's jarring and very loud. It would be nice if there was a little sound barrier there to help mitigate that somewhat.
Roaches. You can't blame the hotel for this. Roaches are a fact of life in Florida, and especially in the old coastal areas. They can get into literally everything, and it's impossible to exclude them from an area without hermetically sealing it. The first night of our stay we found three of them in the bathroom, just hanging out together. They were quickly dispatched and disposed of, and we never saw a single bug after that. Maybe we made an example. I don't know. Out on the deck, they hang out underneath the wood planks during the day and come out at night. When we would go out onto the deck in the middle of the night, we'd see about half a dozen scatter into the crevices. They didn't get in our way. We never saw a single bug of any kind anywhere in the living area of the hotel room.
Between the signs on the windows, the decorations in the rooms, some of the items sold in the gift shop, the owner's christian faith is certainly undeniable, but it's a bit heavy handed. I found it tiresome but easy to ignore. It's their business and they have the right to decorate as they see fit.
Overall, you can get cheaper rooms in Cedar Key, but you CAN NOT get a better deal in Cedar Key, all things considered.
