Lodging-Adventures In Sleep
AirBnB- Shoreland Drive, Key Largo
August 2020
We decided to go to Key Largo as a way to socially distance but still get away from our own four walls. Because we were not sure how people would be responding to COVID-19, we wanted to go to an AirBnb and be able to stay away from others and cook at the house if we didn’t feel that people were being as cautious as we would like. We decided to board the dog while we figured out how it would go.
The AirBnB was on the pricey side for us at about $250 per night but it was said to have beautiful views. Since our activities would be limited and since a couple of other vacations in 2020 were cancelled due to the global pandemic, we decided to treat ourselves. The pictures above are from the top level/sundeck area of the house. As you can see, it was a nice view after all.
The house, as we found once we got there, was designed to have one unit below, the main unit where we stayed on the second level, and a sundeck on the roof. Therefore, up the stair we trudged with our belongings for the week. We brought along a large reclining lounge chair just in case the furniture was not comfortable enough to avoid having back issues.
Entering through the entrance, we came into the kitchen. It was equipped as expected with various pots and pans, plates, cups, silverware etc. There was a microwave, stove/oven, dishwasher, and refrigerator. There was enough room in the kitchen to cook effectively. After going through the kitchen, you came into the dining/living area. The large table was situated in front of the sliding glass doors and had a note to leave it in place. This was not a problem as we could still get by to go outside without a problem.
The living area had a couch, coffee table, and a television. It also had some lamps and side tables. There was enough furniture for the two of us but as we found, the couch was not the most comfortable. It was in decent shape but it was one of the ones that was deep and to sit all the way back, your legs would hang. I am about 5 foot 7 and this was the case for me. Using lots of pillows make it possible to get mostly comfortable. We did make use of that reclining lounge chair we brought. We traded as the need arose.
The house also had two bedrooms and one bathroom. The bathroom was reasonable and most importantly, it was clean. We did have to provide our own soap but there were towels provided. The two bedrooms allowed for sleeping accommodations for up to 5 people. In my opinion, five people would have been uncomfortable. One bedroom had a queen bed and a twin bed. The other had a king sized bed. We used the king sized bed and it was comfortable enough but I had expected more. That being said, I didn’t lose any sleep. We used the other bedroom for our suitcases and any other storage we needed.
The two deck areas were both great in their own ways. The deck on the level of our accommodations had a table with chairs and two cushioned outdoor chairs to sit in. The cushions to all were inside the house due to impending hurricane storms. We just moved them in and out as needed. It was not a problem. The upper sundeck would have been great for people escaping snow/cold or during a cooler time of year. I love hot weather but it was too hot to sit up there during the day due to the full sun. The furniture was also not super comfortable. We may have liked the loungers up there but we didn’t want to drag the cushions back and forth so we did not use them. At night, the upper deck was great for star gazing on the night when there was not clouds. When we were there, there was a potential hurricane on the way. The lower keys were evacuated. However, the storm generally missed the area other than some stronger winds and some rain.
Overall, the house was nice but we are not sure that we would choose that one again.
Pros:
Location- overlooking John Pennekamp State Park and a short walk to a great breakfast/lunch restaurant called the Hideout.
Size- Nice size for two and pet friendly if reserved that way.
Sundeck- In cooler weather, this would have been awesome.
Kitchen- everything you need was in the kitchen unless you need fancy tools with which to cook.
Cons:
Furniture could have been more comfortable.
This would be bad for people who can’t do stairs.
Hosts did not communicate much and we were not sure which water toys were available or even where to launch them.
Price was too high for what you got.