Baker's Cay Resort Key Largo, Curio Collection by Hilton — Attraction in Key Largo

Just returned from 2 nights at Bakers Cay in Key Largo, FL! Figured I’d leave some thoughts in pro/con form. I used a FNC and points to cover half the stay (plus 90k pts for the other night) and got the “king hammock view room.” Booked a few months in advance and despite it being right around the New Years holiday, was glad to have been able to find standard room award availability.||Pros:|-good location being about a 2 hr drive from Miami/FLL. Not the quickest airport drive by any means, but certainly doable and nice to have more than one airport option (we actually drove in via Key West, where we started for a few days, then continued on to FLL)|-has decent sized beach area (private for just hotel guests) with some tree/umbrella-shaded spots for those who don’t want to be in the direct sun|-we were celebrating a special occasion and they left us a fruit platter, OJ, and rum upon arrival-nice that was recognized (I’d emailed in advance)|-decent sized room with king bed, pull out couch, and small patio with chairs|-separate kid/adult only pool areas|-a lot of programming/activities offered for both kids and adults-very family friendly! We played bingo on the beach one day (didn’t win but there were prizes) and they had s’mores at night|-$36 f&b credit per day (I think this was due to my gold status?) and no resort fee (I think because I used a FNC and points to cover the stay?)|-dock on site for those who want to fish (and you can actually have your fresh catch for dinner if you want, a unique feature!)|-water sports offered on site (kayaks etc)|-have a concierge team that was relatively responsive via email and answered questions in advance of our visit|-front desk was responsive via text throughout stay|-lobby/beach/pool bathrooms were all very clean/tidy |-cute coffee cart in lobby for quick grab and go coffee drinks (replaced with ice cream sundae and cotton candy cart at night); not complimentary but nice to have available||Cons:|-uncomfortable beach chairs (not padded) (nitpicky I know)|-food overpriced (not surprised) and everything already had a 20% tip added|-sluggish Sunday "Flamingo" brunch service with several items wrong (dinner service had been much better)|-no room upgrade despite special occasion I’d emailed about (wasn’t expected ofc, but would’ve been nice extra touch!)|-room was missing robes upon arrival so I had to text front desk to request (no slippers provided)|-front desk didn’t provide water bottles upon arrival as they were supposed to (went back later to get them myself)|-the pool is kind of awkwardly separate from the beach area (it’s actually on the other side of the parking lot closer to the highway)…this was temporarily a pro when the beach was very windy and cold one morning so it was good to have a less windy spot to read at, but on the whole, I think it feels disjointed being designed this way and kind of offputting being so close to the major roadway IMO|-front desk warned us at check in that they charge $20 for each beach towel that’s not returned…idk if they actually stick to this or if it’s just to scare guests into not abandoning/stealing towels…in any case, they have these “vending machines” to get/return towels which is pretty easy|-charged for parking (not surprising and it was only $10/night…could’ve been worse) but easy to come and go whenever|-ordering food/drinks by QR code at the pool didn’t work; had to wait and flag someone down (also very limited pool menu)|-guest room doors were very loud and would slam and shake the walls of the rooms nextdoor|-despite having a room technically facing the ocean, if you’re on level 1 or 2 (in the Hammock wing anyway) and not above the tree line, you will just see the trees and not the actual water beyond. The trees are lovely but definitely request a higher floor if you want to see the water. Wish we’d been upgraded to a higher floor or I’d known to request that ahead of time!|-like many resort properties, there’s definitely an issue with people placing belongings on beach chairs and then disappearing for hours, leaving others struggling to find a chair. You’d think their charging for unreturned towels would help limit this…but it did not and plenty of towels were just abandoned on unoccupied chairs|-limited chairs by pool-it's just not a huge area/doesn't have a lot of space for extra seating; gotta get a spot early or pray someone is leaving soon!||Overall:|I wouldn’t rush back to stay here again, but for a quick 2 nights in the upper FL keys it was definitely a good option. It wasn’t the most luxurious Hilton property out there, but it seemed like one of the nicer options in this particular area esp if wanting a private beach. We weren’t traveling with kids but I can see how all the programming would be helpful for parents wanting to keep kids entertained. I think it was a decent use of a Hilton FNC and pts, at least over the holidays when cash rates are elevated everywhere anyway. The food wasn’t particularly memorable but it’s easy enough to leave and dine elsewhere nearby. The room was comfy and clean and modern, just be aware some rooms will have better water views than others.||Happy to answer...

This resort's two greatest assets are the magnificent beachfront woods with short shaded walkways on a secured property, which makes this an excellent resort for families with small children (they also have activities programmed). The second asset is the staff with a genuine culture of care for guests. The service we found to be great, and where slippages occured the team took ownership and tried to correct, but you first need to voice your concerns and it gets tiring at a 4* resort pretty quickly.

Overall, we found almost everything to be 80% great but with a caveat falling short of their 4 stars rating.

The biggest issue we've encountered is that the room A/C controls malfunctioned not once but two nights of the six we've stayed at the resort. On the second night the A/C overcooled the room so much so that we woke up at 1:40AM freezing, toddler crying. The smart A/C control screen only displaying "Offline", all touch controls gone. The resort staff were however able to disable the A/C in half hour from our call, while we tied to warm up the room by opening the balcony as it was significantly warmer outside at 65F than in our room. The odd thing, it happened again two nights later: the same thing "Offline" and room was cold. In both instances the resort promptly restored the system functionality the next mornings. However, this is the sort of thing we've aimed to avoid staying stateside in a Four start resort.

The other thing that was genuinely problematic with the room is the glaring absence of the bathroom fan to remove humidity and smells. It was so humid that our bathing suits never fully dried.

It's a great hotel with small children or just to relax and stroll around and trees by the water. The public area are well kept, but there are several light fixtures that have exposed light sockets on the property that a child may stick finger into. Either they were live and dangerous we didn't test, but see photos for yourself. Also we saw a huge cockroach in the elevator on the way to dinner.

The room we got was spacious, thoughtfully decorated, practically furnished, and very well cleaned, but there were multiple elements of  significant wear and tear, deep scratches on the countertop, gouges in the floor boards in the most visible area, rusty trims on a couple lamps. A night stand dining light flashes like a strobe. AC vents had visible dust flailing on the air flow.

The bathroom was spacious, with ample vanity shelves for comfortably organizing a week's stay of toiletries, but there was no glass/cup to put toothbrushes into. Just like the room, it was very well cleaned, but it had deep mold in a a few places around the shower. See photos. The shower itself was excellent, but there was no bathroom fan to remove the steam, or partner's #2 smells. Also, there were not enough hooks to dry the bathing suits and towels, given this is a beachfront resort with a double pool and high ambient humidity.

The pool was great, with a powerful artificial waterfall, but it ran just one evening of the six we were there. The family pool was heated on Sunday it was notably colder on Monday (on Sunday you could feel the warm jets in the pool but in Saturday there were barely running). Mysteriously the adult pool is smaller, shallower, and warmer. The hot tub was great and hot. Our favorite part of the pool experience.

Both restaurants had lovely views and great service, but the food was okay given the prices and surcharges. One dinner we ordered a burger with  "truffle fries" whick were not fried in truffle oil as they typically are in most restaurants and rather drizzled with it so they had hardly any flavor.  Breakfast cappuccinos came from an automatic machine and they tasted according (if you stick with brewed coffee you will not be disappointed, it's bold, flavorful and good).

Wi-Fi is available all over the property (unlike the spotty T-Mobile cell coverage) so your iCloud / Google One photo backups run from the beach shall you drop your phone into the deep end of the dock. However it often went out...

Overall 2/5: Average but extremely overpriced hotel, good for families, poor for couples

Pros: Great location, nice sunsets, daily activities/events

Cons: Overcrowded, noisy, overpriced, underwhelming, full of kids and dogs

Rooms: Acceptable but not luxury by any means. The quality of the bed and bedding is not what you would expect for almost $1000 per night. We had much higher expectations. Our room also was missing robes on arrival and no slippers were provided, little things like housekeeping never restocking the tissues, the soaps/toiletries throughout our stay was disappointing.

Noise: The main issue with the rooms was the lack of sound proofing, there’s actually a gap under the door leading to the main corridor which is outside. Because the hotel has so many kids and also actively encourages dogs to stay you can hear barking and crying kids/babies a lot which spoils it. Even the staff wheel trollies up and down the corridor with speed and without consideration for guests which is really noisy

Views: In terms of views, every room has a balcony, the ocean wing is right In front of the crowded beach so I wouldn’t recommend these rooms if you want peace, quiet and privacy. In the hammock wing, there are some rooms which are private hidden behind the trees of the beach but unfortunately the trees also block the view of the sea. I think the best rooms would be on the fourth floor in the hammock wing facing the sea but also in the quieter area. Lots of rooms actually face the car park area so make sure to avoid those!

Loyalty: As Diamond members we found the benefits were poor, unfortunately we received no upgrade, no early check in or late check out, no welcome amenity, no welcome as a diamond member. It felt very transactional like the hotel wanted us in and out as quickly as possible. The $18 a day credit is lost quickly on a couple of coffees and a snack to share.

Pricing: Be aware, whatever price you see on the menu- add a mandatory 20% service charge AND 7% tax (27% extra on any item) - then they will present you with a bill with an ‘additional tip’ section on it! This adds considerable costs to the stay.

Resort fee: The hotel charges a mandatory resort fee of 49 dollars plus tax a day which just includes things you would expect to be included anyway during your stay at a $1k per night hotel- like WiFi.

Extra fees are everywhere and everything must be done yourself. The hotel has even invested in towel machines where you have to scan each towel you take out to your room and return it yourself or face a fee of $20 per towel! The towels aren’t even nice but just cheap thin and flimsy.

Service: The staff were friendly overall but we found service extremely inconsistent and laid back, we were always waiting a while, and because the hotel automatically adds a 20% service charge, I guess there is little incentive for the staff to try. On arrival despite the hotel advertising it is ‘cashless’ property I got a nasty look from the man who brought the bags to our room when I did not have a tip handy.

Pool and Beach: Admittedly we visited during a busy time but the beach area and pool areas (both adult only and family) were absolutely crowded. There doesn’t seem enough outdoor space for the number of rooms in the resort. There was no relaxing ambiance at the resort as kids were everywhere.

We also found the sun lounges very hard and uncomfortable. For the prices charged we would have expected soft padded loungers, plush towels, plus robes etc.

Conclusion: Overall I would value the experience we had closer to $350 per night at most. Luckily we used points as I would have been devastated if I paid the full price for this trip!! But people must be paying that! By all means this may be a good option for young families with kids who want to stay in the area but I cannot recommend it to couples wanting a relaxing...