Parmer's Resort — Hotel in Stock Island

Tl;dr: Quiet, un-fussy property, away from crowds. If you’re booking a Waterview 1 Bedroom Suite, be aware of their Shark unit. It is super old (had not been remodeled as of April 2024), is a queen (not king) room, and only has a water view when standing in one part of the room (not waterfront). The property is currently renovating all rooms and hopefully this one will get spruced up soon.

Review: We have mixed reactions to our stay at Parmer’s. We were really looking forward to relaxing next to the water and a slow, quiet escape. And we did get those things. The property itself is as described on their website and was a nice, quiet place to spend time. We enjoyed relaxing on the patio and sitting next to the water, our dog enjoyed swimming in the protected areas, we enjoyed a seaside yoga class, and going to Kiki’s down the street.

But we were also looking forward to a well kept (not fancy, just well kept), waterview room with a king bed, which we didn’t get. Our room, a Waterview 1 Bedroom suite (the Shark unit) was a never-ending, almost comical source of issues. The biggest was the smell when we entered. Property management wasn’t proactive in helping find the source and with them being fully booked, unfortunately could not move us. We notified them of what we think was the source of the smell, and so hopefully they have addressed it and the smell is no longer an issue.

The website showed the Waterview 1 Bedroom Suite as an option when filtering for a king bed, but the room is a queen. You can only see water when standing next to the dining table. It did have a patio with a water view, which we did enjoy. The room itself also had not been updated in a long time and it really showed. Duct tape was on a door frame, the kitchen cabinets were in a very poor state, the floor was squishy in some spots, and the AC unit was loud, just to name a few issues.

We did advise them of the smell and some of the other issues during our stay, and told them the rest at check-out. After we reached back out to the property after our stay, they did provide a partial refund, which we very much appreciated.

The property is in the process of upgrading their rooms, but until they get to Shark, I would recommend calling to confirm you’re not booked...

I gave this hotel low stars for multiple reasons. I stayed here last year in another 2 bedroom cottage called Osprey, that was close to everything like the pool and office and someone who is disabled and traveling with a elder parent, it was excellent. The room was clean and in great shape for it's age. Last year, they were remodeling a cottage, Tarpon, at the end of resort. This year, we were given that cottage at the end of the resort. At first, I was OK with it because I saw that they were remodeling it last year and I was told it was as well. I did think that they were going to give us the same cottage as last year especially that I reserved it in February. The cottage we got was smaller although we paid the same price as the other cottage. It did not have a TV in the rooms which last year the other cottage had a TV in one of the rooms although the living room had a TV in both cottage. But my elderly parent likes to watch TV to sleep. They were willing to move the TV from the living room to the bedroom but we would have to leave the cottage when they do it. So I canceled it. The cottage also had small windows unlike the other cottage. It had ants in both bathrooms and a roach in one room. They did fumigation the second to last day but we still had ants. There was mold in the walls in one room. I know that the hurricane from a few years back brought the water level to the rooms but supposedly it was remodeled. The dry wall needs replacing. As someone who has autoimmune diseases, this affects my health. The room was also so far from everything that it should reflect in the price as well. The only thing that was remodeled was the main floor throughout the cottage not the bathrooms. The whole cottage needs remodeling including the bathrooms. The oven also did not have a fume hood for...

We're Florida natives and we've stayed all over the keys from Key Largo to Key West. My friends, Parmer's resort is by far the best mix of value for your money, uniqueness of experience, and proximity to almost as many activities as you can dream up we've found yet! Well, ok, if you're looking for mountain climbing...I'd try another state.

Parmer's is almost like home but so much more relaxing and so much more crystal clear water! We stayed in the waterfront for three days and two nights. The hotel staff are very friendly, and we felt like our room was our own little private island. We stocked our fridge and really enjoyed the full kitchen. Because they're green friendly, they don't harass you like other places between 9:30 and 11 AM to turn the room if you are staying more than just the day. Loved that! Of course, green or not, you may run out of towels, and we did and the staff ran them right out to us, no problem. We were surprised how close we were to Key West's downtown, just a short drive away actually. We saw a Reggae concert featuring the original Wailers, took an evening walk down Duval street and completed the evening with ice cream and cocktails. We spent our days in the heated pool on property, snorkeling Bahia Honda State Park, or in the shady hammocks around the campus. We even had some friends over for a bbq one evening and made use of the which was just a few steps outside the room.

I cannot say enough about the staff, and thank them so much for THE BEST stay we've ever had in the Keys. If you're looking for maximum relaxation or proximity to sand, sun, and fun this is your resort. It's an awesome spot to spend family time, catch up with friends, or have a couples retreat for just you and...