Key Colony Beach Motel

We’re sharing this to warn future travelers and ask management to look into a potentially serious issue. We booked a listing presented as an Airbnb near Key West for Christmas and arrived at the address around midnight, only to find a motel. The front desk couldn’t find our name and asked where we had booked. When we said Airbnb, the staff member said the property wasn’t an Airbnb and refused to check us in. We tried messaging the host through Airbnb, but got no reply. The phone number on the listing led to the motel’s front desk. After being stranded late at night, we looked more closely at the listing. Reviews from past guests, dating back to May 2023, said it was actually a motel, though those guests apparently managed to check in. The instructions also required check-in strictly between 4 PM and 10 PM, which seemed unusual to us for Airbnb, where stays are often self check-in and don’t have a latest check-in cutoff. We arrived outside that window, and the staff working then had no reservation for us and denied the booking. Given those details, we strongly suspect someone with access to the motel’s internal systems may be running Airbnb listings unofficially and honoring them only during certain shifts. If that’s true, it could explain why some guests get in while others are turned away depending on who is at the desk. We can’t say for sure that this is what happened, but we were left unable to stay after midnight on a holiday despite having a confirmed, paid Airbnb reservation. That was deeply concerning, not just inconvenient. We urge management to investigate whether staff are misusing access to the reservation system, and advise travelers to be extremely cautious. If you find this property on Airbnb with restricted check-in hours, you may be taking a serious risk.

The private sandy beach was a great little extra, and the stars were bright. The pool was super warm, probably around 85 degrees, which made it wonderful in 60-degree weather. Our room was clean and nice. My complaints were the pitiful shower pressure and the loud A/C unit. It woke us up in the middle of the night whenever it kicked on.

This older, small motel is well maintained, and the rooms were clean and neat. It’s a great little place for the price, in a beautiful spot right on the water. I’d stay here again.

A nice little humble motel, and the owners were friendly and seemed to care. Breakfast was awesome, with breakfast sandwiches, bottled juice and milk, and surprisingly good coffee in the room. There’s beach access, nice views, lounging chairs, and a pool facing the beach. The room had cable TV and a table with chairs. Cleanliness was mostly good, though it could use a bit more sweeping and mopping. I’d come back.