The Mermaid & The Alligator — Hotel in Key West

UPDATE:

On our stay at The Mermaid and Alligator in Key West. We were contacted by Lisa the Vice President of Operations of the Riley Hotel Group. She thought the on-site manager had both addressed and resolved the situation. When she realized neither was the case she emailed me followed with a phone conversation.

While in Key West I asked the on-site manager for two nights credit of the seven night stay. One night due to being locked out and one night as apology. This failed to occur by on-site management. Lisa offered four nights credit of our seven night stay for the company failing in providing a working after hours number. I felt it acceptable and that Lisa was heartfelt sorry. Lesson don’t get locked out when you travel to tropical locations. Mosquito, lizards and humidity oh my! 😖

Prior to hearing from Lisa we had reached out to the Select Registry for help. They also contacted the Riley Hotel Group on our behalf. A benefit of staying at a Select Registry property. If you aren’t familiar with Select Registry it is a designation of superior service and accommodations for boutique hotels and bed & breakfasts. I recommend if you have the opportunity to stay at a property with this distinction to give it a visit. Key West boasts only two with this accreditation.

Riley Hotel Group Select Registry Distinguished Inns of North America Mermaid and The Alligator

We made a memory that we will never forget. We were locked out of our room after hours. There was two after hours phone number posted. We called both numbers repeatedly (8-10 times each). One number would answer then discount. The second (EMERGENCY NUMBER) would answer and ask for my name, property we were staying at and which room we were in. Then stating that someone would contact me shortly. Nobody ever contacted us at all. We were forced to sleep outside all night while being attacked by mosquitoes and other bugs. When the morning cook arrived about 7:00am the next morning we were finally able to explain our situation through her broken English. The cook looked for and found the master key after an hour and let us into our room at 8:00am. When the manager arrived at 9:00am her response was why didn’t you call this number (the emergency number). After explaining how many times we did call the number the manager said she would look into it. Later that afternoon the manager explained that the call center claimed they received no calls during the night. The manager refused to look at the call long on my phone as proof of our numerous calls. We were offered a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates as an apology for our inconvenience. We were refunded one nights rate since we did not have access to our room for one night. I feel I am justified in requesting a refund of two nights rate as a proper apology. Which has been refused by the Riley Group that owns the property. When checking in we were told that the room would be cleaned every other day. After three days we had to ask for the room to be cleaned and it still wasn’t cleaned. While the property is 5 ⭐️ . The ammoniates definitely is not. The sheets and towels in the rooms are Walmart quality. Happy Hour is two bottles of wine and a few packing Oreo cookies. The complimentary breakfast is very basic offering only one hot option per day and is regulated to 1 1/2 hours only. You get a better basic breakfast offering at Denny’s. We have not been contacted by the Riley Group about this incident except through the onsite management. This after numerous phone calls and emails directly to the company. I do believe the manager was truly sorry for the missteps we encountered but unfortunately her hands were tied by corporate management. The Mermaid and The Alligator of today is a prime example of how corporate management can and does trash what was once a great accommodation. So run do not walk away from...

Hmmm...We've stayed a few B&Bs in Key West. We haven't paid a fortune to stay in one that might be the Taj Mahal of B&Bs, but I'd say we are at least middle of road to higher end. We've come to expect, and hope for certain things, but try to enjoy it no matter how it turns out. We had the tree top suite. We booked late for a popular time and it was the only room left. It's a fun room, but if stairs are an issue, then DO NOT take this room. We laughed at ourselves for "feeling it" when making the last track of steps to the room. Still, the room is fun, large (sure, hit my heat a least half a dozen times on sloped ceiling), and private. The grounds are inviting with various places to relax. We really enjoyed sitting on the front porch watching people and a wedding across the street. For food, there is regular access to a frig stocked with waters, sodas, la croix. Tea and coffee are also always available. Some traditional snacks such as chips, oreos, popcorn are always out, too. We love the access to water. There is a small ice machine to use there, a common frig (a bit small when everyone tries to stuff their leftovers in it), microwave, etc... The main floor is common area and has a living room with TV (we did watch a few episodes of Suits the night it rained), and a dining room where you can play games, eat, etc.. There is also a bathroom located on the first floor if needed. The breakfast is what we expected as it is pretty much what we've encountered at every B&B. A combination of easy foods - instant oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, toast, fruit. They add to this with one hot option each day, but the cook (very nice!) is very slow. On the day of waffles I'm wondering if they do this with only one waffle maker. I kept thinking how quickly I can whip out hot breakfasts for a group and wondering how this could possibly be taking as long as it did. Happy hour was just some wine and a smattering of crackers with cheese and bit of fruit. That was a bit lackluster, but it's not meant to be dinner, just a moment to change gears from day to evening. Parking was not an issue, but it is possible to get blocked in as they park two deep if needed. Keys are left in the kitchen if a car needs to be moved to let another out. We never ran into this issue and always had a spot to park. (FYI, M&A, don't let workers park in the handicap spot even temporarily. It doesn't look good at minimum and doesn't give off a very respectful vibe). The location is great - just a handful of blocks down from Duval or quick access north on Hwy 1. We are walkers so for us we just put on the miles traversing around the town. The room, as I mentioned was charming, but there are details that would be nice to see updated to bring the quality of this place to the next level. Our bathroom vanity was very obviously water damaged and the veneer was peeling off the edges. The vanity is also outside the room with the toilet and shower which is just kind of gross. It also could use a bit of more lighting in general. The blinds in the room are a bit sloppy, too, with the one over the large soaker tub having a tear in it. The carpeted stairs are terribly stained, and as the first impression upon entering the room, it doesn't give a a good impression at all. It never rains in Key West, correct? At least we hadn't experienced it until this time. A good hard soaking rain that sounded pretty fun raining down on the roof while in the the tree top suite. Unfortunately, it did more than that and we found 7 spots where the rain was actually coming in. We reported this and the property did refund us some money for the inconvenience. Hopefully, with this information they will address and fix the issue for future guests. Those guests may include us, because we quite enjoyed our stay, meeting people and...

My husband and I celebrated my 60th birthday at the Mermaid and the Alligator and everything about our stay was perfect. From the moment we arrived, Diana let us store our luggage as it was not time to check in. She then suggested a fabulous place for brunch, Azur, which was walking distance and a local favorite. We we returned several hours later, our room was ready and it so lovely. The Royal Poinciana, which was very roomy, on the corner end of the home, and had its own balcony. There is no room directly beside this suite so it is very quiet. Diana had champagne and chocolates that my daughters had requested as a surprise in the room waiting for me! How sweet! The entire property is gorgeous and so peaceful. A haven from a busy day in the Keys and far enough from Duval that is very quiet. We walked by the old cemetery many times to various points of interest. You should definitely go inside and see the interesting tombstones, and there is even a guided brochure and tours. We rented bikes which were on the property as well, and Diana helped us with instructions on locking them up. We took the bikes to Fort Zachary State Park that had a gorgeous beach and chair and umbrella rentals. Biked to Blue Heaven for their famous Key Lime Pie on the way back. The M&A is so close to many museums, restaurants, and attractions, including Duval, that you really don't need a car if you are used to walking. We walked about 3-4 miles each day, but the heat index was comfortable so remember that if you choose to walk everywhere. It was so nice to come back to the M&A and cool off in the plunge pool or sit on our balcony with a glass of wine and cool breezes. The have a wine and cheese hour in the afternoon which was nice. Yes, I have read reviews about the wine being less expensive in quality, but it is nice they offer this, and it is a nice spot to meet the other guests. The snacks and beverages they have 24/7 is also were very much appreciated. I filled up my water bottle with their infused water and it was so refreshing on our walks. I did hear people complain about the roosters in some reviews. I live on a farm, so this was very normal to me, and I never found it annoying. On the contrary, the chickens and their little pullets were so sweet. The Inn is immaculate and the very nice woman that prepared our breakfast each morning was very sweet. I have read reviews complaining of the breakfast, but we were very impressed with the quality and quantity of items offered besides the hot entree each morning. We especially enjoyed the fresh fruit and granola. There is also a small grocery right around the corner where you can purchase wine and snacks as well. We met Kate, another Inn Keeper after Diana was off for a few days, and she was very nice as well and gave us great suggestions for restaurants that locals enjoy. I did much research before choosing lodging for our vacation, and The Mermaid and Alligator did not disappoint! I especially appreciate that the entire property is non-smoking and that it is for adults only. We met a very nice couple that reserves the Bamboo Suite several times a year, and they have it booked for next year as well. This tells you how much people love this home. It was just an gorgeous oasis in a beautiful part of old town Key West. We can not...