Island Bay Resort — Hotel in Key Largo

I recently wrote a Google review about our stay at IBR. I began by highlighting all of the many positive aspects of this 2 star resort. First and foremost, it’s gorgeous! It’s like being on a tropical island paradise. The grounds are meticulously kept. There are only 10 cottages and each sleeps 2, which means a maximum of only 20 guests at a time. It was off season when we were there which meant only a few cottages were occupied. The cottages as well as the property itself are small, however the space for both are utilized brilliantly. We stayed in the Key West cottage which is closest to the beach. I highly recommend booking this particular cottage if you go. Many of the cottages are efficiency units. Outside amenities include games, paddle boats, kayaks, snorkeling gear, plenty of beach lounges, tiki huts, a dock, ice machine, coin operated laundry, outside shower, Weber pot bellied charcoal grills (more on that later), porches at each unit, and of course beautiful sunsets. Our unit included a microwave, small refrigerator, toaster, coffee maker, ceiling fan, hair dryer, television (which we never even turned on), and plenty of pots, pans, dishes, and utensils. ||Throughout our 10 night stay we frequently told management what a wonderful time we were having, how beautiful the resort was, and we even mentioned several times about coming back. We did indeed have a great trip, the resort is indeed beautiful, but after we got home we reflected on a few things and realized we wouldn’t be going back and I mentioned that at the end of my Google review. In the second half of my review I also discussed a couple of aspects of our stay that were either a little disappointing or I thought you as a review reader and potential future guest should be aware of. ||First off, we had an extremely negative first encounter with the property manager. Without replaying the entire encounter it basically came down to her being far from welcoming of new guests who were about to spend the next 10 days there. It was an awkward experience that made my wife and I question if we had made the right choice to come to IBR.||Their web site says there are Weber grills available for guests. They are Weber grills, but they are pot bellied charcoal grills outside each unit which you must provide your own charcoal and lighter fluid for. I was a little surprised at first, but then I thought “OK, I can work with this.” Then I lifted the cover. It was disgusting. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in over a year. It was entirely unusable. When I mentioned this to management I was told they would switch it for another one. I declined because if they didn’t clean the one outside my unit before I arrived I’m sure all of the others were equally bad. We were forced to do all of our cooking inside. ||Another concern I brought up was their policy of only doling out one beach towel per guest at a time. You cannot get a second towel or even a clean towel until you turned one in. Florida is hot in July. The lounge chairs are extremely hot in the afternoon sitting out in the scorching sun. They are actually too hot to lay on without a towel over it. One towel does not do the trick. We made it work though. ||Speaking of the beach, I also mentioned that although it is advertised as a swimable beach, there is a lot of life in those waters, including the chance of a crocodile which management admitted to. ||The other aspect I discussed in my first review is how IBR is an adults only resort. A child about 12 years old was there for a couple of nights. I mentioned that in my review not because it necessarily bothered us, but I felt again that you, the reader of reviews and potential future guest should know that this could happen. It’s not meant as a criticism, but simply providing information for others about our experiences, which is the point of writing reviews. ||In my original review I gave 4 out of 5 stars because although we had a fabulous trip, there were a couple of concerns we had that I felt should be considered as areas of potential improvement by management. To only discuss the positives and completely omit problems or concerns is not helpful to the resort management or you, the review reader. I am now only giving 3 out of 5 stars because of the way the resort management has handled my review. They have been defensive, argumentative, stubborn, and highly inaccurate in follow up texts and emails to me regarding my review. Few of us can say we are flawless at our job and always deserve 5 out of 5 stars at everything we do. Managing a resort is hard work, and maybe because there were so few guests while we were there they dropped the ball a little, but they like the rest of us should be open to constructive feedback and not launch defensive attacks at former guests without even considering it as an opportunity to improve the resort for future guests. I’m being accused by IBR management in three separate written responses of not being forthcoming and of hiding behind my computer. It’s not my job to be running to management throughout my vacation when I should be relaxing, to bring up my concerns. Even when I did, nothing was done. The grill was never cleaned during our entire stay. It is the resort’s job to put there best foot forward every day for every guest and then maturely receive and reflect on any feedback, good or bad, provided by guests.||So once again, we will not...

My wife and I stayed at Island Beach Resort for 10 days in July 2025 to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We stayed in the Key West cabin which is right on the beach and has incredible views. Overall, the property and the cabins are small, but the utilization of space is tremendous. The cabin we stayed in was immaculate and the property itself is magnificent. It is a tropical paradise that is meticulously kept. The entire beach is actually raked every day. We were very pleasantly surprised on the actual date of our anniversary to return from shopping to find our room beautifully decorated with balloons, streamers, candy, and champagne. An incredible number of amenities are offered that make this a perfect resort for couples seeking a quiet and restful retreat type of get away. The positive aspects of this resort far outweigh any negatives, but we had a couple of experiences/observations which prevented us from giving a 5-star review. The first actually occurred within the first 2 minutes of our arrival at approximately 1:30pm. Upon getting out of the car after driving in from Miami Airport we were met by a woman outside who had been wiping down a table. Her first words to us were, "Can I help you?" Granted, this does not sound like an unusual greeting, but the tone and inflection of the words were not a pleasant greeting by someone who was glad to see us but came off more of an irritation and made us to feel like we were a bother. I told her who we were and was immediately told that check in was not until 3:00pm, again with an irritated tone. After a couple of seconds of awkward staring she seemed to reluctantly agree to check us in and took off towards the office leaving us standing there somewhat confused. Rather than walking with us to the office we were left to follow her like scolded children. I was convinced this person had to be a hired worker on the property but soon found out it was actually the property manager. Once in the office things improved, but we were left startled by that first interaction. It was not the welcoming we had been expecting. There was one other problem we had while staying there. Our room was an efficiency and Weber charcoal grills are available. We had planned on grilling several times during our stay. The grills however are disgusting. Soon after our arrival I told management of our intention to grill outside and how the grill was currently unusable. Throughout our entire stay, even after bringing the condition of the grill to the attention of management, it was never taken care of, and we were unable to use it. Old charcoal remained inside of it and the cooking grate was caked with someone else's old food. It desperately needed to be cleaned but was ignored. A couple of other things you should be aware of ahead of time. The website says you can swim and snorkel at the beach, but keep in mind that there is a lot of life in those waters. I'll just leave it at that. Also, beach towels seem to be an issue there. You are given 2 upon arrival, but you cannot get clean ones until you return the two you have. I can only assume they are so protective of the towels because they have had problems with people taking them home with them. One last thing. The website says the resort is for adults only, but that is not the case, as we witnessed first-hand. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Island Bay Resort. All of the wonderful things that make this resort so special and a true hidden gem, far outweigh the few minor inconveniences we experienced. We probably won't return but are extremely grateful for a truly...

I recently wrote a Google review about our stay at IBR. I began by highlighting all of the many positive aspects of this 2 star resort. Throughout our 10 night stay we frequently told management what a wonderful time we were having, how beautiful the resort was, and we even mentioned several times about coming back. We did indeed have a great trip, the resort is indeed beautiful, but after we got home we reflected on a few things and realized we wouldn’t be going back and I mentioned that at the end of my Google review. In the second half of my review I also discussed a couple of aspects of our stay regarding policies and procedures that were either a little disappointing to us or I thought you as a review reader and potential future guest should be aware of. In my original review I gave 4 out of 5 stars, because although we had a fabulous trip, there were a couple of concerns we had that I felt should be considered as areas of potential improvement by management. To only discuss the positives and completely omit problems or concerns is not helpful to the resort management or you, the review reader. I am now only giving 3 out of 5 stars because of the way the resort management has handled my review. They have been defensive, argumentative, stubborn, and highly inaccurate in unsolicited follow up texts and emails to me regarding my review. Few of us can say we are flawless at our job and always deserve 5 out of 5 stars at everything we do. Managing a resort is hard work, and maybe because there were so few guests while we were there they dropped the ball a little, but they like the rest of us should be open to constructive feedback and not launch defensive attacks at former guests without even considering it as an opportunity to improve the resort for future guests. I’m being accused by IBR management in three separate written communications of not being forthcoming/honest and of hiding behind my computer. It’s not my job to be running to management throughout my vacation when I should be relaxing, to bring up my concerns to them. Even when I did however, nothing was done. The grill was never cleaned during our entire stay. It is the resort’s job to put their best foot forward every day for every guest and then maturely receive and reflect on any feedback, good or bad, provided by guests. So once again, we will not...