Summer in the Florida Keys: What’s new

The Florida Keys & Key West are welcoming visitors this summer with a host of new resort properties and attractions.

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Blue Star fishing and diving operators.

Several Florida Keys resorts have been enhanced and rebranded, while new sustainable activities and attractions have launched.

Here’s what’s new:

Keys Accommodation & Dining

At Everglades National Park, an all-new 75-seat restaurant has opened at the 24-unit Flamingo Lodge and Restaurant, which was unveiled in late 2023 with studios and one- and two-bedroom suites, kitchenettes and balconies overlooking Florida Bay. The restaurant is open to all park visitors. The park’s pink Guy Bradley Visitor Center – with a Florida National Parks Association bookstore, interactive nature and art exhibits, is open Fridays through Tuesdays. The 2,400-square-mile Everglades National Park is the continental United States’ third-largest national park.

In Key Largo, the 200-room Baker’s Cay Resort is revitalising its rooftop garden to enhance garden-to-table fare. Executive Chef Carolann Wheeler is developing the resort’s Chef’s Garden with new menus with fresh produce.

Islamorada Resort Collection is to offer 379 guestrooms and a fishing fleet when its newest resort, the 214-room Three Waters Resort & Marina, a Tribute Portfolio Resort, is unveiled in Islamorada this fall. The resort joins Tribute Portfolio, Marriott Bonvoy’s collection of independent hotels, as the brand’s first in the Keys. The new resort will offer The Cove, an adult-centric resort-within-a-resort with island-inspired rooms and suites. www.islamoradaresortcollection.com

Faro Blanco Resort & Yacht Club  becomes a Curio Collection by Hilton property next month. The property, known for its iconic 65-feet-tall Faro Blanco Lighthouse from the 1950s, is unveiling fully renovated guest rooms, a restored historic Parrish House featuring a private suite, and additional experiences throughout the resort by late this year. Faro Blanco Resort & Yacht Club and the adjacent Courtyard Faro Blanco Resort, will feature four pools, four dining options, a beach, water sports and 250 guest rooms.

In Key West, the 39-unit Island House Resort is nearing the completion of its extensive property renovation of rooms and apartments, poolside bar, 24-hour café, expansive sundeck and indoor spa. The clothing-optional resort, operational since 1976 with a unique longevity among men’s gay-owned and -operated properties, is billed as “the best gay resort in the world”.

Also in Key West, the downtown La Concha Key West hotel offers 160 freshly renovated rooms and 14 additional seventh-floor suites named Grande Dame Villas at the Rooftop. Undergoing complete renovations are the property’s public spaces including the lobby, exterior façade and rooftop pool. Food and libation venues include Tropicado; Perla and El Dom Coffee Shop with fine and casual Cuban cuisine; and gourmet grab-n-go items.

Key West’s Pier House Resort & Spa is launching an educational Marine Science Eco Experience this July. The program explores hands-on experience with sea urchins and cucumbers, decorator crabs and other sea life, plus nesting loggerhead turtles.

The landmark 311-room Casa Marina Key West, Curio Collection by Hilton will open its newest beachfront restaurant Dorada this summer. Additional food and beverage venues include the signature Flagler’s restaurant, the Canary Room lobby bar and lounge, and Morrison’s Market. Casa Marina Key West’s renovation includes a new 5,000-square-foot oceanfront event lawn. All guest rooms have been renovated.

Florida Keys sustainability

It’s even easier for visitors to choose eco-friendly Keys accommodations, diving and fishing trips through the Florida Green Lodging and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Blue Star programs, They are now highlighted with designated icons on the Florida Keys’ website.

World-renowned marine conservationist Sylvia Earle and her organisation Mission Blue have declared South Florida’s coastal area a Hope Spot, scientifically identified as critical to the health of the ocean. The new Florida Keys and Ten Thousand Island Hope Spot connects the waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary with the waters of the national parks of Everglades, Ten Thousand Islands and Biscayne Bay.

In Key Largo, the new REEF Ocean Exploration Center for Marine Conservation at the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) will be unveiled on 8 June 2025, on World Oceans Day. The $5 million, 4,000-square-feet two-story facility, with a second-floor balcony, will feature an ocean exploration gallery and three centres for discovery science, ocean outreach and program planning.

The Key West Wildlife Center is constructing a new wildlife rescue and rehabilitation clinic within the 7-acre Indigenous Park. The new avian clinic and a welcome centre will feature a dedicated treatment area with 25% more interior space for patient care. Some 1,500 native wildlife patients were rescued in 2023.

For more information, visit www.fla-keys.co.uk   

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